Christie’s Hong Kong held two evening auctions, including the themed auction Art of the Artisans, as well as the 20th and 21st Century Art Evening Auction, with a total sales of approximately 1.49 billion Hong Kong dollars. The total sales of 20th and 21st Century Art alone surpassed all auction houses in Asia, also becoming the second highest total sales in the history of Christie’s Asian evening auctions, a truly inspiring achievement!
The following will combine two evening auctions to summarize the top 5 highest-priced contemporary art pieces sold.
NO. 5 Yayoi Kusama: Pumpkin (LPASG) Z
Final Price: HKD 62,540,000
Pumpkins are the most revered subject in Yayoi Kusama’s art world. The artist was born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, and was deeply fascinated by the pumpkins grown in her family’s fields as a child. In the early 1940s, she began to have hallucinations, and around the same time, she started painting pumpkins.
This full-bodied “Pumpkin (LPASG)” was created in 2013 and is an iconic pumpkin painting. The iconic golden color combined with the rare square composition, using only black and yellow, perfectly creates depth and shadow variations with large dots at the bulging parts of the gourd and small dots at the connecting parts. The pumpkin is surrounded by a dense interwoven network pattern in the background, another iconic element of the artist. The three-dimensional pumpkin seems to have a rounded texture, attracting viewers into Yayoi Kusama’s deep and intricate inner world.
NO.4 Wong Yu-hing: “Seven Treasures Pine Picture”
Sold for: HKD 64,830,000
Between 2016 and 2019, Huang Yuxing created the stunning seven-screen masterpiece “Seven Treasures Pine Picture”. The images are filled with dazzling gemstone colors, creating a radiant artistic realm. The scenery depicted in each painting evokes memories of magnificent natural landscapes, yet the psychedelic colors and dynamic brilliance also shock the viewer’s soul like a phantom. Influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, Huang Yuxing explores the endless power behind the universe with the auspicious “Seven Treasures” as the theme.
At the same time, the painting also incorporates many classic visual elements of the artist – from islands composed of meridians to a winding river traversing the screen, playing a mesmerizing movement and stillness symphony. “Seven Treasures Pine Picture” is now the artist’s only set of seven-screen masterpieces appearing in the market, making it very precious.
NO.3 Zhang Yu’s “Lilies on a Red Background”
Price: HKD 100,325,000
According to the complete collection of Chang Yu’s works, he only created three paintings with lilies as the theme in his lifetime. Among them, only one remains, a black and white photograph taken by the famous photographer Robert Frank, his closest friend. All other details, including the title of the painting, the medium, and the size, are unknown. Since the photo was taken in 1949, it is speculated that the painting was also created in the 1940s.
The bright red of the “Lilies on a Red Background” is extremely luxurious and elegant, balanced by the delicate and elegant lilies and glass vase, with a touch of gold at the bottom of the picture to balance the color layout of the picture, echoing the unique noble color of the Chinese imperial court, full of Chinese elegance, grace, and subtle Eastern charm.
NO.2 Gerhard Richter “Abstract Painting 747-1”
Sold for: HKD 140,400,000
This masterpiece created by Gerhard Richter in 1991 can be said to be the most stunning representative work in his famous series of abstract paintings. Since its debut, this series has become one of the most acclaimed masterpieces in late 20th-century painting, with dazzling colors and vibrant scenes, not only presenting a sense of figurative beauty but also further expanding the boundaries of the art form of painting itself.
This huge painting covers an area of two square meters, with its monumental scale complementing the energy emanating from the painting itself.
NO.1 “Donut Revenge”
Final Price: HKD 163,300,000
Created in 1982, “Donut Revenge” stands at nearly two and a half meters tall, marking the pinnacle of Basquiat’s artistic career. The painting is filled with vibrant and warm pink, white, black, yellow, and red strokes, with a figure floating like an angel in the background. A halo above his head shines brightly, radiating a dazzling fire, while on the other side, a large dialogue box contains some unrecognizable scribbles in black. These elements highlight the visual tension of the character, drawing inspiration from both comics and cartoons, as well as abstract expressionism and the tradition of classical masters.
The artist combines elements of African art with street graffiti art, creating a visual language. His works have repeatedly topped the sales charts, and this time’s performance is believed to be within the public’s expectations.
Learn more: Christie’s Hong Kong
