In the face of the complicated art market situation in 2020, China Guardian actively fights against the pandemic and adjust its strategy according to the situation. Although Guardian Hong Kong, the most important part of Guardian's global strategy, is absent from the Spring Auction, the autumn has performed satisfactorily. Through the positive efforts of Guardian Hong Kong, it has achieved considerable success in 2020. After the epidemic in 2021, the global art market has fully recovered. After Spring Auction in Europe and the United States, Hong Kong Spring Auction will officially raise its hammer in middle and late April. As one of the important auction companies in Hong Kong, Guardian Hong Kong has gone through eight years. Recently, ArtPro conducted a special interview with Hu Yanyan, managing director of China Guardian and President of China Guardian (Hong Kong), to introduce the upgrading plan of guardian Hong Kong Spring Auction in 2021 in terms of collectors’ service and its blockbuster products.

Interviewee: Hu Yanyan, managing director of China Guardian and President of China Guardian (Hong Kong)

Interviewer: Li Shuai Xie Mu, ArtPro (ArtPro for short)

ArtPro: What did you think of the Hong Kong art auction market in 2021 after 2020 COVID-19?

Guardian Hu Yanyan: compared with 2020, 2021 is better, but it is still very difficult compared with that before the pandemic. As the global COVID-19 is still grim, our team can hardly go to Europe, America, or Southeast Asia. However, we have three professional teams: painting and calligraphy, oil painting, porcelain workers, especially porcelain workers and directors of the 20th century, who can travel more freely than others. With their shuttle between Taiwan and Hong Kong and the help of overseas phone calls, we have completed the collection of this season's auction lots, and the lots collected are also excellent.

ArtPro: what's the status of the collection of spring photos of Gardner in Hong Kong in 2021? What are the main difficulties?

Guardian Hu Yanyan: compared with 2020, 2021 is better, but it is still very difficult compared with that before the pandemic. As the global COVID-19 is still grim, our team can hardly go to Europe, America or Southeast Asia. However, we have three professional teams: painting and calligraphy, oil painting, porcelain workers, especially porcelain workers and directors of the 20th century, who can travel more freely than others. With their shuttle between Taiwan and Hong Kong and the help of overseas phone calls, we have completed the collection of this season's auction lots, and lots collected are also excellent.

Recently, Guardian Hong Kong team has been constantly reporting good news, such as the 20th century and contemporary art. We held a grand preview of spring photography at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Before that, we did two small boutique exhibitions in Hong Kong, and the results were very good. This has brought us great confidence. The audience can reach almost 2,000 people every day, which is very lively.

ArtPro: This Spring Auction is the first time that Guardian Hong Kong held in the Convention and Exhibition Center. It's a breakthrough. Does it mean that Guardian Hong Kong's future Spring auction will be held there as well?

Guardian Hu Yanyan: our autumn photography has been previewed in the Convention and Exhibition Center, but the spring photography has not. This year's spring and autumn photography will be previewed in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. This place has a very good venue. In addition to the preview of the products, we have also increased the collectors' collection exhibition. During the preview period, the whole spring photography activities are very rich.

ArtPro: can you tell us something about the collectors’ personal collection exhibition?

Guardian Hu Yanyan: China Guardian (Hong Kong) and Youyitang jointly held the first "Hundred Rivers Meet the Sea - Youyitang's Collection of Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition" on April 17th at the Exhibition Hall 5FG of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. At the same time, it was held at the pre-exhibition site. During the pre-exhibition, friends from the Hong Kong collection community can get together and learn about the art treasures that have been listed and weren’t in market yet.

This exhibition will present more than 130 fine works of Chinese painting and calligraphy collected by lawyers Tang Chunan and Cai Kezhao, who are also very senior and famous collectors in Hong Kong. The exhibition will bring together many important works of Chinese painting tycoons, such as Zhang Daqian, Qi Baishi, Xie Zhiliu, etc. This exhibition publishes a very beautiful picture album, which can be presented to you at the opening of this exhibition.

ArtPro: What would you like to share about the 2021 Guardian Hong Kong Spring Auction?

Guardian Hu Yanyan: first of all, the porcelain industry is extremely competitive in Hong Kong. In recent years, Guardian Hong Kong has developed its own characteristics and formed differentiation. In addition to our efforts in porcelain, we also have some wonderful works in this Spring Auction, such as two porcelain vases in Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. The Blue And White Alum And Red Cloud Dragon Pattern Nectar Bottle and Blue-and-white Glaze Red Tangled Lotus Pattern Wishful Ear Vase are very beautiful. A cap rack in Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, which is decorated with gold lacquer and powder, which is decorated with gold ground and cloud dragon pattern is the only one in the market, which is very rare and precious.

