Art Basel Hong Kong Receipts: Murder on the Sales Floor?

Sophie Ellis-Bextor performed at an art party in Hong Kong on Monday, but market conditions went some way towards killing the groove.

Art Basel Hong Kong opened to VIPs yesterday. This year's edition was billed as a 'return to full scale' with 242 galleries taking part, the most since 2019.

The fair comes at a challenging time, however, with Artnet News reporter Katya Kazakina last week describing an art market crash. The Hang Seng Index is approaching lows not seen since the city was returned to the People's Republic in 1997, and there are fears the recently passed Safeguarding National Security law, also known as Article 23, will chill freedom of expression in the city.

Hong Kong's art community stepped up with a spate of parties and openings, including a grand soiree at M+ and a performance by English pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor put on by the Rosewood Hotel and the Serpentine.

Ellis-Bextor's popularity surged after her song 'Murder on the Dancefloor' featured in last year's thirsty cinematic hit Saltburn, but gallery directors and art dealers weren't exactly dancing naked through the halls of the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre at the end of the fair's first day.

Gallerists Ocula spoke to broadly agreed the fair was continuing to rebuild after the pandemic, but hadn't reached the lofty heights of 2019.

Hilda Chan, Gallery Manager of Hong Kong's Gallery Exit, described day one sales as 'okay', but noted the return of more international collectors to their booth.

BANK's Mathieu Borysevicz said the crowds were a little 'thin' this year, but sales were solid and visitors included quality institutions, such as Tate.

Tellingly, two of the world's biggest galleries, Gagosian and David Zwirner, declined to provide sales figures after the fair's crucial first day.

Nick Simunovic, a Senior Director at Gagosian, described 'steady and efficient sales for artists including Carol Bove, Hao Liang, Tetsuya Ishida, Sarah Sze, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Mary Weatherford, and Stanley Whitney, among many others, driven by collectors from Asia, many of whom made the trip to Hong Kong.'

Zwirner Senior Director Patricia Crockett said the gallery sold works by artists including Michaël Borremans, Rose Wylie, and Oscar Murillo. She noted a strong presence of Taiwanese collectors.

Hauser & Wirth, on the other hand, did report sales, and several were significant. They sold Willem de Kooning's Untitled III (1986) for U.S. $9 million, Philip Guston's The Desire (1978) for U.S. $8.5 million, and Mark Bradford's mixed media on canvas work May the Lord be the first one in the car...and the last out. (2023) for U.S. $3.5 million.

'Today we welcomed a fantastic cross section of collectors, curators and museum directors and on the first day we have placed works with highly respected collections across Asia,' said Hauser & Wirth's President, Marc Payot. Payot also noted strong local interest in Glenn Ligon's work, now showing at Hauser's Hong Kong gallery.

White Cube reportedly sold 10 works on opening day, including an Anselm Kiefer for €1.15m (U.S. $1.25m), and a Christine Ay Tjoe for U.S. $750,000.

Works sold by Lehmann Maupin included three works by Korean artist Kim Yun Shin, a new painting from Lee Bul's 'Perdu' series for U.S. $190,000, and Do Ho Suh's red thread on cotton paper work Karma Juggler (Red) (2013).

While some galleries saw modest sales at this year's Art Basel Hong Kong, the art world continues to demonstrate their belief in the city.

Hauser & Wirth opened their slick new street-level gallery on Queen's Road Central with an exhibition by Zhang Enli on 24 January.

Christie's will open their 50,000-square-foot Asia Pacific headquarters at The Henderson building in September, while Sotheby's will open a 24,000-square-foot 'maison' at Landmark Chater in July. —[O]