Poly Auction HK Presents Leading Asian Artists in 10th Anniversary Auctions

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Poly Auction Hong Kong will celebrate their first decade in business with a series of auctions at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 9 to 13 July.

One of the most anticipated lots in the Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on Tuesday 12 July is Yoshitomo Nara‘s Stars (2012), pictured top. Stars are a recurring theme for Nara, who says that ‘sparkling objects symbolise a lasting presence’.

The Evening Sale, Poly Auction Hong Kong’s first Evening Sale in its history, also includes works by leading Japanese artists such as Izumi Kato‘s otherworldly figure Untitled (2009), pictured above, and Tomokazu Matsuyama‘s collage-esque Hollow Moon Hypothesis (2014) for HK $650,000–1,000,000 (US$ 83,300–128,200).

Other standout works by big-name artists include Yayoi Kusama‘s yellow-on-red dot painting Infinity Nets (BSGK) (2015), pictured above, Zao Wou-Ki‘s dynamic abstract painting 23.6.66 (1966) for HK $10–15 million (US $1.3–1.9 million).

Paintings by artists from mainland China feature prominently in the Evening Sale. They include Duan Jianyu‘s Sharp, Sharp, Smart No. 2 (2014) for (HK $1.2 million–1.8 million (US $153,800–230,800), Huang Yuxing‘s Red Cliff (2017) for HK $1 million–2 million (US $128,200–256,400), and Xie Nanxing‘s The First Round with a Whip No.2 (The Wave No.2) (2008) for HK $3.5 million–5.5 million (US $448,700–705,100).

One lot to watch is Mosaic Floor (2009) by Zhang Enli, a vibrant, thinly painted rendering of a typical indoor surface. Zhang embraces everyday objects in his practice, saying, ‘they have emotions, but not as superficial as human expressions, they are concealed and transferred’.

The Modern and Contemporary Art Day Sale on Wednesday 13 July features works by artists including Liu Xiaodong, and Zhou Chunya. It also feature’s Liu Wei‘s abstract painting Untitled (2019), reminiscent of a colourful computer screen glitch, with an estimate of HK $1.6 million–2.4 million (US $205,100–307,700).

As well as Asian artists, the sales feature works by highly sought after Western artists including KAWS and Katherine Bernhardt.

Among the noteworthy works by Western artists are Adrian Ghenie‘s Lidless Eye (2016–18) for HK $50 million–75 million (US $6.4–9.6 million), Mr Doodle‘s Bird Mountain (circa 2018) for HK$ 1.8 million–2.8 million (US $230,800–359,000), and Jean Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1981), for an estimated price available on request. —[O]

Main image: Yoshitomo Nara, Stars (2012). Oil on canvas. Courtesy Poly Auction Hong Kong. Estimate: HK $5.5 million–8.5 million (US $705,100–1.1 million).