The changing taste for fine art in mainland China Market, 2006 to 2016. - The case study of China Guardian auction house

Over the last decade, the Chinese secondary art market has grown dramatically, even surpassing most Western countries to become one of the largest art auction markets in the world. Due to China’s long history, art markets are dominated by Chinese art that includes Chinese paintings and calligraphy. However, since China’s economic reform in 1978, contemporary art has developed to become one of the segments of the Chinese art market. The aim of the thesis is to observe the changing taste of the Chinese fine art market, ascertaining to what extent the taste of Chinese art auction market has varied. The research is based on the descriptive statistics of case study comprised of secondary data collecting and analysis. To observe and analyze the taste, secondary data from the auction house China Guardian was conducted through descriptive statistics and analysis to address the relation not only between taste and artists but also taste and artworks. The results of the thesis showed the considerable changes in taste in artists and artworks within the past ten years. To conclude, this study explains the development of taste for art from multiple perspectives, not merely from the price perspective but also from those of artists and artworks.