Spirit of conquest always

As the general context fuels many concerns across the world, the spirit of conquest still seems to be the watchword in the art market. In Hong Kong, for example, Sotheby’s and Christie’s have just respectively opened luxurious premises for their Asian headquarters. (Sotheby’s is also about to open a new place in Paris). However not far away, in China, the real estate and financial crisis is in full swing. Bearing this in mind, it’s no longer good to flaunt your wealth in front of the Chinese government.

Sotheby’s Maison

In the Hong Kong enclave, Patrick Drahi’s firm inaugurated its “ Sotheby’s Maison” at the end of July across 2230 m2 in a luxurious shopping centre in the city’s chicest district, known as Central. One section in a dramatically lit basement is mainly dedicated to showcasing the most important lots for sale, such as a Rothko painting that will be presented at auction in November with an estimate of 30 million dollars in bright shades of yellow and blue (See here the report about the Rothko retrospective in Paris).

Last minute postponed

Mark Rothko

The end of September is usually the time for major sales in Hong Kong, but at the last minute Sotheby’s announced they were going to postpone them to November 8 and 13 for reasons that seem unclear, justified by seeking to “reinvent the sales calendar to meet clients where they are.” This is a bad sign for the market, which could suggest that the company had not been able to source enough quality lots. Sotheby’s is also dedicating a large space to gallery activity in its new Hong Kong headquarters, run by Nathan Drahi, Patrick Drahi’s son, bringing together all kinds of objects from rare sneakers to antique furniture. The objective is to attract new collectors. The presentation of these precious objects would require to be further refined.

Zaha Hadid

For its part, Christie’s has inaugurated new headquarters on September 20, still in the Central district, in a new oblong tower that is all transparent, designed by the firm of the late architect Zaha Hadid. Three floors with a futuristic design form a combined total of 4,600 m2 for a luxurious display that is more “regular” than its competitor.

Adrian Cheng

The inaugural sale took place on September 26 while exactly on the same day the Hong Kong media continued to comment on the poor results of New World, a real estate firm known for its K11 shopping centres and its director Adrian Cheng, who is also an important patron from Hong Kong aged 44, who announced he was stepping down from the family business.

Francis Belin

In this unfavourable context the director of Christie’s Asia, Francis Belin, justified the installation largely by saying that “the decision had been taken in 2021 and apart from the investments necessary for the new installation, operational costs are lower in our new premises. They shall enable us to position ourselves as a cultural platform throughout the year.” According to him, Asia represented 28% of Christie’s global purchases last year and 41% of luxury goods (wine, watches etc.). Francis Belin also insisted on the incomparable positioning of Hong Kong in Asia in terms of transactions and on the ease of importing and exporting artworks.

101 millions euros

The inaugural sale of 20th and 21st century art was estimated at 101 million euros (low estimate). It brought in 103 million euros for 43 lots sold (90% of the lots sold) and a little over half of these were guaranteed (the guarantee is a sum guaranteed to the buyer, regardless of the outcome of the auction, most often via a third party who would take the work if no higher amount is offered in the room) (See here an other interview of Francis Belin).

A piece of impressionist history

Claude Monet

In the current context the result was rather satisfactory, and the Christie’s team spoke of a “curated” sale, meaning one in which specifically chosen lots would provide a positive indicator, for an opinion of the art market today that is on the alert. In a particularly welcoming room where all the major lots were greeted with applause, a remarkable painting from the beginning of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies series, made around 1897, with a very reasonable estimate of 23 million euros, sold for 28.7 million. A piece of impressionist history.

Adrien Meyer

At the end of a very slow auction, auctioneer Adrien Meyer made no secret of the fact that he expected more, “but the global situation is not favourable…”.

When Van Gogh was in Paris

Vincent Van Gogh

The second star of the sale was a painting by Vincent Van Gogh made while he was in Paris in the summer of 1887. “Moored Canoes”, produced in the summer of 1887, already shows a lighter palette than during his Dutch period but without being marked by its swirls of the paintbrush and thick paste that would go on to characterize its most extraordinary vein( See here and here the reports about the show dedicated to Van Gogh in Auvers sur Oise).

The canvas, with an estimate of 26 million euros, reached 28.8 million euros. It belonged to the Bourbon des Deux Siciles family who acquired it in 1991 for 2.1 million euros. Recently it was offered, in vain, in a private transaction with a price of 50 million dollars. The market is no longer overheated around the big names.

Zao Wou Ki

Zao Wou Ki

Finally, a spectacular triptych measuring 3.9 metres dating from 1980 by one of the most prized signatures in Chinese art, Zao Wou Ki – the Beijing painter emigrated to Paris in 1948 – went for 10.9 million euros compared to an estimate of 8.9 million euros. It was acquired in 1988 by French collectors.

The surprise Rhee Seundja

Rhee Seund Ja

But the real surprise of the sale came from contemporary artists with several world records. This was the case, for example, of the Korean abstract painter Rhee Seundja (1918-2009). “Jamais vu de mémoire d’arbre” (Never seen in a tree memory) an abstract pointillist work dated from 1963-1965, went for 1.1 million euros. On May 24, 2024, a painting in the same vein by the painter sold for 964,000 euros in Hong Kong. She lived in Paris from 1951. It is interesting to note that the art market precedes institutions in terms of its recognition.

Lucy Bull

Lucy Bull

Still pertaining to France, the High Art gallery in Paris promoted the work of an American abstract painter, Lucy Bull (born in 1990) in 2021. The canvas with fluid textures and bright colours, 3 meters wide, created the same year with an estimate of 570,000 euros, was sold for 2.1 million euros. From professional source,in 2021 her work was trading for around 100,000 dollars at the maximum. Lucy Bull is now represented by the American David Kordansky gallery. A market anomaly which suggests a speculative phenomenon has already been underway for several months.

Ronald Ventura

Ronald Ventura

The same goes for the artist from the Philippines, an art star in this part of the world, Ronald Ventura (born in 1973). His Instagram account, which has 97,300 subscribers, presents him as “one of the leading personalities of Southeast Asia. One of his canvases painted in 2021, in a figurative style reminiscent of collage, was sold on September 26 for 4.2 million euros while it had been estimated at 207,000 euros. On May 24 2024 another of his paintings sold for what was then already a record: 2 million euros.

Speculation

While the art market continues to speculate in Asia around certain contemporary artists, this at least has a positive impact. An indication that the field is not amorphous, contrary to the effects that all the economic and political signals sent by the world ought to generate.

Sanyu

For Yuki Terase, based in Hong Kong and co-founder of the influential agency, Art Intelligence Global, which advises collectors, “this season Christie’s has made a remarkable effort to elevate Hong Kong to the level of London and New York.” The geostrategy of art is gradually being reshaped.