In recent years, modern art has continued to be popular in the auction market. In 2021, the total turnover of global "modern art" reached 2.7 billion US dollars, making it the second largest category in the auction market. However, the structural transformation of collectors also brings new opportunities and challenges.
Preview of modern art at the evening sale
Sotheby's Hong Kong
2022-04-27
5/F, Phase 1, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong
Preview of modern art at a daytime auction
Sotheby's Hong Kong
2022-04-28
5/F, Phase 1, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong
Sotheby's Hong Kong Spring Auction 2022 is about to kick off, and in order to meet the strong demand of collectors for the world's top modern art, Sotheby's continues to deepen the modern art market and more systematically present East Asian, Southeast Asian and Western modern art to meet the collection needs of different collectors. The frequent appearance of high-end artworks can be said to be extremely rare. Wu Guanzhong's pink-based oil painting "Red Plum" is unique in the auction scene; the film tycoon Sir Run Run Shaw's masterpiece "Night Feast" by Chen Yifei, which has been treasured for 30 years; Picasso's portrait of "Dora Mare", which debuted at the Asian auction; Chagall's "Peony", which debuted at the auction for the first time in 50 years, and the masterpieces of Southeast Asian modern art such as Zhongli, Gunawin, Zhong Sibin and Le Maier, which are eye-catching and also confirm the upward vitality of the modern art market.
As Sotheby's Spring Auction 2022 in Hong Kong approaches, Artron Art Network & Art Headlines held a special dialogue with Sotheby's Asia Head of Modern Art, Guo Dongjie, to gain an in-depth understanding of the blockbuster "modern art" of this season's spring auction and the new trends in the art market through his perspective.
Guo Dongjie, Head of Modern Art at Sotheby's Asia
Artron Art Network: In 2021, the art market recovered strongly, with the total turnover of Sotheby's "Modern Art" in Hong Kong exceeding HK$2 billion, the highest in Asia. Do you predict that the modern art market will be better in 2022?
Guo Dongjie: In 2022, I think the modern art market will continue to deepen. From the operation of experts and auction companies, for Chinese, Southeast Asian and Western modern art, there will be a more systematic development in the dissemination and collection of heavyweight masterpieces to meet the strong demand of collectors for the world's top modern art.
Artron Art Network: For the current market environment, what are the new strategies and preparations for sotheby's modern art sector in Hong Kong?
Guo Dongjie: Sotheby's Modern Art section continues to collect top collections from around the world for our clients and collectors through careful planning and in-depth academic research. This season, we are honored to collect the Sir Run Shaw collection, including Chen Yifei's realistic masterpiece "The Night Feast" and the important oil paintings of Southeast Asian masters Zhong Sibin and Le Maier, so that the evening auction will bring wonderful lots in both Chinese and Southeast Asian modern art.
Zhong Sibin, "Brother and Sister"
Oil on canvas, 1967, 99 x 81 cm
Estimate: HK$700,000 - HK$900,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
LeMeyer, "The Four Beauties of Bali in LeMeyer's House"
Oil on canvas, 1954-1957, 89.5 x 111 cm
Estimate: HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
In addition, we presented the top work "Red Plum" by Chinese international master Wu Guanzhong, as well as the cover work "Facing the Wind" by Zhu Dequn's largest solo exhibition in his lifetime; in Western modern art, we took pictures of Picasso's 1930s Lover and Muse Museum and portrait "Dora Mare".
Zhu Dequn "Windward"
Oil on canvas, 1989, 200 x 360 cm
Estimate: HK$20,000,000 – 30,000,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Artron Art Network: What is the overall situation of the "Modern Art" section of sotheby's Spring Auction in Hong Kong this season?
Guo Dongjie: The total valuation of this season's "Modern Art Evening Auction" is close to HK$500 million, and we still take a relatively average proportion of Chinese, Southeast, and Western modern art. We want to meet the collector's collection needs and be close to their taste orientation. We will continue to maintain the fixed list of Chinese modern artists in the past, and hope to bring more Southeast Asian art works that have been very popular in recent years, so that everyone can discover the brilliance and its international appearance. At the same time, we vigorously support Western modern art, and vigorously promote excellent Western works to enter the vision of Asian collectors and make them better integrate into their collections, so the checks in the selection of works must be more precise and rigorous.
Zao Wou-Ki, "11.06.93"
Oil on canvas, 1993, 130 x 97 cm
Estimate: HK$13,000,000 - 20,000,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Li Huayi,"Immortality"
Ink silk (a pair of double-fold gold leaf floor screens)
Painted in 2011
Per screen: 168.5 x 185 cm
Full-scale: 168.5 x 370 cm
Estimate: HK$7,500,000 - HK$12,500,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Artron Art Network: There are two works by Wu Guanzhong in the modern art evening auction that have attracted much attention: "Red Plum" created in 1973 (estimated at HK$90 million to HK$120 million) and "Xishuangbanna Village" (12 million to 22 million Hong Kong dollars) created in 1994.
Guo Dongjie: "Red Plum" is the peak period of the artist's oil painting creation, a self-portrait masterpiece in the early 1970s with plum blossoms, and it is also the only artist's pink main oil painting in the international auction. The age of the creation of the work is very critical, representing his restart at the most difficult time of his life, showing his positive attitude towards life.
