Asian Art Market's Steady Climb Continues at Hong Kong Auctions

Sotheby's 20th Century Chinese Art Spring Sale

Quality was the watchword at Sotheby’s Hong Kong 20th Century Chinese Art Spring Sale yesterday, where 65 carefully selected works earned a total of HK $102.6 million (US $13.2 million) on the block, well above the sale’s HK $75 million (US $9.66 million) estimate. The auction was a strong reminder that rare, superior items are strong lures in a market in which mainland Chinese collectors have quickly emerged as major players.

Following the success of China’s pioneering abstract painter Zao Wou-ki at Sotheby’s 2009 fall sale, in which Zao’s 7.4.61 sold for HK $15.78 (US $2 million) — nearly twice its estimated price — the auction house secured a selection of four significant paintings by Zao for today’s auction, as well a work on paper entitled Aquarelle.

The house’s efforts were rewarded, with all the Zao works selling for well above their high estimates. The standout was 4-4-1959, a lush, green canvas that imbues masterful abstract brushwork with a deep understanding of Chinese landscape painting, which sold for HK $20.8 million (US $2.67 million), more than doubling its high estimate of HK $9 million (US $1.16 million). Another of Zao’s works, The Lilies, which dates from the early 1950s and demonstrates the artist’s interest in modern masters like Paul Klee, appeared on the market for the first time, earning HK $9.84 million (US $1.27 million), twice its high estimate of HK $4 million (US $515,000). Not surprisingly, Aquarelle sold in a similar fashion, nearly tripling its high estimate with its HK $275,000 (US $35,000) hammer price.

Other highlights included realist painter Wang Yidong’s Beautiful Village – Awaiting Spring, which sold for HK $5.4 million (US $696,000), an idealized scene depicting a young girl seated before a snow-covered vista. The unstoppable sculptor Ju Ming was responsible for no fewer than 11 of the works sold, accounting for roughly 15 percent of the total sales.

Sotheby's Contemporary Asian Art Spring Sale

Sotheby’s also held its much-watched Contemporary Asian Art Spring Sale yesterday, earning HK $130 million, far beyond its estimate of HK $94 million (US $12 million). That impressive performance complicated the belief held by some that the supposed “bubble” in the contemporary Asian (and more specifically Chinese) art market has somehow popped. As with the fall 2009 auctions, the market rewarded established artists, as it graciously accommodated younger, less established artists.

Firmly in the established category, Zeng Fanzhi’s The Mask Series No. 8, 1994 (one of the earliest in the popular series) sold for HK $10.74 million (US $1.38 million) against a high estimate of HK $6 million (US $773,000). Another striking sale was Liu Ye’s Bright Road, a colorful painting in which two of Liu’s cherubic figures dance, oblivious to the fire and destruction looming on the horizon behind them. Liu’s work earned HK $19.1 million ($2.46 million), nearly tripling its high estimate of HK $6.5 million (US $840,000) and setting a record for the artist.

Zeng Fanzhi’s The Mask Series

Multiple works by Yan Pei-ming and Yue Minjun also sold well, with Yue’s On the Lake, 1994, going for HK $14.66 million (US $1.88 million) on an estimate of HK $7-10 million (US $905,000-1,290,000).

Among younger artists, painter Jia Aili more than quadrupled the high estimate of HK $450,000 (USD $58,000) tagged to his painting Field of Hope, which eventually sold for a solid HK $1.94 million (US $245,000). Top works from Japan included Yayoi Kusama’s green Pumpkin, 1991, which more than doubled its high estimate, selling for HK $1.46 million (US $188,000), and Mr.’s anime-inspired The Boy Who Came from Ikebukuro, which sold for HK $860,000 (US $110,000), far above its HK $500,000 (US $64,000) estimate. Korean artist Lee Bul’s Autopoiesis, a shimmering, web-like sculptural work, sold for a healthy HK $800,000 (US $103,000).

At the end of the afternoon, one thing seemed clear: changes in the Asian art market since late 2008 should be considered a correction, not an implosion. This is a market that continues to recognize the best work and at the same time seems willing to reward new talent.