Even in Singapore, Pinoy artists are bankable

IN the last decade, artists from Asia have been taking the art world by storm, with those from India, Vietnam, and now China receiving the most accolades — and the serious bucks. Now it’s the turn of the Filipinos, if the gauge is to be the speed that serious art collectors are snapping up their works in places like Singapore.

Not content with being a major business hub, Singapore has managed to add “regional art mecca” to its resumé. These days, helping it maintain that label are the often provocative pieces of rising Filipino artists such as Francisco ‘Kiko’ Escora and Emmanuel Garibay.

Still, it may not only be the Filipinos’ interesting themes or exciting brushwork that have made their works so attractive to art buyers in Singapore. As one gallery owner in the money-savvy city state admits, there is also the value-for-money factor — many of the collectors there believe this is the right time to buy the works of these Filipino artists because they are betting that the value of the paintings can only go up.

Readers may agree that this gives a new twist to art appreciation. Read this Crossborder piece that is part of i Report’s Mad Over Money series at pcij.org.