Malaysia’a efforts at expanding its art market seem to be paying off. Works like Ibrahim Hussein’s “Red, Orange, and Core” (above) have sold for prices in excess of $250k this year at Henry Butcher and other Malaysian houses. A recent Henry Butcher sale, The Malaysian Reserve reports, totaled:

RM3.75 million, from the sale of 87 out of 92 pieces by local artists, which represents a 94.6% sale success rate.

At the auction, sales registered an average 88.27% premium over the reserve price, which bettered the 66.11% over premium at another Henry Butcher auction in May which raised RM4.02 million. […]

Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) museum and art gallery director Lucien de Guise said in an email interview that Malaysian art market has grown more in the last two year than it did over the previous 20 years. […] de Guise denied that corporate collectors such as BNM create an artificial value of selected artists and painters, pushing up their prices, saying: “I don’t think corporate collectors significantly alter the market as private collectors do form a substantial part of the market.”

Datuk Gary Thanasan, who organised the Malaysian and Indonesian Modern and Contemporary Art Auction (MIMCAA1) on Sept 30, where RM2.5 million worth of art was sold said: “The Malaysian art market is growing but we are still behind Vietnam in the region when it comes to appreciating art.”

Growing Interest Among Collectors in Malaysian Art (The Malaysian Reserve)