“The Era of Asia, The Art of Asia” evening sale on 23 November 2013 at Christie’s Hong Kong totalled HKD934.9 million (USD121.2 million), the highest ever total for the house’s Hong Kong operations. The sale also set new world auction records for Asian artists, with China’s Zeng Fanzhi still holding his own. Art Radar asked four gallerists on the ground to give their insights into the Hong Kong art market following the auction.
View of Christie’s Hong Kong evening sale “The Era of Asia, The Art of Asia”, 23 November 2013. Image courtesy Christie’s Hong Kong.
On 23 and 24 November 2013 Christie’s Hong Kong held their autumn auctions, collectively titled “The Era of Asia, The Art of Asia” (pdf download). Presenting a total of 900 lots, the auctions were divided into four sales of Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art. The sales built on the success of the concept of “East meets West” of the past two seasons, and showcased a broad range of artworks that illustrate what Christie’s calls in their press release “the artistic blend of East and West”. The lots included works by Asian modernist masters as well as by boundary-pushing contemporary artists.
Chu Teh-Chun (Zhu Dequn), Untitled, 1963, oil on canvas, diptych, right: 195 x 129.5 cm, left: 195 x 114 cm. Image courtesy Christie’s Hong Kong.
The evening sale on 23 November, “The Golden Era of Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art” (pdf download), comprised 67 lots, of which 64 sold. The sale included a series of early works from the 1950s and 1960s by iconic modern painters, as well as a group of important contemporary pieces from the late 1980s and early 1990s. This sale alone totaled HKD934,975,000 (USD121,172,760), almost five times the total of Christie’s first auction in mainland China on 26 September 2013.
Editor’s note: All final prices include buyer’s premium, whereas estimates do not.
Luo Zhongli, ‘Spring Silkworms’, 1980, oil on canvas, 205.7 x 124.5 cm. Image courtesy Christie’s Hong Kong.
Zeng Fanzhi, ‘Hospital Triptych No. 3′, 1992(3), oil on canvas, 150 x 115 cm each. Image courtesy Christie’s Hong Kong.
Zeng Fanzhi holds record
A highlight of the sale was Hospital Triptych No. 3, an early work by contemporary Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi, registering as the most expensive work sold at the auction for HKD113,240,000 (USD14,700,000). At the recent Sotheby’s Hong Kong 40th Anniversary Sale on 5 October, Zeng Fanzhi’s The Last Supper broke the record for the most expensive Asian contemporary artwork sold at auction, at a record-breaking HKD180.4 million (USD23.3 million).
Lee Man Fong, ‘Bali Life’, 1962-1964, oil on masonite board, 100 x 243 cm. Image courtesy Christie’s Hong Kong.
Record-breaking lots
Lot 13, a work by modernist Chu Teh-chun (Zhu Dequn, French/Chinese, b. 1920), Untitled, 1963, broke the world auction record for the artist, selling at HKD70,680,000 (USD9,162,538), well above its estimate of HKD30,000,000 – HKD40,000,000. Another world auction record for a Chinese artist went to Luo Zhongli (Chinese, b. 1948) for the sale of Spring Silkworms, 1980 which sold for HKD49,400,000 (USD6,403,925) almost ten times its maximum estimate of HKD10,000,000.
Southeast Asian artist Lee Man Fong (Indonesian, 1913-1988) set the world record price for any Southeast Asian art every sold at auction, at HKD35,960,000 (USD4,661,642) for his work Bali Life, 1962-1964.
Art Radar asked four Hong Kong gallerists to share their insights into the ever changing, ever growing art market in Hong Kong and their reactions to the Christie’s “The Era of Asia, The Art of Asia” auction.
Installation view of “The Part In The Story Where We Lost Count Of The Days” by Heman Chong at Rossi and Rossi, Hong Kong, 2013. Image courtesy Rossi and Rossi.
Fabio Rossi, Owner and Director, Rossi and Rossi, Hong Kong
Hong Kong has become an art hub in the Asia region, seeing the convergence of international galleries, ArtBasel’s presence and international auction houses. What do you think of the art market and its development, and what will the future bring
The art market in Hong Kong and the surrounding region is definitely expanding steadily. However, I think we are still at the beginning of the process, and there is a lot of room for further growth. Regarding Hong Kong specifically, the opening of M+ will most likely be a game changer as it will give the city the world class museum that it is missing at the moment. I also think it is important that the government steps us its support of the arts and specifically of the artists; a healthy art market is not just made of galleries, fairs, auction houses. Artists need to have decent studios at affordable rents.
What do you think about the growing presence of auction houses in Hong Kong and how do their operations affect you as a gallery?
