After record-breaking numbers at auctions and art sales in Hong Kong earlier this year there was a concern that excess liquidity may have been lost in the recent market turbulence, and the autumn sales would struggle to find buyers. However by the end of an active bidding evening it was clear that the investment passion for art is still beating strong.
Kevin Ching, CEO of Sotheby’s Asia, said: ‘We are pleased that our evening sale of Modern and Contemporary Asian Art has achieved a solid result of HK$595,626,250 (US$76,362,340), with 85.7% of the lots sold and records set for two contemporary Asian artists.
The sale was led by an important large, early abstract work by Kusama Yayoi which attracted competition from five bidders and sold well in excess of its high estimate to bring HK$54.52 million and Wu Guanzhong’s Peach Blossoms which fetched an impressive HK$44.44 million.
The auction house was also thrilled to see the tremendous price achieved for the painting Paradise, a collective effort by Zeng Fanzhi and Jack Ma, founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, to raise awareness for environmental protection.
After around 30 bids, the lot was sold to Chinese businessman Mr Qian Fenglei for HK$42.2 million, nearly seventeen times the high estimate of HK$2.5 million. All proceeds will benefit The Paradise International Foundation in support of its environmental conservation initiatives.’
