Over the past week, the local art scene has seen many high-profile auctions, with the renowned Phillips and Poly Auction collaborating for the first time on the “20th Century and Contemporary Art Evening Sale,” bringing a very eye-catching auction to the local art scene. Prior to the auction, it was already known that this unprecedented collaboration would also be live-streamed, allowing collectors from around the world to closely follow the proceedings. In the end, 94% of the 32 lots were sold, achieving a total sales of HK$388 million (NT$1.42 billion), a very impressive result, especially considering the severe challenges Hong Kong is facing once again due to the pandemic, with both parties grateful for the strong support from all sides.
At the auction tonight, the most eye-catching piece is undoubtedly the painting of a little girl titled “Greenhouse Girl (White Room III)” created by Yoshitomo Nara during his studies in Germany in 1995. It was finally sold for HK$130 million (including commission), not only dominating the auction house but also becoming the first artwork to break the hundred million mark since Phillips entered Hong Kong. The painting “Greenhouse Girl,” with an estimated price of HK$50-70 million, started with an opening bid of HK$24 million and quickly surpassed the upper estimate after a few bids. During the bidding, a representative from Poly Auction even bid HK$9 million in one go, but such aggressive bidding did not deter other collectors from entering the fray. In the end, Nicholas Wilson, the Asia Pacific CEO of Phillips, successfully bid HK$87 million on behalf of a collector over the phone, officially entering the “hundred million club” after commission and becoming the second most expensive artwork by Yoshitomo Nara, second only to “Behind the Knife” which was sold for a record-breaking HK$195 million last year.
“The Greenhouse Girl” is so important not only because it appeared earlier than “Hidden Behind,” but also because at that time, Nara Yoshitomo, who was studying art in Cologne, Germany, was deeply depressed due to years of living alone, which brought back deep childhood melancholy. Therefore, the expression on the face and sitting posture of the little girl in the painting completely reflected Nara Yoshitomo’s emotions and psychological state at that time, making the painting both rare and precious.
At this year’s preview event, Phillips meticulously prepared a Japanese room setting exhibition hall for “Greenhouse Girl,” but Jean-Michel Basquiat, known as the “most expensive American artist in history,” was equally impressive. The organizers reserved a whole corner for Basquiat to showcase different creations, including the second-place winner in this auction, “Ancient Scientist,” created in 1984. In the end, the painting was sold for a hammer price of HK$58.3 million.
This “Ancient Scientist” painting, measuring 167.7 x 154 cm, features a background in all black by Basquiat, with a portrait of a figure with vivid eyes and distinct facial features. From a distance, it resembles an African tribal mask, while the bottom is dominated by floral motifs, created by Basquiat using collaged paper printed with colors from a not yet popular color printer at the time. Interestingly, analysis suggests that Basquiat often visited the Brooklyn Museum during his lifetime, where coincidentally a mask very similar to the one described above was stored. It is believed that “Ancient Scientist” was inspired by this collection, further proving Basquiat’s tendency to turn what he saw and heard during museum visits into some of his best works.
Among the 32 items in the entire field, the attending artists are all masters with the highest status and fame in the art world. This auction welcomed a deal that is hailed as a work of art genius – the third place in the entire field, the landscape oil painting “River at Sunset” by Matthew Wong, born in Hong Kong. The selling price of “River at Sunset” reached $37.76 million, also setting a new personal record for Matthew Wong’s sales; unfortunately, this talented artist could not witness this moment with his own eyes, as he passed away last year at the age of 35, which is very regrettable. “River at Sunset” is a large-scale landscape painting painted by Matthew Wong a year before his death, measuring 203.2 x 178 cm, depicting the romantic beauty of the riverbank at dusk, accompanied by various colored leaves on both sides and the warmth of the setting sun. Transitioning from a career in writing to photography, and then from photography to painting, many critics in the art world have pointed out that Matthew Wong’s landscape works have a very vivid emotional expression, with colorful colors, even suggesting that his creations evoke thoughts of contemporary British master David Hockney, “Fauvist” Matisse, and of course, the art history genius Van Gogh.
