AUCTIONS The Art of the Sale
Art Basel and Art Central weren’t the only games in town in recent months for collectors, who turned out in force to set new records in the contemporary-art auction market. TAMA LUNG checks out the top lots
The end of March may be widely remembered for the massive art fairs that took over Hong Kong, but it was also a bumper few days for the city’s auction houses.
“When the hammer fell on the final lot of tonight’s evening sale, Sotheby’s concluded what now stands as the highest totalling series of Contemporary sales ever staged in Asia – a testament not only to pan-Asian demand, but also to our ability to stage innovative and exciting auctions that set new benchmarks for the international market,” said Yuki Terase, the firm’s head of contemporary art, Asia, at the close of its Contemporary Art Evening Sale on April 1.
“In the evening sale, we are deeply honoured to have set a new auction record for Yayoi Kusama, demonstrating yet again the importance of Hong Kong in the artist’s market. We also achieved a new auction record for Ethiopian-born female artist Julie Mehretu in what was the artist’s auction debut in Asia.”
Sotheby’s one-day sales total for contemporary art in Hong Kong came to HK$802 million with every lot exceeding its pre-sale high estimate. Besides Kusama and Mehretu, records were set for eight artists with man-of-themoment Kaws, aka Brian Donnelly, commanding HK$116 million for The Kaws Album, one of 33 lots from the personal collection of Japanese designer and entrepreneur Nigo.
Christie’s, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong showing at its First Open on March 31, bringing in a total of HK$47 million at its first Hong Kong art sale of the year. “The enthusiasm from collectors was overwhelming,” noted head of sale Dina Zhang. “Taking place during a weeklong series of events surrounding Art Basel, the sale demonstrated the ability to convene global collectors as they acquired works across genres and cultures.”
A fibreglass sculpture by neo-Pop artist Yoshitomo Nara,
The Little Pilgrim (Night Walking) was Lot 21 at Christie’s First Open sale. The prolific artist, who grew up in postwar Japan, has become known for his portrayal of anime-type characters that are at once childlike and sinister, but his
Little Pilgrim series is said to show a softer and more ethereal side of his oeuvre. Estimated at HK$400,000-$600,000, it realised a price of HK$875,000.
The undisputed highlight of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale was Yayoi Kusama’s Interminable Net #4. The painting, from 1959, is considered an extremely rare example from the most radical, transformative and accomplished period of the Japanese artist’s career.
Kusama arrived in New York in June 1958, and soon embarked on a series of critically acclaimed monochrome canvases. Interminable Net #4 followed the Infinity Net series and showcases the detailed, repetitive brushstrokes that would culminate in the repeating dots that the artist is internationally recognised for today.
Interminable Net #4 had been kept in private collections for decades and was estimated at HK$50-$70 million. The oil-on-canvas work eventually sold for HK$62.4 million (US$8 million), setting an auction record for not only Kusama but also for a female artist in Asia.
In a strong performance by a Western artist, Mark Grotjahn’s
Untitled (Yellow White Butterfly) achieved a price of HK$26.6 million from a high estimate of HK$30 million. The geometric painting is part of a series the artist began in 2001 that explores perspective and composition.
Grotjahn describes himself as an abstract painter. “I want to be non-representational,” says the artist, who is also well known for his Face series of paintings. “I would like to be more and more abstract. I want to feel meaningful, but I don’t want any more to represent a face, a body.”
His was one of three pieces out of the top 10 lots at the Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale that were scooped up by anonymous buyers. The remaining seven works went to Asian private buyers.
Christie’s First Open was curated to appeal to new and seasoned collectors alike with its mix of sought-after contemporary Western and Asian artists at accessible prices. It also featured several current icons of pop culture, including Banksy, Kaws and Takashi Murakami.
The latter artist from Japan had just two lots in the sale, with Sphere (White) closing out at HK$81,250. The silkscreen print bears the usual Murakami hallmarks ‒ bright colours, designer logos, repeating patterns and a pop playfulness.
“I would like you, the reader, to experience the moment when the layers of Japanese culture, such as pop, erotic pop,
otaku and H.I.S.-ism fuse into one...” the artist wrote in his manifesto. “‘Super flatness’ is an original concept of Japanese who have been completely Westernised. With this concept, seeds for the future have been sown. Let’s search the future to find them. ‘Super flatness’ is the stage to the future.”