Zhang Huan Ai Weiwei Cai Guo Qiang Fang Lijun Wang Guangyi Yang Fudong Yue Minjun Zeng Fanzhi

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ArtTactic surveyed 62 collectors, auction houses, dealers, and art advisers and found that for every one respondent with a positive projection, six had a negative outlook, reports Bloomberg. The majority believe that “the market will weaken further, before it rebounds.”

“Few people are in a mood to buy or sell,” the Beijing- based contemporary-art dealer Tian Kai told Bloomberg. “Prices are sliding.”

A second survey found that high-selling painters such as Zhang Xiaogang and Yue Minjun are losing market ground to mixed-media artists.

Zhang, Yue, Wang Guangyi, and Fang Lijun are not in the top 10 of ArtTactic's confidence index for Chinese contemporary artists, reflecting “a lack of trust in the short-term development of their markets, rather than a long-term view on the importance of these artists.” according to the report.

Taking the top five spots on the list are mixed-media artists Yang Fudong, Zhang Peili, Zhang Huan, Cai Guo Qiang, and Ai Weiwei, not “because of their record prices, but because of the content and quality of the work,” ArtTactic said.

The current record for a Chinese contemporary work was set in May, when Zeng Fanzhi's painting Mask Series 1996 No. 6 sold for HK$75,367,500 (US$9,703,490) at Christie's Hong Kong. In December, another work by the artist was bought in at the same house after its reserve price of HK$28 million (US$3.6 million) wasn't met.