Sotheby's Hong Kong Results, Day Two - April 9,2008 on the second day of Sotheby’s spring 2008 sales at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, sales of Chinese Contemporary Art, totaled HK$403,042,750 (US$51,734,568)
News-Antique.com - Apr 15,2008 - SOTHEBY’S SPRING SALES OF
CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART IN
HONG KONG TOTAL HK$403,042,750 (US$51,734,568)
HIGHEST TOTAL EVER FOR A SALES SERIES OF
CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART AT SOTHEBY’S
__________________________________________________________________________________________
THE FIRST PART OF THE ESTELLA COLLECTION BRINGS HK$139,352,000 (US$17,887,223),
FAR EXCEEDING ITS HIGH ESTIMATE
(EST. HK$93.6 MILLION / US$12 MILLION)
REMAINDER OF ESTELLA COLLECTION TO BE OFFERED AT SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK THIS AUTUMN
ZHANG XIAOGANG’S BLOODLINE: THE BIG FAMILY
NO. 3, COMMANDS HK$47,364,500 (US$6,061,619),
A RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION
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VARIOUS-OWNERS SALE OF CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART ACHIEVES HK$263,690,750 (US$33,847,345)
LIU XIAODONG’S BATTLEFIELD REALISM:
THE EIGHTEEN ARHATS SELLS FOR HK$61,927,500 (US$7,949,014),
A RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION
[HONG KONG, April 9, 2008] – Today in an overflowing salesroom, on the second day of Sotheby’s spring 2008 sales at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, sales of Chinese Contemporary Art, both property from various-owners and the first part of the Estella Collection, totaled HK$403,042,750 (US$51,734,568), the highest sales series of Chinese Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s (est. HK$270,958,000/362,910,000 / US$34,738,205/46,526,923*). The various-owners sale was highlighted by Liu Xiaodong’s Battlefield Realism: The Eighteen Arhats, which sold for HK$61,927,500, a record for the artist at auction (US$7,949,014), and the centerpiece of the Estella Collection was Zhang Xiaogang’s Bloodline: The Big Family No. 3, which commanded HK$47,364,500 (US$6,061,619), far exceeding its high estimate and setting a record for the artist at auction (est. HK$19.5/27 million / est. US$2.5/3.5 million). The work was purchased over the phone by a Taiwanese Private Collector living in the United States.
Discussing the results from Estella Collection Evelyn Lin, Head of the Contemporary Chinese Art Department, Sotheby’s China and Southeast Asia, said, “We’re delighted with the results of today’s sale, which was 97% sold by value and 90% sold by lot and clearly demonstrates the continuing strength in the market for Chinese Contemporary Art. Further, our results show a market which is gaining in sophistication as collectors move beyond paintings and sculpture to compete and categories such as video and installation works. There was robust competition from across Asia but we saw international bidding and buying at all levels of the market as well.”
The Estella Collection
The first part of the Estella Collection, which comprised of over 108 works and included seminal pieces by prominent artists such as Zhang Xiaogang, Ai Wewei, Cai Guo-Qiang and Xu Bing, as well works by emerging artists, brought HK$139,352,000 (US$17,887,223), (est. HK$66,215,000/93,625,000 / US$8,489,102/12,003,205). The remainder of the Collection will be offered in New York this autumn.
This remarkable group of Chinese Contemporary Art documented social trends that arose out of recent pivotal moments in Chinese history through the eyes of some of the most instantly recognizable names in the field. The Estella Collection was significant for its unique embrace of the artistic medium ranging from the more traditional works on paper and paintings, to video installation, sculpture and photography. It was featured prominently in two acclaimed exhibitions at leading international museums and was published in the catalogue, China Onward: The Estella