Auction houses have a role to play but cannot replace the fundamental function of the galleries in developing and nurturing artists. At the end of the day, auction houses are only about numbers. In that respect, in the end not all of them might continue their operations: survival of the fittest!
According to you, what are the main aspects of growth in Asian art that are most significant and tangible in Hong Kong and how do they benefit or challenge you?
The first aspect has to be the commercial one: Hong Kong is definitely a city conducive to business. However, the more it becomes a hub, the more it will attract collectors and curators from all over the world and galleries will benefit from the exposure.
Have you changed your business strategies to adjust to the growing competition in Hong Kong?
No. My long-term plan remains the same, which is to give our artists the space to grow and a platform in which to share their work. Competition is very healthy.
What are your thoughts on the results of this past Christie’s sale “The Era Of Asia, The Art Of Asia”?
I am afraid I didn’t follow the auction that closely.
With the increasing number of auctions, what kind of trends do you think are emerging in the Hong Kong art market?
Auctions don’t set trends, they follow them. The main trend I guess is the fact that more and more people internationally are looking at what is happening in Hong Kong, and more galleries are opening branches in the city. These are still early days to see specific trends within the city and its own art market. My wish is that the focus of what’s happening in Hong Kong will stay with artists from the city, the region and the rest of Asia. There is no need to replicate what goes in London or New York or Berlin. It would not work, and it would only be a pale imitation anyhow.
Talking about collectors, who are the main buyers in Hong Kong and what kind of art is selling the most?
There is a mixture of local and western buyers, but there are also many collectors visiting from abroad. The serious collectors are looking for exciting, innovative works. The speculators are looking for the next ‘big thing’.
Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about the art bubble bursting. What do you think about the state of the art market now? Do you register signs of its deflation in your business or is it just going strong and still promising growth?
I think the art market at the very top has become completely detached from reality – or it is maybe just an ‘alternative’ reality. I don’t know whether it will burst or not, but for me it has lost any interest. There are, however, many galleries, like, I hope, us, who continue to develop an interesting programme away from the superficial glamour and glitter. And there are plenty of collectors and curators who loyally support this type of gallery.
“Doublethink: The Art of Kata Legrady and Wang Luyan”, 2013, installation view. Hong Kong Arts Centre, Pao Galleries. Photo by Kwan Sheung Chi. Image courtesy Pékin Fine Arts.
Meg Maggio, Director, Pékin Fine Arts, Beijing and Hong Kong
Hong Kong has become an art hub in the Asia region, seeing the convergence of international galleries, ArtBasel’s presence and international auction houses. What do you think of the art market and its development, and what will the future bring
I think there is too much focus and over-emphasis on the so-called “art market”, high auction prices and such. And these sensational and exceptional tales tend to eclipse the more mundane real-life stories of maturation and development within the art community; and how artists live, work and hopefully thrive within this rapidly developing art community. As museum construction, both private and public continue to grow and/or undergo renovation and refurbishment, and the collector and gallery base continues to expand, the art community will become more healthy and mature, with less focus on price and more attention to critical awareness and better understanding of what the artists want to say through their work and art practice. All of these museums are in need of solid and ambitious programming, and artists will have more opportunities to exhibit their works in Asian museum settings.
What do you think about the growing presence of auction houses in Hong Kong and how do their operations affect you as a gallery?
Auction houses have been working in Hong Kong, and [there have been] Hong Kong-based [ones] for over twenty years. Their presence is nothing new. Now, you can add Mainland auction houses operating in Hong Kong to the already existing pack of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, and Japan auction houses. Actually, Hong Kong is saturated with auction houses and has been for quite some time. The biggest pluses to this phenomenon are that HongKongers get to see (for free) a huge body of artworks each auction season in pre-auction exhibits. For the galleries, the auctions bring more clients to town from overseas, creating a nice gathering place for conversation and exchange of ideas. And I am pleased to see a big growth in charity art auctions at a higher quality level. Hopefully the Hong Kong auction goers will also spend time in art galleries and art museums when they come to town.
According to you, what are the main aspects of growth in Asian art that are most significant and tangible in Hong Kong and how do they benefit or challenge you?
The main aspects of growth in Asian art are the continued development and maturation of the artists, their increased self-confidence and their fearless willingness to explore sensitive subject matter and more personal material. [There’s] less emphasis on artist immigration, and more interest in temporary study abroad at graduate school-level with plans to return to Asia post-graduation as quickly as possible. At the same time, artists are increasingly aware of the need to maintain higher quality standards in materials, art history understanding, coherence, dialogue, personal growth. The demographics are shifting, and there is less need to live abroad, and more interest in building a strong constituency in one’s home community.
