HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s 2011 Sale of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings will be held on 4 April at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, offering over 145 exceptional works estimated in excess of HK$36 million / US$4.6 million*. The sale will continue to lead the market in breadth and depth of its selection, bringing a vibrant array of modern and contemporary works by the region’s most sought-after artists while providing a unique opportunity for collectors worldwide to acquire Southeast Asian paintings with remarkable quality, provenance and freshness.

As the pioneer in introducing the most cutting-edge and au courant Southeast Asian artists to the market, Sotheby’s is honoured to present a dedicated section of photography and new media works at auction, featuring various innovative photographers in the region such as Indra Leonardi, Angki Purbandono, Agan Harahap, Wimo Ambala Bayang, Wawi Navarroza, Juan Caguicla, MM Yu, Thavorn Ko-Udomvit, Tanapol Kaewpring and Genevieve Chua.

MOK Kim Chuan, Sotheby’s Head of Southeast Asian Paintings said, “Our Southeast Asian Paintings sale last October fetched a stunning total of HK$78 million / US$10 million, achieving Sotheby’s highest sale total for a various owner sale in this category. This spring, we will again present an even broader selection of works, all marked by the finest quality, utmost creativity and thematic diversity to cater to the more diversified and sophisticated tastes of the collectors worldwide. The star lot is an extremely rare, monumental piece by S. Sudjojono – Kami Present, Ibu Pertiwi (Stand Guard for Our Motherland) which has not been seen publicly since its completion in 1965. This is a masterpiece that is worthy of appreciation not only for its artistic merits, but also its historical significance. Quality art pieces fresh to the market as such will continue to be the most coveted in the upcoming sale.

On the contemporary front, this season we are pleased to curate a dedicated photography section in response to the region’s rising collecting interests of contemporary photographs. We are extremely excited to introduce the most creative endeavours of some of the region’s most well-received photographers this season.”

MODERN PAINTINGS
The careful selection of rare and prominent works by modern masters extends beyond historical and geographical boundaries, offering the best examples of Indonesian, Filipino, Vietnamese and Singaporean modern art.

Last Autumn, S. Sudjojono (1914 – 1986)’s A New Dawn, sold for an impressive HK$10.7 million / US$1.4 million, setting the world auction record for the Indonesian artist. This season, Sotheby’s will present yet another rare and magnificent painting by Sudjojono - Kami Present, Ibu Pertiwi (Stand Guard for Our Motherland; est. HK$2 – 3 million / US$257,000 – 386,000).

From Sudjojono’s early role in defining Modern Indonesian Art in the late 1930s to his Realism period, Indonesia and its people have always been the heart and soul of the artist’s important paintings. The present work, Stand Guard for Our Motherland, portrays nationalism at its strongest. Executed on a canvas measuring 176 by 300 cm, the painting is the largest known work by Sudjojono to be auctioned, and it is Sotheby’s privilege to offer it to the public for the very first time after its being held in private hands for almost half a century.

Depicting a sprawling vista in the background, and villagers and soldiers in the foreground, the scene is imbued with a sense of tension, suspense and drama. Although the work was created in 1965, its visual contents suggested that Sudjojono drew his inspiration from his experiences in the late 1940s when Indonesia was invaded by the Dutch. Almost two decades after Indonesia's independence, the country was still struggling with enormous socio-political and economic challenges. It was in this setting that Sudjojono revisited his credo, “back to realism”, and produced this patriotic work that calls once again for the nation’s unity in the face of adversity.

One of the most renowned and important works by Hendra Gunawan (1918–1983) will be offered this season - Penari Ular (Snake Dancer; est. HK$1.2 – 2.2 million/ US$155,000 – 283,000). The painting has been widely exhibited, including in the landmark Modern Indonesian Art, Three Generations of Tradition and Change, 1945-1990 Exhibition, and toured around the United States from 1990 to 1992. Created in 1977, Snake Dancer is a prime example of Hendra’s fascination with humanity. Inspired by a real snake dance performance the artist witnessed during the 40s or 50s, this piece captures human courage and perseverance at its most powerful. Filled with dynamic, contrasting yet balanced elements, it also serves as an allegory for the human condition and the triumphant strength of the human spirit.

Born in Moscow in the turn of the 20th Century, German artist Walter Spies (1895 – 1942) grew up at a time of dynamic intellectual and creative progress. Technically superb and creative, Spies was recognised for introducing the concept of modern art into the traditional and ritual-driven Balinese paintings. Executed circa early 1920s, Die Schlittschuhläufer (The Ice Skaters; est. HK$3.5 – 5.5 million / US$450,000 – 710,000) was one of Spies’ early European oeuvre, executed before his departure to the East Indies. The work has an autobiographical nature and exhibits the artist’s fascination with primitive art and with the work of modern masters. The monochromatic quality of the work, with its dominant blues, luminous lights and elongated shadows, reflects the potential influences by the new aesthetics of cinema. The aesthetics and techniques reveal insight on all the elements that Spies hold most important, which transcended into his later works in Indonesia.

