By chance I stumbled across the Sotheby’s contemporary art exhibition in one of Londons squares this weekend. Giving that it was bucketing down with rain it was a welcome refuge and a chance to catch up with the art world in a venue that wasn’t absolutely heaving (unlike the Royal Academy).

The first shocker was that Bansky now rates about 40K+ for each painting. If the guy graffittis your house is now adds approximately 15% to its value. Yowzer! And to think how many times Bristol City Council erased his earlier (presumably more valuable) works.

The second was a reminder of how disturbing the Chapman Brothers mutant children are. I haven’t seen any of them for a while and I won’t be rushing out for some more anytime soon.

The exhibition was pretty excellent really for something free and drawn entirely from sales. It is always interesting to see how many Andy Warhols there are and what their expected prices are. There are a lot and they are probably cheaper than you expected. I also always come away from a collection of Warhols with a higher opinion of him as an artist. I think he really was one of the great artists of the last century and as his influence continues possibly one of the greatest artists ever.

One aspect of the show that was very new to me was the wave of Chinese contemporary art that has been going international recently. I had heard about it but actually it is all its cracked up to be and I would definitely like to see a more specifically curated show on the subject.

Finally there were a few Grayson Perry vases. I’m not sure whether this was or wasn’t the first time I’ve seen his work but I did think that his Turner Prize was deserved on the basis of this work.