Thursday marked the end of the 5-day Christie’s Auction in Hong Kong, and thank goodness as I’m starting to run short of MC Hammer references. Christie’s managed to beat it’s pre-auction estimates of HK$1.8 billion even though 214 items from the 2,400 piece lot remain unsold. Preliminary estimates indicate that the auction house took home HK$2.1 billion from the sale as fevered bidding for higher quality art drove prices skyward. According to Bloomberg, “the most expensive lot was a Qing Dynasty enamel brushpot bearing Emperor Qianlong’s mark, which fetched HK$67.5 million. Another Qing Dynasty brushpot, made of white jade, sold for HK$54.1 million.” As for contemporary artists, people still showed love for established brands. Works by well-known painters did the best with Yue Minjun, Cai Guoqiang, and Zhang Xiaogang taking home HK$12.6 million, HK$ 74.2 million, and HK$22.7 million respectively.
Since Hong Kong is the world’s 3rd largest art market, right after New York and London, interest in what was bought may be indicative of where the forum is headed. Overall, participants at this auction were more careful in what they went after. An attendee at the auction, a Beijing art dealer named Tian Kai, stated, “bidders are starting to discriminate among different works by the same artist.” The message an artist conveys in his work is key as that is what adds significant value. For example, a piece by Yue Minjun, Execution, went for $HK 12.6 million in London this past October whereas another similarly sized piece by the artist, Red Boat, went for HK$6 million this week at Christie’s. The difference in price boiled down to the essence of the paintings. Execution references the infamous 1989 crackdown in Beijing whereas Red Boat, surprise surprise, shows some dudes standing in front of a boat. Hmmm, I guess being pretty just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Jessica Simpson, watch out, your time may soon be up.
Image: Execution by Yue Minjun
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