The Collector | Caught the collecting bug at Art Basel? Former Christie’s exec can guide you through the labyrinth

A mild dose of the art bug may have morphed into an expensive, lifelong obsession for those galvanised by last week’s Art Basel into buying their first serious piece of art.

With so many dealers in town, bullish cries about the art market mingled with the constant din of car horns as black seven-seaters queued up to unload their VIPs at the Wan Chai convention centre.

There are reasons to be optimistic. Earlier this month, London’s spring contemporary art auctions sold 50 per cent more than they did a year ago, with Asian collectors report­ed­ly bidding for the likes of Gerhard Richter’s Eisberg (1982), which sold for £17.7 million (HK$170 million), well above estimates.

Asian wealth is keeping the market buoyant, and a 20 per cent jump in the Dow Jones stock index over the past year has made the North American market lively. So it would be easy to forget that old chestnut about how investments can go up or down.

One only need look at the London sales closely for salutary reminders. Collector Dmitry Rybolovlev reportedly lost US$150 million on the sale of paintings by Paul Gauguin, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso and Mark Rothko after they fetched far less than he paid Yves Bouvier, the Swiss art dealer he is suing for damages. According to a Bloomberg report, which cites confirmation by his family office, the Russian billionaire is pointing to the losses to allege wrongdoing by Bouvier, who claims all the purchases were above board.

Another veteran collector, Kemal Cingillioglu, also got burnt. He bought an edition of Jeff Koons’ bourbon-filled sculpture, Jim Beam – Observation Car (1986), for US$1.6 million in 2013. This month, he sold it for £450,000 (HK$4.3 million).