The highlights of the top three spring auctions in Hong Kong 2020

The 2020 spring auctions in Hong Kong have come to an end. Articks is delighted to share the highlights of the markets and the artists performance according to the lots and auction records of the three major spring auctions in Hong Kong: Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips.

Superior artists but rarely appear in the market

In Spring auctions 2020, Articks has paid full attention to Adrian Ghenie, Matthew Wong, Tetsuya Ishida, Takeo Yamaguchi and Jia Aili, five well-recognised powerhouse and influential artists in the art industry. Their works rarely appear in the secondary art market, but each of their work sells at a significant price due to the great demand :

ADRIAN GHENIE - “On the Road to Tarascon 2“
2013/ Oil on canvas 210 x 160 cm
Estimate: HKD 27,000,000- HKD 37,000,000
Price realised: HKD 33,725,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: The Romanian painter, Adrian Ghenie is well-recognised and admired by his peers and he was regarded as one of the leading figures of contemporary artists. From his painting “On the Road to Tarascon”, it shows that Ghenie mastered at oil painting, he created a sharp contrast between light and dark by using the technique of scraping and dripping the oil paint.

MATTHEW WONG “Warmth”
2017/ Oil on canvas 68 x 50 cm
Estimate: HKD 400,000- HKD 600,000
Price realised: 2,625,000 (PHILLIPS)
Highlight: Known as the “modern Van Gogh”, the talent of the late Chinese-Canadian artist, Matthew Wong is highly recognized by the art industry. He often deploys a wide-ranging color, tonal, and mark-making vocabulary to delineate psychological and metaphysical spaces at once familiar and uncannily strange. The painting “Warmth” has made his debut in the Phillips Hong Kong, it was also his second painting that appeared in auctions.

MATTHEW WONG “Homecoming”
2017/ Oil on canvas 100 x 80 cm
Estimate: HKD 460,000- HKD 640,000
Price realised: HKD 3,000,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: “Homecoming” is very likely to be a portrait of Matthew Wong's secluded life after his return to the studio in the countryside of Edmonton, Canada. Although he was a prolific artist, he rarely created works in such size, just like “Homecoming”, which made it more worth collecting.

JIA AILI “Untitled”
2014/ Oil on canvas 154 x 149 cm
Estimate: HKD 1,400,000- HKD 2,200,000
Price realised: HKD 3,365,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: The works of the Chinese artist, Jia Aili strongly show his style, he expresses himself by using semiotics and often creates scenes like the end of the world in surrealistic style. The number of his work was so limited which made it more precious. As a result, his works rarely appear in the secondary art market, they are usually large paintings that are always sought after by collectors.

TAKEO YAMAGUCHI “Yellow Quadrangle”
1959/ Oil on board 183 x 183 cm
Estimate: HKD 2,000,000- HKD 3,000,000
Price realised: HKD 15,125,000 (Christies)
Highlight: The late Japanese artist, Takeo Yamaguchi was the most iconic figure in the history of Japanese abstract art. He creates his works with the idea of minimalism, the minimalist geometric shapes, thick coated paint, as well as the iconic and distinctive palette: black, ochre yellow and reddish brown. The power of simplicity and the steadfastness have made Yamaguchi's works stand out from the crowd. The artist focused on the texture of the medium and the creative process, which he explored the depth and breadth of the paints with only a few colours. The work “Yellow Quadrangle'' was created in 1959, also the most remarkable time of the artist. The worth noting thing was, this piece of work was the largest lot of Yamaguchi; if you wanted to see how highly skilled the artist is, you must have to view the painting in person closely.

ISHIDA TETSUYA “Rooftop Refugee”
1996/ Acrylic on board 145.8 x 103.3 cm
Estimate: HKD 2,000,000- HKD 3,000,000
Price realised: HKD 4,685,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: The late Japanese artist, Ishida Tetsuya expressed various social issues of the modern world, satirise the anxieties and the unrest of daily life through his works with surrealism. His works are rarely seen on the secondary art market, plus, this piece of work marked the debut of the artist, its preciousness has made it very collectable.

Collectors Spotlight

The following artists have been the spotlights of the market in recent years. Their works were sold at the price which higher than estimated, or even broke the highest transaction record:

NICOLAS PARTY “Still Life”
2015/ Pastel on Canvas 170 x 180 cm
Estimate: HKD 3,2000,000- HKD 4,200,000
Price realised: HKD 7,925,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: The second highest individual transaction records.

NICOLAS PARTY “Still Life”
2017/ Pastel on Canvas 227.8 x 81.5 cm
Estimate: HKD 3,800,000- HKD 4,800,000
Price realised: HKD 5,917,000 (PHILLIPS)
Highlight: The third highest individual transaction records.

AYAKO ROKKAKU “Untitled”
2008/ Acrylic on Canvas 150.4 x 190.4 cm
Estimate: HKD 500,000- HKD 700,000
Price realised: HKD 1,375,000 (PHILLIPS)
Highlight: The second highest individual transaction records.

JAVIER CALLEJA “WHAT?”
2018/ Acrylic on Canvas 195 x 162 cm
Estimate: HKD 300,000- HKD 500,000
Price realised: HKD 3,725,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

GENIEVE FIGGIS “Arty Party”
2019/ Acrylic on Canvas 149.8 x 99.6 cm
Estimate: HKD 550,000- HKD 750,000
Price realised: HKD 2,000,000 (PHILLIPS)
Highlight: The second highest individual transaction records.

