Zao Wou-Ki, Paysage dans la lune, 1954 – 1955, oil on canvas Est. HK$40 million – 60 million / US$5,160,000 –7,740,000 (RM21,317,250 – RM31,975,875)
‘The Sublime – Wou-Ki Zao’ & Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale
Hong Kong Public Exhibition: 30 Sept – 2 Oct | Auction: 2 October
‘Ineffable Beauty’ & Modern Asian Art Day Sale
Sotheby’s HK Contemporary Asian Art Autumn Sale from Oct 2-3 will offer 230 works of Chinese, Japanese and Korean artists with a total estimate of HK$451 million (US$ 57.9 million / RM 239,561,250).
The Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale offers works by artists such as Zeng Fanzhi, Liu Xiadong, Zhang Xiaogang, Ai Weiwei, Kusama Yayoi, Nara Yoshitomo and Lee Ufan among others.
Works of the Indonesian artists such as Hendra Gunawan, Affandi, Ay Tjoe Christine and I Nyoman Masriadi head Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art sale in October.
The day sale on Oct 3 will be held in conjunction with other sales, namely, Modern Asian Art, Contemporary Asian Art, Classical Chinese Paintings and #TTOP.
The sales are part of Sotheby’s Hong Kong Autumn 2016 auction from Oct 1-5 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Amidst a soft market situation, The Edge Auction 2016 concluded its fourth annual sale with 45% of the 150 lots sold with sales recorded slightly over RM1 million.
Despite a crowd of about 200 people who turned up for the auction held at Hilton Kuala Lumpur, the mood in the hotel ballroom where the auction was held was rather subdued. Bargain-hunters had a field day picking up works of their choice at the low estimates.
Lee Cheng Yong’s Veiled Figures, circa 1956
Khoo Sui Hoe’s Bathers Two, 1966-1999
Contrary to the popular notion of perennial record prices at art auctions, the majority of sales genuinely transacted are typically within the estimates stated. Provided such estimates are based on actual reserve prices and not incredibly low.
There are, of course, exceptions when the consignor is eager to sell without reserve. But even then, the estimates won’t be so low as to appear suspicious to astute auction buyers. Is it any wonder why works with remarkably low estimates always elude the buyer in the auction room?
As far as auctions are concerned, the local art market seems to have gained a level of maturity with regular buyers generally being more cautious and guarded when it comes acquiring seemingly “hot” artworks.
And given the prevailing market sentiment over macro-economic conditions, prospective buyers and even the newer “investors” are less gung-ho and more circumspect in their acquisitions.
Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal, Memory of Bintan, 2000, Acrylic on canvas, 85cm x 123cm, bottom right
Over 100 lots of Southeast Asian artworks with many fine paintings by top artists will be up for sale in The Edge Auction 2016 on March 20 in Kuala Lumpur.
Following Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale on Oct 4 in Hong Kong, the auction company’s Day Sales of Modern Asian Art, Contemporary Asian Art and Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art which concluded on Oct 5 yielded a combined total of HK$819,257,000 (RM460,911,510).
Summary
Contemporary Asian Art
Many people often ask questions about insurance premium rates for art and jewellery coverage.
A professional art and jewellery insurance policy should cover on a worldwide basis including but not limited to fire, water damage, theft, robbery, burglary, and/or accidental damage that maybe caused during an exhibition or display, wearing, hand-carrying, packing and unpacking, and moving.