Recently, Christie's 2024 Hong Kong Spring Auction Preview was held at Christie's Art Space on the Bund in Shanghai. The exhibition showcases a selection of lots from various categories, including 20th and 21st century art, Chinese porcelain and crafts, Chinese paintings and calligraphy, jewellery and jadeite jewellery, and fine watches. Chen Yifei's "Xunyang Rhyme", Wang Junjie's "Shangri-La", and Rainey Margaret's "Travel" were unveiled in the exhibition.
Works from the 20th and 21st Century Art Section in this preview include Chen Yifei's The Legacy of Xunyang, Wang Junjie's Shangri-La and Renée Marguerite's Travel. Chen Yifei is an iconic figure in the world of modern Chinese painting, and his 1991 masterpiece The Rhyme of Xunyang has always been the focus of the art market, setting a record for the highest auction price of an oil painting in China. This painting not only represents the pinnacle of Chen Yifei's art in terms of artistic expression and technical achievements, but also has won high praise internationally. "In the work, you can see that the clothes are from the old Shanghai style, but the model is the image of the supermodel at that time, I think it is a fusion of the present and the ancient, a bit like the visual sense of the movie, re-completed on the canvas. This is also a good interpretation of Shanghai-style culture, because the purpose of Shanghai-style culture is integration, and this painting integrates ancient and modern, Chinese and Western elements. Zhuang Jun from Christie's 20th & 21st Century Art Department introduced. Also unveiled in the Shanghai preview exhibition is a rare large-scale oil painting "Shangri-La" by Wang Junjie. This work is one of the few large-scale works created by the artist since he resettled in Edmonton in 2017, and is one of the five largest oil paintings known to have been created in 2017.
The Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Department presents a selection of lots from the "Ten Perfections – Wangxinglou Collection of Qing Dynasty Official Kiln Porcelain" for a single collector. Since the 80s, the owner of Wangxinglou has established a collection of official kiln porcelain with his advanced vision, mainly Qingsheng treasures. In this lot, Qing Yongzheng's "glaze red wave cone arch Canglong godson picture plum vase" is particularly eye-catching, with excellent craftsmanship and meticulously painted seawater dragon patterns with rich meanings, reproducing the glorious prosperity of Yongzheng Imperial Kiln in front of the audience.
The Department of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy gathers a number of important private collections at home and abroad, presenting masterpieces of modern and contemporary masters such as Zhang Daqian, Qi Baishi, Lin Fengmian, Huang Binhong, Wu Guanzhong, Shi Lu and others. The Magnificent Jewellery & Jadeite Jewellery division presents a stunning 2.68 carat Fancy Vivid purple-pink diamond ring, continuing Christie's tradition of offering the finest pink diamonds to collectors at auction. This season's Christie's Hong Kong Fine Watches Spring Auction brings high-profile Patek Philippe, the 1953 18K Gold Double Crown Patek Philippe World Time and other high-quality watches. The preview offers art lovers and collectors the opportunity to see a wide range of masterpieces up close, as well as to gain a deeper understanding of Christie's Hong Kong Spring 2024 auctions.