ART HK 10 reports strong sales figures, lists major artworks sold
Posted by artradar on June 16, 2010
ART HK ART FAIR SALES ARTWORKS LISTED
Strong sales figures have been reported since the third Hong Kong art fair drew to a close in late May this year. Million dollar sales of artwork by Zhang Xiaogang and Damien Hirst, plus high-priced sales of works by Anish Kapoor and Yoshitomo Nara, suggest the event is now able to comfortably position itself as one of the world’s top art fairs.
“It’s our second time at the Fair and sales this year are up 100%. We sold to collectors from Japan, Taiwan and Beijing. I think the fair has increasing energy in the way Miami Art Basel had when it launched,” Johann Nowak, Director, DNA, Berlin.
A post-event press release from ART HK 10 listed six major transactions made at the event:
The Inescapable Truth (2005) by Damien Hirst, sold by White Cube for £1.75 million.
The Inescapable Truth (2005) by Damien Hirst is the first formaldehyde work by the artist to be shown in China.
Green Wall – Husband and Wife (2010) by Zhang Xiaogang, sold by Pace Beijing for US$1 million.
Zhang Xiaogang's Green Wall - Husband and Wife (2010)
More Light (1988) by Sean Scully, sold by Galerie Lelong for US$750,000.
Untitled (2010) by Anish Kapoor, sold by Lisson Gallery for £550,000.
Composition with Bamboo and Grass (2007-08) by Liu Ye, sold by Sperone Westwater for US$650,000.
Liu Ye's Composition with Bamboo and Grass (2007-8)
Rock’n Roll the Roll (2009) by Yoshitomo Nara, sold by Marianne Boesky Gallery for US$350,000.
Yoshitomo Nara's Rock'n Roll The Roll (2009)
Gallerists and dealers had a mostly positive response to this year’s fair and what they had to say seems to mirror the high sales figures reported.
“The response to our solo exhibition by Liu Ye exceeded my expectations. Sales were made to new collectors from Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, and Singapore and to a prominent New York collector. There is so much positive energy here. We look forward to returning next year,” David Leiber, Director and Partner, Sperone Westwater, New York.
“We’ve met some very interesting collectors from other countries in Asia. The level of sophistication and interest in Western art is rising exponentially in Asia,” Ben Brown, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong and London.
Art Radar Asia was determined to hunt down first-hand perspectives of galleries in attendance this year and spoke with 19 during ART HK 10. Reactions to the fair were as varied as the galleries we spoke with. Read what they had to say here.
CBKM/KN
Related Topics: events – fairs, market watch, venues – Hong Kong
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- What did the galleries say about ART HK 10? Art Radar Asia speaks to 19 dealers – June 2010
- Surprising sell-through rates for Chinese art recorded in London’s February auctions – March 2010
- Performance of Asia tops West for first timers at auction in 2008/09 – November 2009
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Jing Daily said
I think that the sales results from ART HK 10 indicates that the recovery of Chinese contemporary art is being driven primarily by the growth of the “new Chinese collector.” Their buying habits and spending are starting to parallel the growth in sales and consumption of luxury goods in China. As we’ve seen in recent auctions in Hong Kong and elsewhere, Mainland Chinese collectors (together with a broader Asian collector base) are highly motivated to buy works from antiquities to top Chinese contemporary artists.
Mainland collectors are becoming a real force in the auction market, and they’ve only just begun. From the trends of the last six months or so, it’s probably not an exaggeration to say that these new buyers should drive prices higher, and we’ll see Chinese contemporary artists continuing to break records and surpass their old ones in coming years. Quite simply, these Chinese “new collectors” don’t need to watch Western auctions to know who they should be buying — they’re already informed and they know what they want, which is, for the most part, work by Chinese artists.