New Chinese Collectors Expected To Come Out In Force, Buy Scarce Works By Blue-Chip Chinese Artists
Coming on the same weekend as the much-anticipated Ullens Collection auction in Hong Kong, Sotheby’s Contemporary Asian Art auction on April 4 will likely see new Chinese collectors crowding in and jamming the telephone lines — word is that Sotheby’s is adding a record number for this auction — to secure pieces from blue-chip Chinese contemporary artists like Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi, Liu Ye and Wang Guangyi. With 153 lots up on the block estimated at over HK$121 million (US$16 million), expect to see pre-sale estimates far surpassed by collectors who were (or weren’t) also able to take home some masterpieces from the April 3 Ullens auction. With prices for some of China’s top artists continuing to march upward, approaching (or matching) established Western artists, this auction should prove a good follow-up to last October’s autumn auctions.
While bidding should be strong throughout the auction, here are Jing Daily’s “Top Lots to Watch” on April 4 in Hong Kong:
Zhang Xiaogang: “Bloodline – Big Family” (1995)
Lot: 926
Oil on canvas
Size: 179 x 229 cm; 70.5″ x 90″
Estimates: HK$35,000,000-40,000,000 (US$4,500,000-5,140,000)
Zhang Xiaogang
Yue Minjun: “Contemporary Terracotta Warriors No. 9” (Set of 25) (2006)
Lot: 942
Bronze
Size: 190.5 (H) x 61 x 61 cm; 75″ (H) x 24″ x 24″
Estimates: HK$14,000,000-18,000,000 (US$1,794,800-2,307,600)
Yue Minjun
Liu Ye: “The Rietveld-Schröder House At Nightfall” (1998-2003)
Lot: 921
Oil on canvas
Size: 99.8 x 99.8 cm; 39.25″ x 39.25″
Estimates: HK$5,000,000-6,000,000 (US$645,000-775,000)
Liu Ye
Hai Bo: “I Am Chairman Mao’s Red Guard” (Set of Two) (2000)
Lot: 1016
Photograph
Size: 61 x 43 cm; 24″ x 16.75″
Estimates: HK$20,000-30,000 (US$2,600-3,900)
Hai Bo
Zeng Fanzhi: “Mask Series” (1998)
Lot: 1004
Colored pencil and pastel on paper
Size: 14 x 12 cm; 5.5″ x 4.75″
Estimates: HK$140,000-200,000 (US$18,000-25,700)
Zeng Fanzhi
Qiu Xiaofei: “Studying No. 3” (2004)
Lot: 916
Oil on canvas
Size: 50 x 70 cm; 19 5/8″ x 27.5″
Estimates: HK$60,000-100,000 (US$7,800-12,900)
Qiu Xiaofei
Wang Guangyi: “Great Criticism Series: Pepsi” (2005)
Lot: 966
Oil on canvas
Size: 120 x 150 cm; 47.25″ x 59″
Estimates: HK$1,000,000-1,500,000 (US$129,000-193,000)
Wang Guangyi
Xu Bing: “New English Calligraphy Series – Poem by Robert Frost (Diptych)” (2003)
Lot: 975
Ink on paper
Size: 132.5 x 69 cm; 52 1/8″ x 27 1/8″
Estimates: HK$400,000-600,000 (US$51,500-77,500)
Xu Bing
Zhang Huan: “To Add One Meter to An Anonymous Mountain” (1995)
Lot: 1015
Black and white photograph
Size: 66.7 x 102.4 cm; 26.25″ x 40.25″
Estimates: HK$80,000-100,000 (US$10,300-12,900)
Zhang Huan
Sui Jianguo: “Discobulus” (2004)
Lot: 960
Bronze
Size: 28.5 (H) x 19 x 12 cm; 11.25″ (H) x 7.5″ x 4.75″
Estimates: HK$40,000-60,000 (US$5,200-7,800)
Sui Jianguo
Yue Minjun: “Hats Series – Acrobatics” (2005)
Lot: 1008
Oil on canvas
Size: 170 x 140 cm; 67″ x 55″
Estimates: HK$3,000,000-3,500,000 (US$386,000-450,000)
Yue Minjun
Wang Qingsong: “Past, Present and Future” (2001)
Lot: 1021
Size: (i) 68 x 82.5 cm; 25.75″ x 32.25″ (ii) (iii) 66 x 110 cm; 26″ x 43.25″
Estimates: HK$200,000-350,000 (US$25,700-45,000)
Wang Qingsong
