THE ART OF INVESTMENT

Do you want a unique statement piece from an up-and-coming sculptor or are you hunting for a blue-chip painting, guaranteed to increase in value? These galleries offer plenty of options for anyone looking to put their money into investing in art

- Zabrina Lo

The investment spectrum currently extends from cryptocurrency at one end, the hot ticket item favoured by the bold, to the relatively safe bet of gold at the other.

But art remains a sophisticated and smart option in financial terms, with added aesthetic benefits. Beyond the potential financial return of discovering works whose value may appreciate over time, art offers something more personal: a reflection of one's taste, discernment and worldview.

In good news, if you're thinking of dipping your toes into investing in art, there's no need to fly to London or New York to find that first piece-Hong Kong's vibrant gallery scene offers an abundance of choices.

Here are six places of the best places to start.

DE SARTHE

A prominent name when it comes to both contemporary and 20th-century art—including blue chip names like Van Gogh, Monet and Picasso—Pascal de Sarthe's eponymous gallery has branches in Arizona, Hong Kong and Beijing. Lately, the gallery's roster has also expanded to include boundary-pushing Asian artists, such as Hongkonger Lazarus Chan who explores the use of AI.

Just as varied as the available art is the price range. Pieces from the gallery's exhibition of the pioneering Marc Chagall, which opened in November, range from US$320,000 (about HK$2,500,000) to US$5.8 million (HK$45 million); multidisciplinary artist Caison Wang's work, on view at an exhibition which also opened in November, is priced from US$6,500 (HK$50,500) for a 80 x 80cm canvas to US$17,000 (HK$132,000) for a 150 x 270cm piece.