Give the booming art market some frames - experts

THE city government is being asked to regulate Shanghai's booming but unordered art market.

The sale of art works last year in Shanghai was worth nearly six billion yuan (US$811 million) last year, rocketing from 250 million yuan in 2001.

And there are 140 auction houses and thousands of galleries in the city trading paintings, calligraphy and antiques.

"Despite the huge market growth, the auction houses and galleries are suffering from a lack of regulation which is giving rise to market speculation," said Zheng Xingyao, a member of the Shanghai Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy.

For instance, Zheng said works of mediocre artists, even graduates just out of art school, are being put up for auction. The public's enthusiasm for investment has made it possible for an ordinary work of art to be sold for tens of thousands of yuan.

In Western countries such as Germany it was usually the rule that only rare works of famous artists or antiques are sold by auction houses.

"Overvaluing and putting excessively high prices on mediocre works further motivates market speculation," said Zheng, who is also vice secretary general of the Shanghai Auction Association.

The call for regulation in the art market was made at a meeting held by the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference yesterday to hear public opinion on the city's cultural development.

Wu Tianxiang, an official with the Shanghai Luxun Memorial Hall, said the art market was riddled with fakes and some auction houses and galleries knowingly sold fakes.

"The problem is there is no appropriate penalty for those who sell fakes," Zheng said, adding that even courts have to rely on experts' appraisals to decide on values according to the normal consumer protection laws.

"A strong sense of ethics for sellers, government managed regulations and a supervisory system is urgently needed," Wu added.

At present, galleries only need to register at the city's industrial and commercial administration as shop. No license for cultural management is required, according to the Shanghai Culture, Radio, Film and Television Administration.

Wu Sheqing, an administration official, said they were planning to set up market regulations.