This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 18, 2019
THERE was something for everyone, from the seasoned collector to a young person dipping a toe into the world of art, at The Edge Auction 2019 held at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. About half of the 105 lots comprising works by Southeast Asian artists were sold, fetching more than RM700,000.
Serious collectors turned up and picked key pieces that they had their eye on, such as Ismail Latiff’s Festival of Inner Jungle, White Territory No 6; Tajuddin Ismail’s Blue Windrift; Jalaini Abu Hassan’s Fan Shell; Tay Mo Leong’s Kampung Scene; Noor Mahnun Mohamed’s Lanterns; Jolly Koh’s A Touch of Yellow; and Yusof Ghani’s Topeng Series — Banjar.
Fauzul Yusri and Ahmad Shukri Mohamed kept the auctioneer busy with bids for Pengkalan and Barcode Series: White Haze respectively. Of the contemporary works on offer, The Outlaw Torn by Ismail Awi and The Beginning by Shafiq Nordin fetched more than their estimate prices.
A collector who is a regular at art auctions noted that all the important works were taken up. However, he added, because the market is soft, buyers were
prudent, only selecting pieces they really liked, or needed to complete their collection.
Another collector said that with the current market sentiment, discerning buyers were targeting quality pieces that were rightly priced. But having works by lesser known artists fulfilled the element of educating the market while encouraging those new to art to consider who they could start collecting.
He lauded the wide selection of works offered, which “reflect an understanding of what the market wants”, as well as the catalogue, saying its standard was comparable with that of international auctions. “The catalogue layout is beautiful and grouping the pieces according to works on paper, fabric and batik art, sculpture, canvas works and contemporary abstract art makes it easy to refer.”
The Edge Galerie manager
Sarah Abu Bakar said the range at the auction — from pieces by Nanyang-style artists to watercolours and contemporary works — was specially chosen to cater to market demand and introduce those who are currently making a name for themselves at home and abroad. Among the latter are Anne Samat and Yunizar.
Artists from Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar also featured in the seventh edition of The Edge Auction, which had phone and online bidders from Hong Kong, Singapore and the Netherlands.