New Zealand Art Boom

Art sell-outs even before the opening night. Art by both established and younger, emerging artists being snapped up by collectors at a feverish rate and gallery owners trying, frequently in vain, to keep speculators at bay. "Like the stock market, only prettier" - this how the current NZ art market was described recently. It seems like the established collectors have now been joined by a new breed of younger, well-travelled and knowledgeable collectors who include art as part of a balanced investment portfolio. Sound familiar? Irish Art