Jeffrey Deitch stands out in today’s New York Times story re-hashing the idea that Chinese buyers are now an important part of the international art market. The Times repeats the thin rumor that the Brody Picasso was bought by someone from Asia as part of its evidence. But Deitch fingers the real issue:

“It’s always individuals — it’s not ‘the Chinese,’ ” he said. “It’s important to understand who you’re talking about.”

So what are those individuals after? Robin Pogrebin actually gets an interesting answer from one buyer who clearly is buying the next wave of Contemporary artists gaining value with each market cycle:

Lawrence Chu, the hedge fund manager, said he collected Western artists like Toby Ziegler, Mark Bradford and Dana Schutz — as well as Asian art — because “the artists are more developed.”

China’s New Cultural Revolution: A Surge in Art Collecting (NY Times)