HONG KONG.- Following on from the tremendous success of Sotheby’s New York Contemporary Art Asia sale last month, which brought over US$38 million (then the record sale for the category of Contemporary Asian Art) – Sotheby’s Hong Kong Contemporary Chinese Art sale today realised HK$330,070,246 (US$42,542,754), achieving the new record for a sale of Chinese Contemporary Art. This outstanding total, which is over US$14 million more than the pre-sale high estimate (estimate: HK$156–219 million/US$20,128,752–28,339,044), further demonstrates Sotheby’s as global leader in this category. The auction was extremely well attended, attracting over 250 bidders who registered to bid both in the saleroom, which was packed, and over the telephones.

Evelyn Lin, Head of the Contemporary Chinese Art department at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, said: “Today’s results, HK$330,070,246 (US$42,542,754) – the strongest ever achieved at Sotheby’s – continue the truly phenomenal activity in the market for Contemporary Chinese Art which allowed us to achieve record prices for key artists, including Cai Guo-Qiang, Liu Wei, Xu Bing and very strong results for Yue Minjun and Zhang Xiaogang. Enthusiastic collectors, reacting to the quality of artworks which have come for sale in the wake of strong prices, bid in many cases well past presale estimates to acquire works of their choice. What is most impressive is the depth of the bidding throughout all levels of the market which gave us an extremely low unsold rate. Following so closely on Sotheby’s then - record sale of Asian Contemporary Art in New York last month which brought US$38 million (US$10 million above the high estimate), the sale confirms the impressive vitality and confidence of this sector of the auction market.”

The auction, which saw new artists’ records established for Cai Guo-Qiang, Yu Chen, Xu Bing, Liu Wei, Wang Guangyi and Zhan Wang, was highlighted by the sale of The Massacre at Chios by Yue Minjun (b.1962). After six minutes of intense competition between seven bidders both in the saleroom and on the telephones, the work finally sold to applause for HK$31,687,500 (US$4,084,202), nearly four times its pre-sale low estimate. Kevin Ching, CEO Sotheby’s Asia, made the bid on behalf of the successful telephone bidder – an Asian private collector. The painting is regarded as one of the most important produced during the fledgling years of contemporary Chinese art, and an early example of a piece depicting the artist’s characteristic “self-images”. It is among the largest to come onto the market in recent years.

Among the three works in the sale by the Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957), his painting Project for Extraterrestrials No.10, Project to Extend the Great Wall of China performed particularly well, achieving a new record for the artist at auction and selling to rapturous applause. The work was competed for by two bidders, one in the saleroom and one on the telephone, who drove the final price paid to HK$20,487,500 (US$2,640,634), setting a new record for the artist and almost doubling the previous record for the artist set by Sotheby’s New York in September 2007. The sum paid represents the second highest price paid in today’s sale. The painting, which was executed in the unusual medium of gunpowder on paper and is made up of five pieces, is monumental in size measuring approximately 3 by 20 metres, and reflects and records an explosion event held in 1993 at Jiayuguan where the Great Wall ends.

Four works by the artist Xu Bing (b. 1955) also far exceeded expectations in today’s auction. His work New English Calligraphy – Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse Tung, Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art by Mao Tse Tung, sold far HK$3,487,500 (US$449,504), setting a record for the artist at auction, until moments later when it was broken by the sale price achieved for his Silkworm Series – The Foolish Old Man Who Tried to Remove the Mountain. Two bidders competed for the work for almost four minutes until it finally sold for HK$5,255,500 (US$677,381), exceeding the previous record for the artist by over HK$2 million (established at Sotheby’s New York in March 2007).

A further record was also achieved for the artist Yu Chen when his Red Babies Series (Set of Two) sold for HK$307,500 (US$39,634), five times the pre-sale high estimate for the work. Bidding for the work lasted approximately five minutes.

Works by Zhang Xiaogang (B. 1958) – one of the most significant and best-known artists working in China today – also performed well, with three works by the artist appearing in the top ten. The highest price paid for a work by Zhang Xiaogang in today’s sale was for his oil on canvas Big Family Series, dated 2002, which sold for HK$12,647,500 (US$1,630,136).