Now that falling prices have pushed speculators out of the market, contemporary art collectors can focus on being experimental and daring, says our columnist

Times have changed and today, collectors are starting to concentrate on adventurous, creative artists with a new and fresh style, rather than on speculative moneymakers. The various would-be artists and galleries propelled by the speculative boost over the past few years can only sit and watch as art for art’s sake is once again restored to its rightful place.

Many works have become too expensive, so speculative temptations are no longer on the agenda. The most adventurous investments and creations in art today can be found in exploring the edge of what is being created - and what is acceptable, always a tempting boundary for artists over the centuries.

p>These artists are of a number of nationalities. In Japan for example, where ‘Kawai Mania’ is hot, some fascinating artists can be found in the Crazy Noodles Studio where 10 artist, predominantly women born between 1975 and 1985, adhere to the same culture, and produce a unique, creative and shared concept. They use the universe of Japanese Manga comics, featuring under-aged ‘Lolitas’ and what they say are innocent, erotic images and fantastical creatures and combine it with elements of the Japanese traditional culture such as geishas, samurais or sumotoris to produce original concepts. The result is neo-pop art made in Japan that is truly amazing.

One of them, Tomomi Mishima, narrates through her works the Japanese woman’s aspirations of a liberated lifestyle, encompassing ideas of modernity and independence. Young fashionable Japanese girls influence her works, whilst her paintings are a unique illustration of a virtual idol: nice female faces with their bodies dressed in fashionable clothes. Another female artist, Lady Kawai, paints from photographs. Scenes are obviously suggestive, composed of young half naked girls sometimes engaged in subversive acts harking back to Japanese traditions.

Ryoko Watanabe, again a female artist, depicts timeless images which characters from old Japan stand facing Japan of the new millennium. Those artists often aim to illustrate the condition of Japanese women of the 21st century. Highly controversial not to mention subversive in the west as well as at home, they aspire towards a revolution of Japanese morality, which is still strongly marked by traditional male-dominated hierarchy.

Male artists from Crazy Noodles Studio are intelligent and creative as well. Japan by Jimmy Yoshimura sways between tradition and modernity. He is particularly talented in the representation of female characters from different eras, mixing old traditions with today’s excesses to great effect. Hiro Ando’s mini world is full of sumocats, supercats, robotcats, urbancats, samuraicats is with an aesthetic that is playful and catchy.

Surfing out of the wave of the trends of the art market, some artists can remain unconventional. They are interesting as tracker of contemporary society, as tracker of the history of art, and as tracker of a culture and a way of expression.

Reza Derakshani is from a different cultural background but belongs to the same artistic culture. An Iranian painter and musician, his extraordinary artistic talent was recognized early as he was receiving commissions at the age of nine! Being brought up in a nomadic family in the mountains of Iran had an enormous impact on his admiration for natural beauty. His work is an exploration of the natural world. Elements of Reza’s works are birds, mountains, flowers and trees and are an expression of Persian culture, literature and poetry. Trees are referred to as the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge, and the Tree of the Universe with their roots deep in the earth. In Persian mythology the Tree is at the centre of heaven. The fig tree is the most sacred tree, whilst a pomegranate tree represents passion and fertility. Reza is considered as one of the masters of the contemporary Iranian art.

Profit is no longer the collector’s primary motive - and hurrah for that. Some collectors are going forward into a different world where they can discover new feelings and new questions, while others collect the works of their compatriots in order to build coherent collections for foundations or museums. The public should be ready to discover new art, new artists - and new horizons.

PRUNE VIDAL is an analyst for the Opera Gallery group. Operagallery.com