Greenhouse Girl Of Yoshitomo Nara Sold For HKD $103 Million, Hong Kong's Modern And Contemporary Sector Still Popular On December 3
Following the victory of the December auction season in Hong Kong on December 2nd, the game on 3rd is still exciting. A total of 308 lots were presented on this day, and 287 were sold, with a total turnover of HKD $702,666,375. Yoshitomo Nara became the champion of sales today. Artists Matthew Wong,Nguyen Phan and Vu Cao Dam set new personal records.
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale of Phillips in Association with Poly Auction
On December 3rd, 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale of Phillips in Association with Poly Auction has assembled a series of important masterpieces in the history of Eastern and Western art, that received a total of HKD $387,995,000, closing with a sold-by-lot rate of 93.5%. Yoshitomo Nara and Basquiat became the champions respectively, and the third place belongs to Matthew Wong, a young artist who is extremely popular on market this year, and set his new personal record!
Top1 Priced Work: Greenhouse Girl of Yoshitomo Nara
The champion of the sale was received by Greenhouse Girl of Yoshitomo Nara. The picture perfectly blends the iconic features of his creation, an girl with over-proportioned big head, chubby cheeks and sharp eyes that look directly at the viewer. The work was created in 1995, and is the cover of a collection of works published by Yoshitomo Nara in 2011.
The work was estimated at HKD $50-70 million before auction. After the bidding started, the atmosphere was intense. It is the first lot in the bidding competition list. After 29 round of bids, the work was finally sold to client commissioned by No.346 telephone with HKD $103 million. This is the second work Yoshitomo Nara that has exceeded HKD $100 million, and it is also his second highest priced work.
Top2 Priced Work: Ancient Scientist of Basquiat
Ancient Scientist was created by Basquiat at the age of 24. This painting was inspired by Picasso. At the bottom of the picture, a paper collage with flowers as the protagonist, echoes the title of "Ancient Scientist". These multi-layers of implication, showing the unique aesthetic value of Basquiat. The work was finally sold for HKD $458.33 million。
Top3 Priced Work: Sunset River of Matthew Wong
Sunset River is a large-scale work of nearly two meters high. It was completed a year before Matthew Wong's unfortunate death. The painting turned into a romantic view of the river at dusk, with lush green leaves on both sides, covered in the golden sunset that brings the viewers on the scene.
It was estimated at HKD $7-10 million before auction. After 24 rounds of fierce bidding, it was finally sold for HKD $37.76 million, and a new auction record of the artist was created!
The Dark Horses
In this show, Group Dance of Salman Toor, Wir of Bernard Frize, Dust of Emily Mae Smith are the dark horses that achieved outstanding results, all of which were sold significantly above their estimated prices. Among them, Bernard Fritze's new transaction record was born in this auction!
Modern and Contemporary Art Morning Session of Christie's
Modern and Contemporary Art Day Sale of Christie’s was divided into two sessions in the morning and afternoon, presenting masterpieces of famous artists from both East and the West. In the morning session, a total of 139 works of modern art masters were displayed, received HKD $107 million, with 92.1% sold-by-lot rate and 57.1% of the lots were higher than the estimated price. Nguyen Phan and Vu Cao Dam has renewed their personal record in this auction.
Top1 Priced Work: Chanh Les Couturières (Seamstresses At Work) of Nguyen Phan
Chanh Les Couturières (Seamstresses At Work) was painted in the summer of 1930. The work uses intricate geometric composition methods to create the scenery. Four beautiful, dignified young women who are busy at sawing works are brought to the audience. The size of the painting is rare, the pre-sale estimate was HKD $4.8-5.8 million, and it was finally hammering at HKD $10.93 million including commission fee, that received the Top1 crown of turnover and setting a new personal record.
Top2 Priced Work: Leopard of San Yu
San Yu's Leopard is the runner-up in this field. The work has appeared in auction for the first time since he gave it to collector as a gift in the 1950s. It was estimated at HKD $3-5 million before the auction, and finally sold for HKD $8.65 million.
Top3 Priced Work: Bathe of Vu Cao Dam
Another person who broke his personal record in this auction is the Southeast Asian artist Vu Cao Dam. Nude paintings are exceptionally rare in his art career. Bath uses delicate brushes to dilute the pigments in order to create a translucent form. This masterpiece was estimated at HKD $1.8-2.4 million before the auction, and was final sold with as price of HKD $8.05 million that is 261.11% over the estimation, including commission fee, setting a new record for the artist.
Modern and Contemporary Art Afternoon Session of Christie's
Modern and Contemporary Art Afternoon Session of Christie's included a total of 151 masterpieces of modern and contemporary masters from East and the West. A total of HKD $207 million was obtained. The sold-by-lot rate was 94%, and 60.2% of the works were sold above their estimated price. The top three were from Liu Ye, Yayoi Kusama and Zao Wou-Ki. Artists like Matthew Wong and Ayako Rokkaku also performed well.
Top1 Priced Work: Boy With Fish No. 2 of Liu Ye
Boy With Fish No. 2 of Liu Ye has a rather rare subject. According to the artist's catalogue, the theme of "Child and Goldfish" has only appeared three times. The picture is unique, the composition and content are mysterious. The work received HKD $15.85 million as the most expensive work in this session.
Top2 Priced Work: Pumpkin of Yayoi Kusama
Pumpkin was painted in 1989, from Egyptian blue to bright yellow, from dark green to pumpkin orange, the color combination is fantastic. This work has been in the private collection for nearly 30 years and it's the first time appeared on market. The appraisal is only HKD $4.8-6.8 million, it was finally sold at HKD $15.25 million including commission fee with 160.42% ultra-underestimation rate.
Top3 Priced Work: 04.12.85 of Zao Wou-Ki
04.12.85 painted by Zao Wou-Ki is a magnificent piece with smooth and ethereal colors of ink wash. This feature is quite similar to Zhang Daqian's "splashing ink" and "splashing color" techniques. The work was finally sold for HKD $ 13.45 million, which is within the estimate price.
The Dark Horses
The Birds II of Matthew Wong only received an appraisal of HKD $150,000 to 250,000, and the final underestimation rate was 1166.67%, it was sold at HKD $2.375 million. The work Untitled of Ayako Rokkaku was estimated at HKD $3.5-55 million, the underestimation rate was 442.86%, with a price of HKD $2.375 million. These two became the dark horses with their exceptional performances!
