The Sotheby’s Hong Kong evening sale of Modern and Contemporary Asian art on October 2 was off to a good start, selling all 16 works on paper by Zao Wou-Ki in “The Sublime” sale, which exceeded its higher estimate to garner HK$ 20.8 million.The rest of the evening saw pickier art buyers as bids were stalled around low estimates for expensive and blue chip works in favor of relatively large-scale pieces by Japanese and Southeast Asian artists. The evening sale raised a total of HK$ 509 million (US$ 65 million), close to its presale higher estimate, with seven unsold lots out of 79. Overall, the Modern and Contemporary Asian Art sales achieved HK$ 698,352,500 (US$ 89,532,371).Works by Modern Chinese painters including Zao Wou-ki and Wu Guanzhong were the two top lots of the sales, selling within their estimates. Still, it was a slow start for the star of the evening sale, Zao Wou-ki’s “Paysage dans la lune,” as the auctioneer searched for bidders, only to finally sell it for a lower estimate hammer price of HK$ 40 million.However, the Modern Art Day sale presented enthusiastic buyers for rare pieces. Sanyu’s works on paper in “The Ineffable Beauty” on October 3 were 100 percent sold. The artist’s different versions of “Nu Assis,” in particular, saw much interest as bidders pushed its prices from HK$ 300,000 to an impressive HK$ 1 million.Contemporary Japanese artists’ works continue to perform well, attracting many buyers during the Contemporary Asian art two-day sales. Nara Yoshitomo’s “Little Ambassador” went to an Asian buyer for HK$ 24,084,000 (US$ 3,087,179), while Yayoi Kusama’s quadriptych “Infinity Nets” sold within its estimate for HK$ 17,480,000 (US$ 2,241,026).Yet it was Japanese Gutai artist Shiraga Kazuo whose paintings consistently went above their higher estimates. His oil painting “Work” nearly doubled its lower estimate during the evening sale, fetching HK$ 14,480,000 (US$ 1,856,410). The “Reibu” piece received several phone bids, quickly surpassing its estimates, with a hammer price of HK$ 7.4 million. Together with the evening and day sale, the total sum of Japanese artists work sold amounts to HK$ 150 million, exceeding the presale higher estimate.Furthermore, there was a strong result for important photography work by contemporary Chinese artists, as the sale included Ai Weiwei’s most significant photography piece “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn,” and Yang Fudong’s “The First Intellectual.” Both pieces sold well above their higher estimates, indicating an increasing interest in the medium.The two-day sale of Southeast Asian art achieved new world records for two artists: Affandi’s “Borobudur and the Sun,” which doubled its lower estimate, achieving HK$ 9.8 million (US$ 1.26 million); and Rafiee Ghani’s “Blood Cherries by the Black River,” which sold for HK$ 212,500 (US$ 27,244). Additionally, Vietnamese artist Le Pho, Christine Ay Tjoe from Indonesia, and Filipino artist Ronald Ventura garnered much attention online, via phone, and even in-room bids. Their works tripled their lower estimates, demonstrating growing demand for emerging talents from Southeast Asia with an expanding collector base from the region hailing from Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam. The demand for Contemporary Asian art still remains strong, with a two-day sale total of HK$ 312,430,000, surpassing the Modern Asian art and Southeast Asian art sales. However, the evening sale of Modern and Contemporary Asian art indicated cautiousness from buyers towards dearer Chinese blue chip paintings despite active bidding. One of the top lots of the sale, Liu Xiaodong’s “Showered in Sunlight,” just hit its lower mark of HK$ 15 million. It was similar for Zhang Xiaogang, who usually performs well at auction. His “Sisters and Brothers” painting from the Ullens Collection sold for its lower estimate price of HK$ 10 million. Unexpectedly, Yue Minjun’s “Immortal Cranes,” which had a lower estimate than the Zhang Xiaogang work, sold for HK$ 2 million more than that painting to a phone bidder. With a final sale of HK$ 12 million, it joined the top 10 lots of the evening sale.All prices include Buyer’s Premium unless otherwise specified.
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