The first floor of the Centre for conventions and exhibitions in Hong Kong was already full when Lin have arrived at the opening of Art Basel Hong Kong, most important art fair in Asia.
In the three years since I started buying art, Mr. Lin, a collector based in Beijing, and his wife, Wanwan Lei, both 28, have created a collection at the speed of lightning, the acquisition of more than 298 works. But to the previous view V.I.P. in the art fair in Hong Kong on Tuesday, neither Mr. Lin and the Sra Lei was in a mood to make quick decisions. In fact, some traders noted that the environment, in general, seemed more moderate than the last year, with a smaller number of collectors in attendance, especially in Europe and North America, and less frenetic first day of purchase - not entirely unexpected, given the recent economic slowdown in China.
We just bought a couple of works at TEFAF, so don't we rush to buy anything here, Mr. Lin said, in reference to the European fair of fine arts this month in the Dutch city of Maastricht. On the other hand, he and Ms. Lei were more interested in navigation and the promotion of cockpits M Woods, his Museum of contemporary art in the Art Beijing 797 district.
Some traders were strong sales of reports. David Zwirner, which is scheduled to open a gallery in Asia, presented a stand of figurative paintings mostly, including five works of Michael Borremans made especially for the fair. The five were bought by Asian collectors, among them the Museum long in Shanghai, at prices ranging from $ 240,000 $ 1.5 million.
And Leo Xu Projects, a gallery of Shanghai, reported that it had sold eight works by the Chinese artist Cui Jie from $7,600 and $27,000 in the first 30 minutes of the V.I.P. advance.
Mr. Lin is one of a growing number of young collectors from mainland China, a group described as motivated, knowledgeable dealers and with a taste more adventurous than the older generation of Chinese collectors.
Collectors from mainland China more young people can have a respect for the heavyweight blue-chip Western contemporary artists, said Nick Simunovic, general director of the Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong. But they are also actively seeking work, which could not have imagined collectors from mainland China who pursue five years ago.
Some dealers noted that some young Chinese collectors do not have the purchasing power of their elders. However, while auctions do not can be looking with their purchases, many are studying and collecting the lesser-known artists. And unlike their older counterparts, who are more likely to have spent time abroad. As a result, traders say many are less concerned about the nationality and feel more comfortable engaged in the purchase of artists who are not Chinese.
personal collection of Mr. Lin, for example, includes works by Tracey Emin and John Currin, but also less established artists like Richard Lin, Ouyang Chun, Florence Lai and Charles Harlan. Recently, Mr. and Mrs. Lin Lei, who earned a degree in administration of the arts at Columbia University, have shown a great interest in the old masters.
Their eclecticism was screened on Tuesday, when Mr. Lin focused on the several works of the architect and artist Bijoy Jain in the booth of Gallery Chemould Prescott Road of Mumbai, India.
It was the closest Mr. Lin came to buy anything on Tuesday. For the next four hours. The Sra Lei; and Presca Ahn, the American director of the Museum, only to take in the spectacle.
Recent slowdown of china's economy seems to have put a brake on the purchase of art for all collectors of the continent, regardless of age, with total sales in the Chinese market's have fallen 22 percent, to $11.7 billion in 2015, according to the Tefaf report. Last year, Britain supplanted China as the second-largest market for sales of art, after the United States, according to the report.
While dealers say that the economic slowdown has been felt more forcefully in the auction houses, the final results of Art Basel Hong Kong still are being studied as an important measure of the situation on the market of art in Asia.
In general, there was the feeling among traders and collectors that the quality of the works at the Hong Kong fair, which this year included a 238 galleries, was stronger than in previous years.
Aspects highlighted among Western galleries including Hauser & Wirth, which brought (Spider couple), a bronze giant Louise Bourgeois sculpture between 2003 and 1967 mobile by Alexander Calder (spider's Web in the morning). Marianne Boesky Gallery presents a solo exhibition of Frank Stella, including a 12-foot-tall wooden star.
Hauser & Wirth said it was in talks with a Museum of Asia about the bourgeois sculpture. The Gallery sells a series of works, including a painting by Mark Bradford for $1.4 million, as well as a painting by Alexander Calder, for an undisclosed amount.
So we decided to bring a different kind of booth this year, big pieces centered around the theme (the spider), so we were hoping that this year will be more about the education of sales, said Neil Wenman, senior director of Hauser & Wirth in London. But we are also very pleased with the sales. We were actually able to connect with a different level of a collector in Asia.
Asian galleries also did a great performance, with Taiwan's Eslite gallery presents a solo exhibition of David Diao. For his first exhibition at the fair, with Beijing-based Studio ink brought a stand dedicated to the Chinese artist Li Huasheng.
The fair has had a reputation for being a dump of galleries, said Adeline Ooi, director for Asia of Art Basel. So But that is changing, and people are taking seriously our clientele.
So although Mr. Lin, who grew up in Beijing and studied in Singapore and Britain, refused to say how much it had invested in the art from 2013, projected that it would spend close to $3 million this year. To configure M Woods, which opened to the public in 2014, estimated its cost at around $1.4 million.
He said part of that money had been lent to him by his parents, both members of an old military which are now in the business. However, he said that most of his wealth came from a public relations firm from a luxury brand founded and real estate investments.
Some people might think that I'm just doing this because I have no money and I'm looking for a hobby, Mr. Lin said, taking a break to drink a little water of coconut in the fair. As well, but for me, art is no longer just a hobby. Art has become a company for me. It could take decisions quickly, but it really is something that I love.
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