In addition, the rapid explosion in museum growth is leading to a stronger collector base. This is very exciting and will further strengthen the local art community reinforcing critical thinking on the intrinsic value of artworks and art practices and art exhibits. With less emphasis on auction results and more attention paid to the artistic rather than monetary value of artists’ works.
The international museums will continue to do exhibits that include artists from Asia, and as the artists continue to mature, more artists from Asia will be invited to do solo museum exhibits in the West or outside of Asia. There will be more museum exhibit exchanges between East and West on the contemporary art level. More high quality Western work will come to Asia, and more high quality Asian contemporary work will be introduced to the West. This trend of contemporary art museum exchanges will continue to grow at both the private museum and gallery level and at the public and government museum level. More art dialogue is good!
Have you changed your business strategies to adjust to the growing competition in Hong Kong?
We opened our Hong Kong gallery one year ago, expanding from our main gallery space in Beijing. I don’t see ‘growing competition’ in Hong Kong as a challenge since we have twenty years of both artist and collector-client-museum relationships. I am attracted by gallery growth in Hong Kong! I am impressed, coming from Beijing’s art scene, by Hong Kongers strong sense of community, whether between and among the art spaces in Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, or within the newly formed Hong Kong Art Gallery Association, or Duddell’s opening with a strong focus by its founding members on contemporary art. And of course, there is the M+ construction and development, along with further growth in other Hong Kong museums. I see and hear conversations occurring much more frequently in regard to how art should develop for and in the community with increased public access to more and higher quality art, as part of what Hong Kong people are entitled to and will demand, by way of improving their quality of life.
What are your thoughts on the results of this past Christie’s sale “The Era Of Asia, The Art Of Asia”?
I can’t say that it really affected me in any way. Although, I did think there were far too many lots. I hear people using the word “marathon” more and more frequently in describing the auction sales. The risk is that audiences will start to get “auction fatigue” when sales are so gargantuan. “More is not always More.” Sometimes “Less is More.”
With the increasing number of auctions, what kind of trends do you think are emerging in the Hong Kong art market?
I put far less emphasis on the auctions. What is already happening in Hong Kong is that greater numbers of high quality exhibits are available to Hong Kong audiences. Hong Kong audiences are starting to develop a “gallery going” culture, meaning on the weekends and even during the week, people start to feel comfortable popping in to art galleries and art museums on a more frequent basis; not simply to attend opening parties, but to see the art and to do a bit more self-education as to what is happening in the Hong Kong art world. There is definitely more “buzz” than ever before around the growth of high quality venues for seeing contemporary art in Hong Kong. I expect this growth continuing to move in new and more Hong Kong neighbourhoods, with critical mass being achieved in neighborhoods such as Wong Chuk Hang, Sheung Wan, Chai Wan, etc.
Talking about collectors, who are the main buyers in Hong Kong and what kind of art is selling the most?
Everyone and anyone is a potential buyer in Hong Kong! The buyers are a diverse mix of local Hong Kong people, Mainlanders, Asian regional neighbours and Westerners. Today, buyers feel less intimidated and more comfortable buying art than ever before. As for individual tastes and selection of works one opts to live with, I believe this varies wildly and that is one of the things that are exciting: buyers, collectors or art exhibit goers are developing higher levels of connoisseurship and more individual tastes, not as easily seduced by “big names” only.
Lately, there has been a lot of discussion the art bubble bursting. What do you think about the state of the art market now, do you register signs of its deflation in your business or is it just going strong and still promising growth?
No bubble, no bursting. So long as the economy stays healthy, so will the art market. As people’s income levels rise more focus will be on improving one’s quality of life, self-education, self-cultivation, developing a healthier, more spiritual and less material lifestyle. Art appreciation and living with art is a vital part of improving the quality of one’s life. I see parents’ willingness to take their kids to see art exhibits, as a form of recreational and educational activity. I see Hong Kong school kids on museum outings. All of these are good signs for future generations!
Of course, we think there is huge potential for further growth, and we see it in the museum expansion, the growing collector interest, the willingness and seriousness of pursuing self-study or evening classes or attending lectures in art history and art criticism in order to acquire a deeper understanding of what motivates artists to make good art! All of this cultural enrichment goes way beyond and is far more of a long-term commitment. These interests are not easily swayed by short-term fluctuations in the market place.
Installation view, Art Statements gallery, Hong Kong. Image courtesy Art Statements.
Dominique Perregaux, Owner and Director, Art Statements, Tokyo and Hong Kong
Hong Kong has become an art hub in the Asia region, seeing the convergence of international galleries, ArtBasel’s presence and international auction houses. What do you think of the art market and its development, and what will the future bring?
