New apps make art shopping easier for new buyers

[Photo provided to China Daily]

With high tech offering a better online art-shopping experience, Zhu's app has attracted lots of celebrities, such as pianist Li Yundi, TV anchor Dong Qing and collector Wang Zhongjun, who is known for his purchases of Vincent van Gogh's works. All three attended the late-September launch ceremony to support the app.

In the past two years, lots of art-trading apps have come online. Many of them are struggling with problems such as low quality works, lack of buyers and offers of fake works.

Jiang Xiaochun, founder of Artcm from Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, says China has no shortage of art buyers and good artists, but it's important to cultivate and educate art buyers.

"With the growth of our economy, society's aesthetics urgently need to be improved," he says.

Artcm works with art agents, galleries and art museums rather than with individual artists. It updates the latest information about art exhibitions held by more than 500 agents at home and abroad. Artworks and art items from these agents can be traded on the app.