Poly Auction Hong Kong Had a Breakout Year in 2021
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The auction house is now a major player on the international stage. Big things are planned for their tenth anniversary this year.
Poly Auction auctioneer Jenny Lok brings down the hammer on Yoshitomo Nara's Berlin Barack, Room 1 (2007) for HK $100 million.
Poly Auction Hong Kong recorded some outstanding results in 2021, boosted by their ongoing collaboration with British auction house Phillips.
Led by the sale of Gerhard Richter's Candle-light (1984) for HK $102 million (US $13 million), their 20th century and contemporary art and design sales in November totalled HK $670 million (US $86 million). The result was up more than two thirds on the previous year's sale, when Poly Auction Hong Kong partnered with Phillips for the first time.
New records were set for 15 artists at the auction including Susumu Kamijo, Ayako Rokkaku, Javier Calleja, and Robert Nava. Izumi Kato's record price at auction was exceeded twice, first at the day sale and then the evening sale.
An additional 17 artist records — including white hot artists Salman Toor, Jadé Fadojutimi, Loie Hollowell, and Chiharu Shiota — were set in Poly Auction and Phillips' white glove sales in June, which brought in HK $702 million (US $90.4 million). Emily Mae Smith's Broom Life (2014) achieved a price more than 20 times its high estimate.
These results are the culmination of a decade's work. Other notable sales since the auction house's founding in 2012 include HK $120 million (US $15.5 million) for Yoshitomo Nara's Berlin Barack, Room 1 (2007), a record for a Nara installation in April 2021, and Chinese painter Zao Wou-ki's Et la terre était sans forme (1956-1957) for HK $182 million (US $23 million) in spring 2018, the most expensive piece from his 'Oracle-bone' period.
For their 10th anniversary, Poly Auction Hong Kong have put out the call for the consignment of 'masterpieces'. They're seeking oil paintings, sculptures, art installations, and works by emerging artists to introduce to their network of Asian collectors. To consign works with Poly Auction Hong Kong, request an auction estimate on their website. —[O]