Hong Kong has indeed become the trading art hub of Asia, and it is fantastic that the most important art fair, some of the main galleries in the world and the leading auction houses are now in Hong Kong. Art became trendy, and we see now at gallery exhibition openings, fair and auction previews people who were not including art outings in their social agenda before. Yet despite these very positive changes, we are still waiting to see a real interest in visiting exhibitions and for collecting top quality art for the sole appreciation of it. There is still a propensity in the city to consider art as having decorative or speculative purposes. Contemporary artists are neither decorators nor financiers.
Art is about fulfilling our emotional and intellectual needs. The lack of interest for what art is really about may be due to the imbalance of the art ecology in Hong Kong. Despite the presence of these important players, the city is still missing a proper art education programme (starting at school level) and museum-running exhibition programmes that could measure with the ones in Japan or Korea. I therefore hope that, in the future, the city will have a complete and dynamic art ecology that will allow people to build strong art knowledge and appreciation, leading to great regular visits to galleries and museums and to a genuine culture of collecting.
What do you think about the growing presence of auction houses in Hong Kong and how do their operations affect you as a gallery?
Many people buy art at auctions and fairs, but [they] seldom, or never, come to galleries. In Asia, and more and more in the West as well, since living artists are now also having their art sold at auctions, auction results are becoming a benchmark and, for some artists, are more important that the exhibitions they may have done (ie. normally, the value of an artist – the price attached to the art – depends on how strong the biography of the artist is). So in Asia auctions are playing a central role. It is interesting to note that an artist like Yue Minjun, who saw his prices collapse for the past few years, had last year a solo show at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, and now at Macao’s MAM, yet this is not prompting any “bargain hunting”. So in Asia, for a gallery, it is important that the artists represented by galleries are being sold in auction. My hope is that, again with in mind a broader appreciation for the art itself, more people will discover artists through auctions and auction catalogues and will then buy more of these artists’ works through galleries.
According to you, what are the main aspects of growth in Asian art that are most significant and tangible in Hong Kong and how do they benefit or challenge you?
Unfortunately, I still see more interest in making quick money with Asian art than in appreciating art for what it truly is. So the growth in Asian art is mainly the presence of the artists in auctions and how much they fetch. However, one of the positive aspects of the changes in Hong Kong’s art landscape, and somehow disconnected from the auction, is the growth of interest and promotion for Hong Kong artists. More galleries are showing local artists, artists are getting more professional, and a new generation of local collectors (supporting local artists) has appeared.
Have you changed your business strategies to adjust to the growing competition in Hong Kong?
I opened Art Statements in 2004 in Hong Kong. At that time, I was the only gallery showing well known international artists. Since then I have included some Chinese artists (Weng Fen) and Japanese artists (Yoshitaka Amano, Yuichi Sugai). I have to say that even though the profile of the scene has changed, the interest for non-Asian artists is still limited (except for the top big names, very few people in Hong Kong are actually buying them). I started as a collector, and I deeply love art. So I do not adapt what I show at my gallery according to what the market wants, but according to what I like. I also do not feel much pressure as my international artists have big markets in Europe, the United States and countries like Japan or Korea. Yet anticipating the changes in Hong Kong’s art ecology, I am indeed strengthening our team to reach further to people living in the city to incite them to discover and collect more top quality western artists.
What are your thoughts on the results of this past Christie’s sale “The Era Of Asia, The Art Of Asia”?
I don’t have any really. Auction results do not affect my business. The only way I am being affected is by the impact results have on Chinese contemporary art. I am not really exhibiting Chinese artists yet, as in Hong Kong and mainland China the main interest is on Chinese contemporary art, [so] I am dealing a lot of it. The impact of auction results on that side of my business is basically sellers increasing their offers if the results for a specific artist is strong, or buyers lowering their bids if results are weak. What is interesting, though, is to see how Zeng Fanzhi has emerged as almost the last survivor of the cynical realists with the backing of Gagosian and Christie’s or Pinault Foundation. With such support, it is no wonder The Last Supper reached such a high level as this gives speculators a lot of confidence, and yet the biography of Zeng Fanzhi is still extremely weak versus his rating.
With the increasing number of auctions, what kind of trends do you think are emerging in the Hong Kong art market?
As I explained before, auctions are good as they are giving exposure to some of the artists represented by Art Statements. Yet, they are only part of the scene. Museum and gallery shows, as well as, Art Basel Hong Kong are promoting culture, not only the investment aspect of art as auctions do.
