Ferraris and Lamborghinis lined up on Oct. 3 in the car park of a luxury condominium in Singapore. Their owners weren’t there to buy property, they came for a private view of Asian art that Larasati Auctioneers will offer.
Three days later, as Indonesia’s stock market fell 10 percent, a painting by the country’s top-priced living artist broke the $1 million mark at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. I Nyoman Masriadi’s “The Man From Bantul (The Final Round)” sold for HK$7.8 million ($1 million), beating his own record for Southeast Asian contemporary art for the second time in two days.
Paintings and sculptures by emerging artists from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries have defied slowing auction demand for top Chinese and Western works as global financial markets tumble and the prospect of a U.S. recession increase. Sellers at three art events this weekend in Singapore - a fair and two auctions - are hoping that sentiment will hold.  (Bloomberg)