This article aims at looking into sales records for Southeast Asian paintings at international auctions.  Auctions are held regularly in Singapore and Hong Kong and to a growing extent in Jakarta, usually twice yearly, and sometimes Southeast Asian paintings are featured in European or American auctions as well.  Browsing through sales catalogues reveals that the first country in Southeast Asia in terms of paintings sold at the auctions, is Indonesia.  Some of the Indonesian paintings were by old European and Dutch artists who lived in Indonesia, in particular Bali. However, nowadays many younger Indonesian artists are well represented too.  There is a strong domestic market for Indonesian paintings, and Indonesian collectors travel frequently to attend auctions. 

The second country on the list is Vietnam, and here the situation is rather different from Indonesia.  This is not mainly a domestic market, but more international since there are few Vietnamese collectors at the auctions.  Here too we find old works by European, mostly French, artists who lived in Vietnam - or French Indochina as it was known as.  However, as the market develops,  contemporary Vietnamese artists of younger generations have also started to make their marks.  The auction market for Thai and Burmese paintings is growing. 

A search at |

Updated February, 2012

The number of paintings sold may be lower than number of paintings featured at auctions since works are sometimes offered for sale, but end up not sold.  From the table, it is apparent that Vietnamese artists have done better than Burmese and Thai at international auctions. However, Thai art is on the rise internationally, and Burmese art is seldom featured at auction due to a (very) weak domestic market.  The auction houses prefer viable domestic markets.

It is always difficult to make predictions, but with an intimate knowledge of the art scene in these three countries and the market, I have a few suggestions.  Nguyen Trung is an excellent and well respected artist so his works should continue to be in high demand.   As for Nguyen Thanh Binh, he has potential with some of his works, though he is prolific and the quality is uneven.  Look out for new artists, such as the lacquer painters Dinh Quan and Truong Tan.

U Lun Gywe stands out among the Burmese artists.  He is an old master, and his works will likely be sold at auctions more frequently in the future.  His works are a bargain at today's prices.  Aung Kyaw Htet's works have started to sell at auctions, and his works are in high demand.  Thai art is diverse in terms of media and expression, perhaps the most diverse in the region.  And Thai art has seen a rapid raise in the international auctions lately, in particular works by Vasan Sitthiket, Navin Rawanchaikul and Thaweesak Srithongdee.  Navin Rawanchaikul is Thailand's representative at the Venice Biennale 2011.

A word of caution.  There are strong indications that fakes are being sold, even of works by young contemporary painters.  The problem is particularly acute in Vietnam.  Fake Vietnamese paintings have likely been sold at the auction houses and will probably continue to be.  Provenance and reputable art dealers are of paramount importance.