Talking about collectors, who are the main buyers in Hong Kong and what kind of art is selling the most?
There are still few world class collections based in Hong Kong. Everybody seems to like art, yet what people buy is not always up to the standard. Even though Hong kong has over sixty galleries, a minority are real galleries representing world class artists, as opposed to shops selling paintings. As i mentioned before, the majority of buyers are still purchasing art either for decoration or for speculation. Speculators focus on Chinese art and people looking for decoration usually buy “cheaper” art as they are not ready to pay up for such purpose. At Art Statements, our top selling artists in Hong Kong are the Japanese Yoshitaka Amano (to collectors from many different profiles), the Australian Dale Frank (mainly to Australian expatriates who know the artist), the Russian collective AES+F and Dutch Erwin Olaf (to collectors from many different profiles who know about these artists).
Lately, there has been a lot of discussion the art bubble bursting. What do you think about the state of the art market now, do you register signs of its deflation in your business or is it just going strong and still promising growth?
Beside the artists we represent and exhibit, Art Statements is also very active in dealing Western Modern Art and Chinese Contemporary Art. Our diversification (Western as well as Asian artists, spaces in Tokyo and Hong Kong, most of our clients are still outside of Hong Kong) and an international model makes us less vulnerable to global trend weaknesses. I may see less mid-price purchases, but real collectors are still active and looking and when great works appear, they would buy them. I see more bubble burstings on specific artists rather than for the market as a whole. So on Art Statements’ side, we are still growing the collector base intentionally for our top selling artists and continue to close important deals on Chinese contemporary art and western masters, which allows us not to be affected by any regional downturns or the weakness of specific artists.
“Duplicator’s Dilemma” solo exhibit by Atul Dodiya, 20 November 2013 – 30 January 2014, installation view, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong. Image courtesy 10 Chancery Lane Gallery.
Katie de Tilly, Owner and Director, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong
Hong Kong has become an art hub in the Asia region, seeing the convergence of international galleries, ArtBasel’s presence and international auction houses. What do you think of the art market and its development, and what will the future bring?
The art scene is moving forward quickly with now 49 members of the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association. This development will bring more collectors onto the art scene that nurture a better understanding and appreciation of contemporary art. We have both large galleries putting on impressive exhibitions and small galleries presenting more challenging yet thought-provoking works.
What do you think about the growing presence of auction houses in Hong Kong and how do their operations affect you as a gallery?
Auction houses work on a time pressure to buy. They contribute by bringing new and established collectors into the arena of art collecting, and we hope then they realise that they may spend more time and study with the primary dealers of those same artists.
According to you, what are the main aspects of growth in Asian art that are most significant and tangible in Hong Kong and how do they benefit or challenge you?
There are more developed art markets such as Korea and Japan and big strides from China. But it is important not to judge art by auction results, but rather by museum collection, curatorial selection and critical attention. Dinh Q. Le from Vietnam has exhibited in MoMA in New York, Vandy Rattana from Cambodia has exhibited at Documenta 13, and Wang Keping is now showing at the UCCA in Beijing. These are areas of growth.
Have you changed your business strategies to adjust to the growing competition in Hong Kong?
An art dealer needs to change strategies daily. Be creative and find new ways to get attention.
What are your thoughts on the results of this past Christie’s sale “The Era Of Asia, The Art Of Asia”?
Asian Art is still developing and has a strong growth potential. All those artists in the auctions started by having exhibitions at primary art galleries who support and promote them. There is a lot to discover, learn, appreciate and collect. Auction results bring a lot of attention as they are so impressive, but intelligent collectors will take that as a starting point to learn how to appreciate art.
With the increasing number of auctions, what kind of trends do you think are emerging in the Hong Kong art market?
If you follow trends you are already too late. Better to set trends and observe what is important art and is NOT selling today.
Talking about collectors, who are the main buyers in Hong Kong and what kind of art is selling the most?
Good art, hopefully!
Lately, there has been a lot of discussion the art bubble bursting. What do you think about the state of the art market now, do you register signs of its deflation in your business or is it just going strong and still promising growth?
Important artists in recent Asian art history have made their marks and will be in the history books. This does not mean that all are selling in auctions for millions. And there is so much more happening now on the developing scene of so many Asian countries. Art collecting should be a labour of love and an enjoyment. Not just a commodity. Learn from your trusted galleries about what they notice is happening as they bring you both emerging and established artists.
C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia
205
Related topics: business of art, Asian art and artists, Asian art auctions, galleries and the art market, events in Hong Kong
Related posts:
Subscribe to Art Radar for more on gallerists’ opinions on the Asian art market