A Tale of Two Cities: Spring Auctions in Hong Kong and Shanghai
By Louis Lu
Christie’s evening sale of 20th and 21st century art at its Asia Pacific headquarters in The Henderson, Hong Kong, on March 28, 2025. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.
As Art Basel Hong Kong drew to a close on March 30, all eyes turned to the major auction houses, where both Christie’s and Sotheby’s had aligned their spring marquee sales with the fair for the first time. Would the fair’s energy and robust attendance—which was considered across the board as a bellwether for a recovering market—translate into bidding in the auction room? Do the back-to-back sales offer any insights about collector confidence across Greater China?
Hong Kong
Christie’s evening sale of 20th and 21st century art in Hong Kong delivered generally positive signals about the Asian art market, bringing in HKD 560 million (USD 72 million) with fees. The house drew over 7,000 visitors to its pre-auction exhibitions amid the busy March art week.
The evening saw a 95 percent sell-through rate, with 39 of 41 lots finding buyers. In spite of this, most works sold at or near their low estimates, with the total hammer price of HKD 457.3 million (USD 58.8 million) landing just 6 percent above the sale’s aggregate low estimate.
As the sale’s only eight-figure lot, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s vibrant Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night) (1984) claimed the evening’s top spot, selling to an Asian collector for HKD 112.6 million (USD 14.5 million) with fees. The result represents a healthy gain for the seller, who purchased the work at Christie’s London in 2019 for USD 10 million.
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night), 1984, acrylic, silkscreen, oil stick, and paper collage on canvas, 195.6 × 223.5 cm. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.
Modern masters performed at a steady pace, with Zao Wou-Ki’s 28.8.67 (1967) achieving HKD 48.8 million (USD 6.27 million) as the evening’s second-highest-valued lot. René Magritte’s Rêverie de Monsieur James (1943) sold at HKD 47.6 million (USD 6.1 million), while Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s sun-drenched La Promenade au bord de la mer (Le Bois de la Chaise Noirmoutier) (1892) exceeded its high estimate of HKD 28 million (USD 3.6 million) to reach HKD 34.86 million (4.5 million). The offering of European works continued with a Magritte gouache and watercolor work, La clairvoyance (c. 1962), which sold at HKD 28.8 million (USD 3.7 million), while a small Marc Chagall from 1975–78, entitled Autour de l'equilibriste, found a buyer at HKD 14.9 million (USD 1.9 million).
On the contemporary front, blue-chip staple Yayoi Kusama’s warm yellow pumpkin painting, PUMPKIN (HRU) (2014), raked in HKD 39 million (USD 5.1 million), exceeding its high estimate of HKD 35 million (HKD 4.5 million). Chinese artist Zhang Enli’s 2002 triptych Intimacy set a new artist record at HKD 23.4 million (USD 3 million), despite landing within estimates. Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie’s Untitled (After Henri Rousseau) (2020) sparked heated bidding, soaring past its HKD 15 million (USD 1.93 million) high estimate to reach HKD 23.4 million (USD 3 million). Several other contemporary works matched or surpassed expectations: Antony Gormley’s State II (2011) sold for HKD 6.55 million (USD 843,210), Lee Ufan’s East Winds (1983) for HKD 6 million (USD 778,350), and Izumi Kato’s Untitled (2008) for HKD 2.5 million (USD 324,300) against a HKD 2 million high estimate.
The sale was swift, lasting for about an hour, and was not without its disappointments. An untitled Yayoi Kusama canvas, dated 1970, failed to find a buyer against estimates of HKD 12 to 18 million (USD 1.5 to 2.3 million)—a signal of collectors’ increasingly selective approach, even for established artists. Overall, the sales figures indicate an art market still in its recovery phase, with the evening’s overall total reaching just over half of what the house achieved in its inaugural sale at The Henderson last September.
MARC CHAGALL, Fleurs de printemps (La Cruche aux fleurs de printemps), 1930, oil on canvas, 72 × 60.6 cm. Courtesy Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
Over at Sotheby’s, the evening sale totaled HKD 297.6 million (USD 38.2 million), which was just over 50 percent of Christie’s equivalent sale, despite the house reporting 35,000 visitors to its pre-sale exhibition—significantly higher than Christie’s numbers. 40 of 42 lots sold for a 95 percent sell-through rate, not including four withdrawals.
European masters delivered reliable results. Marc Chagall’s Fleurs de printemps (La Cruche aux fleurs de printemps) (1930) claimed the top lot position at HKD 34.5 million (USD 4.5 million), setting a new Asian auction record for the artist. Other stable performances included Henry Moore’s Working Model for Reclining Figure: Prop (1976) at HKD 20.5 million (USD 2.6 million), Pablo Picasso’s Le miroir (1947) at HKD 18.7 million (USD 2.4 million), and Renoir’s Baigneuse accoudée (1882) at HKD 23.6 million (USD 3.04 million).
