Selective Bidders, High-End Demand at Hong Kong’s Spring 2025 Auctions
Art sellers said it was a ‘strong move’ to line up major spring sales with Art Basel Hong Kong—but did the new timing lead to a renewed vigour in the market? Save to My Ocula
Cautious bidders showed they’d retained an appetite for the work of top contemporary artists and art history-backed names at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions in Hong Kong this week.
For the first time, the two auction houses held their spring marquee auctions at the same time as Art Basel Hong Kong—perhaps due to art sellers hoping to capitalise on the week’s momentum and excitement.
Christie’s evening sale on Friday raked in a modest $72 million (with fees; all prices USD), with 39 of 41 lots sold. Bidding occurred at lower price points, with the total hammer price landing only six percent above the sale’s south estimate.
Nevertheless, Christie’s head of Asia Pacific Jacky Ho reported ‘great energy’ on both days, with new bidders and over 7,000 visitors to the sales preview at Christie’s new Asia headquarters at The Henderson, which held its anticipated inaugural sale last year.
Most lots were acquired by buyers from mainland China, followed by Hong Kong. Blue-chip contemporary art and European masters performed reliably as the house anticipated, offering fewer ultra-contemporary lots. Usual favourites like Zao Wou-ki and Yayoi Kusama found buyers toward their low estimates, with one work by Kusama going unsold.
Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s Sabado por la Noche (1984) led the Friday sale, hammering within expectations at $14.5 million (all prices exclude fees unless stated) as the only eight-figure work listed. (The work last sold at Christie’s in London in 2019 for $10 million.)
European masters followed in terms of price achieved, with René Magritte‘s Rêverie de Monsieur James (1943) selling in line with its estimate for $6.1 million. Meanwhile, the same phone bidder took Pierre-Auguste Renoir‘s La Promenade au bord de la mer (1892) for $4.5 million, exceeding its high estimate of $3.6 million.
Sotheby’s evening sale on Saturday brought in $38.2 million (with fees) with 40 of 42 lots sold, and most lots selling below their estimates.
Marc Chagall‘s Fleurs de printemps (1930) achieved a record for the artist in Asia by leading the sale, hammering in line with expectations for $3.6 million.
Along with Renoir, Japanese painter Tetsuya Ishida headlined Sotheby’s day sale on Sunday, which totalled $8.87 million with 69 of 78 lots sold, with Conquered 制壓 (2004) selling for more than twice its high estimate at $489,800.
Emerging artists performed well despite representing a small fraction of offerings. At Christie’s, Gongkan‘s Flyte (2023) sold for around $64,200, surpassing its high estimate of $48,800. Kasing Lung’s Excited Plastic (2021) went for $79,700—more than double its high estimate.
Ho concluded it was a ‘strong move’ for Christie’s to align sales with Art Basel Hong Kong. —[O]
Main image: Christie's Hong Kong (28 March 2025). Courtesy Christie's.
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