Sotheby’s Celebrates 50 Years in Asia with Singapore Auction

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Sotheby’s aims to build on its much-anticipated return to the city-state last year following an absence of 15 years.

Sotheby’s will host a Modern and Contemporary Art Auction at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands on 2 July, continuing its celebrations of a half century operating in Asia.

Over 60 works with a total estimate of SG $18 million (US $12 million) will be offered at the auction following a preview exhibition from 29 June to 1 July. The preview exhibition will be accompanied by a series of panel talks.

Among the highlights are Georgette Chen‘s wartime still life Lychees and Peaches (1940–45), Christine Ay Tjoe‘s abstract painting The Team of Red (2013), Jane Lee‘s acrylic and heavy gel on fibreglass painting Melt VII (2017), and Jennifer Guidi‘s intricate Our Hearts In Balance (Painted Universe Mandala SF #3F, Pearly Purple, Natural Ground) (2018).

Other artists with works on offer in the auction include Le Pho, Liu Kang, Kazuo Shiraga, Chu Teh-Chun, Wu Guanzhong, Javier Calleja, Huang Yuxing, Mai Trung Thu, Srihadi Sudarsono, Cheong Soo Pieng, Fernando Cueto Amorsolo, and Ahmad Sadili.

Alongside Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary auction, the exhibition at Marina Bay Sands will also showcase abstract paintings from Korean artist Je Yeoran‘s ‘Usquam Nusquam’ series (2006–ongoing).

Last year, Sotheby’s held its first auction in Singapore in 15 years, achieving a sales total of SG $24.5 million (US $18 million).

‘We are pleased to return to Singapore as we continue to invest behind more initiatives in the city-state as part of our ambition to further engage with the regional collecting scene in Asia,’ said Nathan Drahi, Managing Director, Sotheby’s Asia.

‘Sotheby’s is strongly committed to the region; nurturing and growing opportunities for deeper levels of engagement with local communities is of utmost importance to us,’ added Jasmine Prasetio, Managing Director, Sotheby’s Southeast Asia.

On 5 April, Sotheby’s 50th anniversary art auctions in Hong Kong realised a total of HK $1.52 billion (US $192.8 million). Works by Lucy Bull and Loie Hollowell sold for over double their high estimates.

Sotheby’s also noted the contribution of Asian collectors to their sales outside the region, which accounted, for instance, to a third of the total sales value at their Modern Evening Auction in New York in May.

‘We have broadened our activities not only to meet collectors where they are, but also to support regional cultural ecosystems,’ Prasetio added.

‘In the years to come this ecosystem will continue to mature and grow in Southeast Asia, and Singapore is central to this vision,’ she said. —[O]

Main image: Kazuo Shiraga, Kari (1991). Oil on canvas. 60 x 72.5 cm. Courtesy Sotheby's.