Following the slowdown in Chinese spending, results for Chinese Modernists demonstrated slightly adjusted price levels. Zao Wou-ki’s 31.08.2001–09.09.2002 (2001–02) sold within estimate at HKD 14.4 million (USD 1.85 million), while Chu Teh-Chun’s Neige de mai (1986–87) reached the high end of its estimate at HKD 8.3 million (USD 1.1 million). Two Wu Guanzhong paintings, A garden of Suzhou (1977) and Snow in Beijing (1978), achieved HKD 9.53 million (USD 1.23 million) and HKD 7.87 million (USD 1.02 million), respectively. Among contemporary artists, Yayoi Kusama’s sculpture Starry Pumpkin (2019) achieved HKD 15 million (USD 1.9 million), just shy of its low estimate. Nicholas Party’s pastel Grotto (2019) matched its high estimate at HKD 15 million (USD 1.93 million), showing positive signs despite the artist’s relatively quiet 2024, while Georg Baselitz’s Dreieck zwischen Arm und Rumpf (1977) realized HKD 11.4 million (USD 1.46 million).
Emerging and Southeast Asian artists saw some significant results. Chinese artist Ji Xin’s Piero della Francesca-inspired painting Dawn (2021) achieved HKD 2.5 million (USD 327,000), while Li Hei Di, who recently joined Pace gallery’s roster, saw her Drifted Petals on Her Lifted Mound (2022) sell for HKD 1.4 million (USD 180,000), well above expectations. Vietnamese painter Mai Trung Thứ’s two works surpassed their high estimates, one nearly doubling its high estimate.
Shanghai
Following closely on the heels of a subdued yet steady Hong Kong sale, Christie’s Shanghai evening sale of 20th and 21st century art—the house’s first major contemporary art auction in mainland China this year—delivered underwhelming results. The hour-plus sale achieved CNY 78.65 million (USD 10 million), with only 40 of 53 lots finding buyers and a meager 75.4 percent sell-through rate.
Zeng Fanzhi’s Mask Series No. 4 (1997), a signature work from his iconic mask paintings, claimed the evening’s top spot at CNY 17.85 million (USD 2.3 million), reaching the upper bounds of its CNY 10 to 18 million (USD 1.28 to 2.31 million) estimate. Another Asian master that performed well was Kazuo Shiraga, whose 1966 gestural work Outo Shoukou fetched CNY 11.79 million (USD 1.5 million) against a high estimate of CNY 10 million (USD 1.28 million). Chu Teh-Chun’s blue abstraction Explosion celeste (1986) achieved CNY 7.56 million (USD 973,000), within its estimate range.
ZENG FANZHI, Mask Series No. 4, 1997, oil on linen, 169 × 199 cm. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.
The evening’s most significant pass was Zao Wou-Ki’s Zitterlein (1956), which was estimated at CNY 20 to 30 million (USD 2.6 to USD 3.86 million). Blue-chip artists and European masters performed decently: Yayoi Kusama’s Sunflower (1987) realized CNY 5.67 million (USD 729,800), while Giorgio de Chirico’s Sgombero su piazza d’Italia (1968) exceeded its high estimate to achieve CNY 4.16 million (USD 535,410).
Particularly noteworthy was how Chinese contemporary artists born in the 1950s and '60s demonstrated some kind of a revival. Apart from Zeng Fanzhi’s leading result, Zhou Chunya’s vivid Peach Blossom No. 2 (2005) surpassed expectations at CNY 2.89 million (USD 371,955), while Ding Yi’s intricate Appearance of Crosses 2018-7 (2018) reached CNY 1.51 million (USD 194,350). Zhang Enli, who set a record in the house’s Hong Kong sale a few evenings ago, continued the momentum with Wash Off the Dyeware (2012), which achieved CNY 1.07 million (USD 137,720), well above its CNY 680,000 (USD 87,520) high estimate.
The market proved to be more challenging for midcareer Chinese artists. Chen Ke’s six-meter triptych Yesterday’s Me, Tomorrow’s You (2012) failed to attract bidders at its opening price of CNY 10 million (USD 1.28 million), while works by Wei Jia and Jia Aili also went unsold.
While established names continued to find steady support, the varying performance across different artist segments points to a maturing market that is becoming increasingly discerning. As Southeast Asian collectors emerge as significant players and the region’s art scene gains prominence, questions arise about how these shifting dynamics will reshape the auction landscape. How will burgeoning art hubs influence the region’s market preferences? Which artists will maintain their presence, and which might fade from the spotlight? These questions await answers in the seasons ahead.
Louis Lu is an associate editor at ArtAsiaPacific.