In addition, there is also a wonderful jade plate in the porcelain crafts plate. There are not only personal collections, but also collections from various collectors, among which there are also some impressive small animal-shaped pieces. The birds before are very popular with collectors. This Spring Auction will present White Jade Monkey from the Warring States period. The surface of the work is crystal-clear, polished, and sharp, which means auspicious. It's a good art piece to enjoy. We hope it can get good results and become the “monkey king”.

The 20th century and contemporary art sector are also one of the sectors steadily rising in recent years in Guardian Hong Kong. This time, I am deeply impressed by two works: Yoshitomo Nara's Sprout, which is different from the previous works. It is also a symbol of hope or growth. Especially in the context of the recovery of the whole world in 2021, it can awaken people's warm hearts. The other one is Cai Guoqiang's Kuafu Running Ofter The Sun, which is a rare masterpiece at the beginning of the artist's exploration of the universe. It is slightly different from the previous explosion works. It is Cai Guoqiang's works in Quanzhou in the 1980s. The early works are rare in the market and are bound to attract the collectors' enthusiastic attention.

The painting and calligraphy part has always been the strong point of Guardian. This time, we are still the fresh products that have never entered the market. The works here are very interesting after sorting them out. The most important one is Mr. Lin Yutang's Handwriting Broken Gold Greeting Cards photograph. This collection is vast and rich in content. The number and time span of works are only seen in the market. It is divided into five volumes according to the age. It is a large number of handwriting that Mr. Lin Yutang has never published from 53 to 81 years old. It is the only one in the market with complete preservation! It is also the most important and precious historical material for the study of Mr. Lin Yutang, which will attract the attention of many collectors.

ArtPro: There are so many works of art worth looking forward to in the 2021 Guardian Spring Auction in Hong Kong. What are the changes or new development ideas for collectors' services?

Guardian Hu Yanyan: This year is the second year of the pandemic. We can't communicate with many collectors face to face, and many collectors from the Chinese Mainland can't come to the auction in Hong Kong to in person. We will provide more online services, such as pictures, videos, remote connections, etc.

As the access to Hong Kong is still restricted this year, online trading and service platforms will inevitably become an important pillar of Guardian's auction in Hong Kong. In the Spring Auction of 2021, China Guardian's website will be used as a proxy auction website to allow everyone’s interaction through this channel. For collectors in Hong Kong, we will provide comfortable auction space and attentive service. Guests in Hong Kong can go to the exhibition center to visit the auction hall and feel the excitement on-site directly.

ArtPro: How do you feel during your eight years as the President of Guardian Hong Kong?

Guardian Hu Yanyan: for a long time, Guardian Hong Kong has been a platform for China Guardian to move towards internationalization. In such a small land as Hong Kong, there are major international and domestic auction companies. The competition in art auctions is fiercer than that in the Chinese mainland. Guardian Hong Kong has not been easy in the past eight years. We have established a professional team and experienced some twists and turns. The directors and backbones of the business team have been changed, which is also the process of our exploration. However, in the past two years, the three teams of calligraphy and painting, porcelain, 20th century and contemporary art have been very stable, which makes me very happy and makes the business of Guardian Hong Kong move forward steadily.

Besides, Guardian Hong Kong's operation and back-office services are also operating better and better, in a more and more standardized manner. With the expansion of the auction business and the abundance of auction items, the division of operation has become more and more standardized and meticulous. In terms of organizational structure, Guardian Hong Kong has become a very complete and stable company, which can be said to be small but comprehensive.

Guardian Hong Kong also has a lot of support and interaction with China Guardian. Every year, we will return some auction products in Beijing through Hong Kong. Guardian Hong Kong has also made a lot of effort and work. Next, we will continue to do it in Hong Kong and differentiate our business. On the one hand, Beijing Guardian and Guardian Hong Kong have differentiated their business; on the other hand, Beijing Guardian and Guardian Hong Kong have differentiated their business Compared with several other auction houses in Hong Kong, Guardian Hong Kong is also making efforts to differentiate ourselves, constantly finding its strengths and advantages in terms of price, auction structure, and even the style of works, and carrying them forward. We still have great expectations in this respect.

Also, Guardian Hong Kong only made a big auction last year, but the whole team is in a very full state of mind. Besides this big auction, it also made a lot of small auctions and exhibitions, which makes Guardian Hong Kong profitable in 2020 when the environment is difficult. I hope that 2021 will be a good harvest year. I also hope that Hong Kong can open its door in the second half of the year. We will fly to Hong Kong for a very grand celebration for the first time.

As President Hu said, let's hope for 2021 and look forward to the performance of the Hong Kong Spring Auction in 2021. We will wait and see what kind of achievements Guardian Hong Kong will achieve in 2021. Please follow ArtPro for more information on the global art market and its continuous attention.