The World's Best Selling Contemporary Artists List ~Chinese Rank Most

Yue Minjun, known works depicting himself laughing in various settings

According to the 2008 survey of the global art market by Artprice, a report listing the 500 top-selling contemporary artists, based on results from 2,900 auctions between July 2007 and June 2008. 11 out of the the world's top 20 best-selling artists, are Chinese. The four cornerstones of contemporary Chinese art, an elite which includes Wang Guangyi, Fang Lijun, Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun are amongst the world's most sought-after artists. Art experts see this as an indication that Asian art will dominate art sales around the globe soon.

Listing of the top 20 most popular artists (based on auction records) from July 2007-July 2008, as compiled by Artprice.

1. Jeff Koons (b.1955)
Type of art: sculpture, mixed-media
Nationality: American
Sales at auction (07-08): £69.4 million

2. Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88)
Type of art: Painting (ex-graffiti artist)
Nationality: American
Sales at auction (07-08): £54.3 million

3. Damien Hirst (b.1965)
Type of art: Sculpture, mixed-media, Turner Prize-winner
Nationality: British
Sales at auction (07-08): £45.8 million.
Note: The survey excludes Hirst's Sept 2008 auction of £100 million.

4. Richard Prince (b.1949)
Type of art: painting, fine art photography
Nationality: American
Sales at auction (07-08): £33 million

5. Zhang Xiaogang (b.1958)
Type of art: surrealism, portraiture
Nationality: Chinese (Yunnan)
Sales at auction (07-08): £32.3 million

6. Zeng Fanzhi (b.1964)
Type of art: figure painting, portraits
Nationality: Chinese (Wuhan)
Sales at auction (07-08): £27.8 million

7. Yue Minjun (b.1962)
Type of art: figurative paintings
Nationality: Chinese (Heilongjiang)
Sales at auction (07-08): £27.5 million

8. Takashi Murakami (b.1962) ~my favorite!!!
Type of art: Sculpture, painting, installation
Nationality: Japanese
Sales at auction (07-08): £15.5 million

9. Wang Guangyi (b.1957)
Type of art: Mixed-media, painting
Nationality: Chinese (Heilongjiang)
Sales at auction (07-08): £11.7 million

10. Liu Xiaodong (b.1963)
Type of art: Painting, fine art photography
Nationality: Chinese (Liaoning)
Sales at auction (07-08): £10.5 million

11. Cai Guo-Qiang (b.1957)
Type of artwork: performance art (explosive events)
Nationality: Chinese
Sales at auction (07-08): £10.1 million

12. Yan Pei-Ming (b.1960)
Type of art: Portraitist
Nationality: Chinese (Shanghai)
Sales at auction (07-08): £9.9 million

13. Chen Yifei (b.1946)
Type of art: Painting
Nationality: Chinese (Zhejing)
Sales at auction (07-08): £9.7 million

14. Fang Lijun (b.1963)
Type of art: Painting
Nationality: Chinese (Hebei)
Sales at auction (07-08): £9.6 million

15. Liu Ye (b.1964)
Type of art: Avant-garde artist
Nationality: Chinese
Sales at auction (07-08): £8.8 million

17. Zhou Chunya (b.1955)
Type of art: Portrait paintings
Nationality: Chinese (Sichuan)
Sales at auction (07-08): £8.3 million

18. Anish Kapoor (b.1954) ~yusof went to school with him
Type of art: abstract, sculpture, Turner Prize-winner
Nationality: British (born in India)
Sales at auction (07-08): £6.7 million

19. Peter Doig (b.1959)
Type of art: landscape pictures
Nationality: British
Sales at auction (07-08): £6.7 million

20. Rudolf Stingel (b.1956)
Type of art: installation and conceptual art
Nationality: German
Sales at auction (07-08): £6.5 million

According to ARTnews who interviewed dealers, consulted auction specialists, and surveyed auction results. Artists were considered based on the sum paid for a single work of art -regardless of how many works have sold at that level, the production costs involved in creating the work, or how prices for new works measure up.

The top ten, in alphabetical order, are Lucian Freud, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Brice Marden, Bruce Nauman, Robert Rauschenberg, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, and Cy Twombly. All of them have achieved single-work sales of US$5 million or more, while some have multiplied that figure many times over.

Malaysian contemporary art has been spotted at international auctions, fetching prices to the tune of RM117,000 to RM215,000 last year so maybe one of our guys will make this list soon. Fingers crossed.