Wave of investment in fine arts begins at Chon Auction House
Painting auctions and the art trade in general are not new to Vietnam and are definitely not something unfamiliar to the world. But a professional auction session at the Chon Auction House attracting many painting collectors and tycoons was the first of its kind in Vietnam.
He bought the “Bunny Girl” painting by Nguyen Phan Bach at a record bidding price of US$25,000 after defeating many other bidders.
Christopher said he could feel the depth of this work of art, which is the intersection of western and eastern cultures.
He emphasised that the work bears the cultural symbol of Playboy and it must belong to the Playboy brand.
Nguyen Phan Bach is son of Nguyen Huy Thiep, one of the most celebrated Vietnamese writers of the 20th century, and this background has exerted a special influence on his works.
“Bunny Girl” is one in a series of six works by Nguyen Phan Bach currently on display at Saatchi Art, an online art gallery.
The painting depicts an Asian girl, her right hand placed on a lamp, which, in Eastern semiology, represents light illuminating a path or an element of time. With the passage of time, some traditional beauties are retained, but it also gives rise to new ideas. That is why we still keep Confucian values in the 21st century while using the state-of-the-art iPhones.
“Bunny Girl” poses a question: why the new symbol, the symbol of Playboy, is placed on an Asian girl. In this era of globalisation where different layers of culture clash with one another, Nguyen Phan Bach paints a symbol for each of us to find our own answer. This is a work that carriers a contemporary breath and tells today’s stories, which are the conflicts and struggles in the women’s thoughts about themselves and men’s prejudices against Asian women.
In addition to Playboy Vietnam CEO Christopher, the Chon Auction House’s second auction session also attracted nearly one hundred participants who are banking and financial tycoons, arts investors and arts collectors from both at home and abroad. All 15 works at the auction were sold successfully with a total value of nearly US$60,000.
The trade in paintings in Vietnam, an attractive but quite risky business, is being redefined in a professional way by the Chon Auction House’s two young co-founders Vu Tuan Anh and Tran Quoc Hung.
Vu Tuan Anh, also chief business officer of Viet Art Space, said the world has been a hundred years ahead of Vietnam in using the arts as an investment channel, and that Vietnam could not lag further behind.
Tran Quoc Hung, Chief Executive Officer of the Chon Auction House, said that his company is not the first and only auction house in Vietnam, but that it is the first to focus on lifting the value of local artwork.
With experience living abroad and doing the art trade at home, the two are determined to build the Chon Auction House to the standards of the world’s leading auction houses, such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. In addition, the painting valuation panel consists of leading experts from Vietnam, India, France and the Republic of Korea. The Chon Auction House has also received the authorisation of domestic and international art collectors.
The Bunny Girl by Nguyen Phan Bach
The most interesting part at the second auction session of the Chon Auction House held on March 19 was the presence of Christopher, chief executive officer of Playboy Vietnam.He bought the “Bunny Girl” painting by Nguyen Phan Bach at a record bidding price of US$25,000 after defeating many other bidders.
Christopher said he could feel the depth of this work of art, which is the intersection of western and eastern cultures.
He emphasised that the work bears the cultural symbol of Playboy and it must belong to the Playboy brand.
Nguyen Phan Bach is son of Nguyen Huy Thiep, one of the most celebrated Vietnamese writers of the 20th century, and this background has exerted a special influence on his works.
“Bunny Girl” is one in a series of six works by Nguyen Phan Bach currently on display at Saatchi Art, an online art gallery.
The painting depicts an Asian girl, her right hand placed on a lamp, which, in Eastern semiology, represents light illuminating a path or an element of time. With the passage of time, some traditional beauties are retained, but it also gives rise to new ideas. That is why we still keep Confucian values in the 21st century while using the state-of-the-art iPhones.
“Bunny Girl” poses a question: why the new symbol, the symbol of Playboy, is placed on an Asian girl. In this era of globalisation where different layers of culture clash with one another, Nguyen Phan Bach paints a symbol for each of us to find our own answer. This is a work that carriers a contemporary breath and tells today’s stories, which are the conflicts and struggles in the women’s thoughts about themselves and men’s prejudices against Asian women.
In addition to Playboy Vietnam CEO Christopher, the Chon Auction House’s second auction session also attracted nearly one hundred participants who are banking and financial tycoons, arts investors and arts collectors from both at home and abroad. All 15 works at the auction were sold successfully with a total value of nearly US$60,000.
The trade in paintings in Vietnam, an attractive but quite risky business, is being redefined in a professional way by the Chon Auction House’s two young co-founders Vu Tuan Anh and Tran Quoc Hung.
Vu Tuan Anh, also chief business officer of Viet Art Space, said the world has been a hundred years ahead of Vietnam in using the arts as an investment channel, and that Vietnam could not lag further behind.
Tran Quoc Hung, Chief Executive Officer of the Chon Auction House, said that his company is not the first and only auction house in Vietnam, but that it is the first to focus on lifting the value of local artwork.
With experience living abroad and doing the art trade at home, the two are determined to build the Chon Auction House to the standards of the world’s leading auction houses, such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. In addition, the painting valuation panel consists of leading experts from Vietnam, India, France and the Republic of Korea. The Chon Auction House has also received the authorisation of domestic and international art collectors.
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