Wu Guanzhong "Red Plum"
Oil on canvas framed on wood, 1973, 89.6 x 70 cm
Estimate: HK$90,000,000 - HK$120,000,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Another Wu Guanzhong masterpiece in the evening auction, "Xishuangbanna Village", is a very rich oil painting published and exhibited by the artist. Xishuangbanna has always been an important theme of the artist's creation, which combines the composition and impressionist colors of the Northern Song Dynasty landscape, and is a masterpiece of the artist's excellent oil painting.
Wu Guanzhong", "Xishuangbanna Village"
Oil on canvas, 1994, 76.5 x 60.5 cm
Estimate: HK$12,000,000 - 22,000,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Artron Art Network: Chen Yifei has repeatedly set new auction records for Chinese oil paintings, and this season Sotheby's collected "Night Feast" that Shaw has treasured for 30 years.
Guo Dongjie: Chen Yifei's "Night Feast" is a masterpiece of realistic oil paintings that Sir Run Run Shaw has treasured for 30 years, and it is also the top one in the artist's portrait works and the largest number of musicians. "The Night Feast" shows his return to China in the mid-1990s since he went to the United States in the 1980s, and whether it is an important turning point in his career and art, the same product can only be found in important national museums, private art galleries and institutional collections. Therefore, we believe that "The Night Feast" is undoubtedly of great collectible value for collectors.
Chen Yifei", "Night Feast"
Oil on canvas, 1991, 137 x 208 cm
Estimates are pending
(Estimated transaction price of over HK$50 million)
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Artron Art Network: Last year, 6 lots in the modern art sector exceeded 100 million transactions, of which 3 were Picasso's works, and won Picasso's Asian auction record in one fell swoop. This season, A portrait of Picasso's "Dora Mar" debuted on asian auctions. In your opinion, will Picasso's works perform better and better in the Asian market?
Guo Dongjie: Picasso is one of the most representative of the modern masters in the West, and his position in art history and global popularity are unparalleled. Last year, Sotheby's Asia was proud to bring three of Picasso's top three works from the post-war period and set a new record for Picasso's top three in Asia.
Top three for Asian auctions of Picasso's works
Pablo Picasso, The Woman on the Knee (left)
Price realised: HK$191,651,000
Pablo Picasso, The Matador (medium)
Price realised: HK$139,946,000
Pablo Picasso," Bust of a Man (right)
Price realised: HK$108,923,000
This season we continue to challenge our ability to collect, bringing to Asia the first portrait of Picasso's pre-World War II portrait of Dora Mare, which was important among his lovers. We hope that Asian collectors can enjoy the beauty of the best Picasso's works as they did in auctions in New York and London, and continue to lead the Picasso art market. At the same time, it is committed to continuing to explore more Western modern art in the Asian market and making them more popular among the regional collectors.
Pablo Picasso, "Dora Mare"
Oil on wood panels, 1939, 60 x 45.5 cm
Estimates are pending
(Estimated transaction price of over HK$138 million)
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Artron Art Network: In addition to Picasso's works this season, what other Western artworks in the modern section are worth paying attention to?
Guo Dongjie: In addition to Picasso, we have also brought a series of very wonderful works by Western artists, such as Rodin's sculpture "Eternal Spring", which is a precious version of his work during his lifetime. There is also Renoir's "Sitting Bather", a companion work now in the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, which was once in the collection of Monet, and the two can be directly benchmarked, making this work comparable to a museum-level collection.
August Rodin's Eternal Spring
Second form, reduced version of the second version or "size four"
Black patina bronze carving
It was conceived in 1884; this miniature version was conceived in 1900
This model was minted between 1908 and 14
51.8 x 67 x 32.5 cm
Estimate: HK$3,500,000 - 5,500,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
In addition, Marc Chagall's "Peony" is also an important treasure for the artist's debut. Among the dark and orderly red buds in the work, there are occasionally several pure white and goose yellow flowers waiting to be released and competing with each other, conveying the beauty of abundance and auspiciousness. Purchased by the original collector in 1975 from the Marg Gallery in Paris, the original collector's family has inherited it for many years without being exposed, and has been unveiled at an international auction for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Mark Chagall, "Peony"
Oil, tempera and wood chips on canvas, 1969, 92 x 73 cm
Estimate: HK$12,000,000 – HK$18,000,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Artron Art Network: In recent years, more and more Asian collectors have begun to buy Western art. In 2021, Sotheby's set a new auction record for Western modern art in Asia for HK$714 million. In your opinion, what is the trend of Asian collectors?
Guo Dongjie: The thirst of Asian collectors for Western art can be said to be increasing day by day. In my opinion, Asian collectors have a broad vision, a very macro international concept, and a very fast learning ability. Over the past two or three decades, Asian collectors have gradually systematized their collection of Asian masters, and then they have begun to focus on Western modern art.
Looking to the future, I think Asian collectors have a very positive attitude towards Western art's interest in and buying.
Fernando Soppel," Untitled
Oil on canvas
Circa 1964-65
144 x 112.5 cm
Estimate: HK$3,500,000 - 5,500,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
Bernard Buffy, "Fairy Danielle Buffy"
Oil on canvas, 146 x 97 cm, 1971
Estimate: HK$1,300,000 - HK$2,500,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
George Matthew, 1429
Oil on canvas, 97 x 195 cm, 1982
Estimate: HK$2,000,000 - 4,000,000
Modern art evening sale
April 27, 2022
(This article comes from Artron Art Network, the author Li Baoxing, if there is infringement, contact to delete)