EDDIE MARTINEZ “Florida #2 (Mailbox Margie)”
2018/ Silkscreen ink, oil, spray paint, enamel and paper towel on Canvas 190.5 x 243.8 cm
Estimate: HKD 2,400,000 – HKD 3,800,000
Price realised: HKD 8,285,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: The second highest individual transaction records.

MR. “True to Myself, Poyo Mix, Append”
2012/ Acrylic on Canvas (in 4 parts) 291 x 727.2 cm
Estimate: HKD 3,200,000- HKD 4,200,000
Price realised: HKD 5,215,000 (Sotheby's)
Highlight: Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

DANIEL ARSHAM “Grey Selenite Eroded Porsche”
2019/ Selenite, hydrostone 71.1 x 152.4 x 45.7 cm
Estimate: HKD 800,000- HKD 1,200,000
Price realised: HKD 1,625,000 (PHILLIPS)
Highlight: The third highest individual transaction records.

IZUMI KATO “Untitled”
2011/ Oil on Canvas 130 x 80 cm
Estimate: HKD 350,00- HKD 550,000
Price realised: HKD 875,000 (PHILLIPS)
Highlight: The second highest individual transaction records.

The new spotlights of Hong Kong

The works of the following artists have been featured in the auctions in Hong Kong and made remarkable result:

MR.DOODLE “Red Zap”
2019/ Acrylic on Canvas 122 x 183 cm
Estimate: HKD 120,000- HKD 220,000
Price realised: HKD 525,000 (Sotheby's)
Highlight: Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

JOYCE PENSATO “Mickey The Doudz”
2017/ Enamel and metallic paint on Linen
Estimate: HKD 700,000 – HKD 1,200,000
Price realised: HKD 1,500,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: Joyce Pensato passed away in 2019, this piece remained the highest auction record at all time.

PETER SAUL“Two Napoleons Crossing the Alps”
2015/ Acrylic on Canvas 203.2 x 177.8 cm
Estimate: HKD 900,000- HKD 1,200,000
Price realized: HKD 2,500,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

Madsaki “Corn “
2017/ Acrylic and aerosol on Canvas 170 x 170 cm
Estimate: HKD 400,000- HKD 600,000
Price realised: HKD 1,500,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: Madsaki's wife is the main character of the painting. The artist has held his solo exhibition in Hong Kong and exhibited his spoof graffiti, including the works based on classic scenes of Hong Kong films.

HAJIME SORAYAMA “Untitled”
2001/ Acrylic and pencil on Board 72.4 x 51.2 cm
Estimate: HKD 50,000 – HKD 80,000
Price realised: HKD 375,000 (Christie's)
Highlight Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

Chinese youth artists

The works of the following Chinese youth artists have also achieved good results, they have broken their individual auction records:

CHEN KE “1955 - NEW YORK - 29 YEARS OLD”
2016/ Oil on Canvas 200 x 130 cm
Estimate: HKD 1,500,000- HKD 2,500,000
Price realised: HKD 3,605,000 (Christie's)
Highlight: Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

HAO LIANG “Poison Buddha 2”
2010/ Ink on Silk 162.5 x 90.5 cm
Estimate: HKD 6,000,000- HKD 10,000,000
Price realised: HKD 16,975,000 (Sotheby's)
Highlight: Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

HUANG YUXING “Enlightening”
2016- 2018/ Acrylic on Canvas 230 x 320 cm
Estimate: HKD 1,000,000- HKD 2,000,000
Price realised: HKD 8,645,000
Highlight: Broke the highest auction records of the artist himself.

The market of Yoshitomo Nara is turning weak

The works of Yoshitomo Nara sluggish in the art market. 18 pieces of work were auctioned at the Hong Kong Spring auction, with a total value of HKD 100 million, her top three transaction prices are listed as follows: 

YOSHITOMO NARA “Three Stars”
2014/ Acrylic on jute mounted on Board 180.5 x 158.5 cm
Estimated: HKD 26,000,000 - HKD 36,000,000
Price realised: HKD 28,975,000 HKD (Sotheby's)

YOSHITOMO NARA” Keep Your Chin Up”
2001/ Acrylic on Canvas 193.5 x 259.3 cm
Estimated: HKD 18,000,000 - HKD 28,000,000
Price realised: HKD 25,135,000 (Sotheby's)

YOSHITOMO NARA “Long Sleeves A Go-Go”
2001/ Acrylic on Canvas 178.5 x 178.5 x 25 cm
Estimated: HKD 16,000,000- HKD 22,000,000
Price realised: HKD 244,175,000 (Sotheby's)

#AdrianGhenie #MatthewWong #TetsuyaIshida #TakeoYamaguchi #JiaAili
#AYAKOROKKAKU #JavierCalleja #GenieveFiggis #EddieMartinez #Mr #NicolasParty
#DanielArsham #IZUMIKATO #MrDoodle #JoycePensato #Madsaki #PeterSaul
#HAJIMESORAYAMA #HAOLIANG #HUANGYUXING #CHENKE

Photo credit：Christie's、PHILLIPS、 Sotheby's