Another highlight of this section is Harvest (est. HK$480,000 – 680,000 / US$62,000 – 87,500) by Anita Magsaysay-Ho (b. 1914). As a pioneering, first generation modernist, Magsaysay-Ho distinguished herself early as the only female artist in the patriarchal art scene in the 20th Century Philippines, belonging in the ground-breaking group known as “The Thirteen Moderns”. Executed in 1950, this work illustrates Magsaysay-Ho’s trademark paintings of women with angular features and slanted eyes rather than idealised features of curvaceous women as often depicted in earlier classical art. In the present work, Magsaysay-ho worked with a delicate medium - egg tempera - as if the artist was exerting her views on the strengths and virtues of a woman: graceful, independent, steadfast and loyal. Magsaysay-Ho’s egg tempera paintings are rarity and this particular egg tempera piece is the first one to be offered at auction in approximately a decade.

Other Modern Highlights Include:

• Vicente Silva Manansala (1910-1981)
Market Vendors
Oil on canvas
74 x 98.7 cm
Executed in 1949
Est. HK$450,000 - 550,000 /US$58,000 - 71,000

• Lee Man Fong (1913-1988)
Family in Harmony
Oil on masonite board
90 x 122 cm
Executed in 1959
Est. HK$1.5 – 2 million /US$193,000 – 257,000

• Mai Trung Thu (1906 - 1980)
Jeune Fille Hmong (A Young Hmong Girl)
Oil on canvas
100 x 67 cm
Executed circa 1930s
Est. HK$240,000 – 280,000 /US$30,900 – 36,000


CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS
Leading the Contemporary section is an earlier work by acclaimed Indonesian artist, I Nyoman Masriadi (b. 1973) – Dewa Perang (War God; est. HK$1.2 – 1.8 million /US$155,000 – 232,000). Executed in 1999, at a time of Masriadi’s pivotal creative path, War God is at once mind-boggling in form yet recognisable in essence. It renders an intimate portrait of the artist through the depiction of his trademark stocky black figure. War God features a soldier in a total state of war, a metaphor for reflecting the artist’s struggle as a painter. A conflation of traditional artillery and contemporary weaponry symbolising the opposing cultural currents the artist had conquered, it possesses an invaluable autobiographical note that defined the man Masriadi has become and the art that he creates: strong, fearless and unique.

Sotheby’s established world auction record for works by Filipino artist Ronald Ventura (b.1973) whereby his work Natural-Lies was sold for HK$2.5 million/ US$326,000, over nine times its high estimate last Autumn. This season, Sotheby’s will present another thought provoking work by the artist - Grayground (est. HK$220,000 – 350,000 / US$28,300 – 41,100). In this painting which measured an impressive size of 152.5 by 396 cm, the existential mash-up of hyperrealism and graffiti confronts viewers with how art should be. Two powerful forces - a multitude, to be precise - represented by horses in mid-stride, go into opposite directions, leaving a big grey empty lot of possibilities where nothing is real and everything is permitted. What could those two forces be? Is the chasm and the void lying in between still art? Therein lies the mystery for the viewers, all in Ronald Ventura’s nihilistic playground.

The uncertainty perception of ordinary materials in our everyday life is one of Handiwirman Saputra (b. 1975)’s chief concerns. The Indonesian artist revels in the juxtaposition between the simple and the complex. His compositions gravitate towards minimalism, with few objects in the foreground and an austere background. Yet there is a discernible complexity in this seemingly plain composition: objects seem at once familiar and alien – always reminiscent of something the viewer has encountered - but never quite clear. Their appearance and our understanding of their function are almost contradictory, provoking his observers into considering the work from unconventional perspectives. Executed in 2005, Seri Bidang dan Bayangan “Kapuk I” (Plane and Shadow Series “Kapuk I”; est. HK$650,000 – 850,000 / US$90,000 –116,000) is a fantastic example of this artistic style and method.

More Contemporary Highlights:

• Andres Barrioquinto (b. 1975)
Arms Around Your Love
Acrylic and oil on canvas 212 x 152 cm
Executed in 2011
Est. HK$45,000 – 65,000 /US$5,800 – 8,400

• Rudi Mantofani (b. 1973)
“Merah” (“Red”)
Mixed media on canvas
Each: 200 x 200 cm; Overall: 200 x 400cm
Executed in 2005
Est. HK$280,000 – 350,000 /US$36,000 – 45,000

• Agus Suwage (b. 1959)
Impermanence Landscape
Oil on canvas; in 5 parts
Each: 145 x 145 cm; Overall: 145 x 725cm
Executed in 2001
Est. HK$750,000 – 950,000 /US$96,500 – 122,000

PHOTOGRAPHY & NEW MEDIA SECTION
Sotheby's Hong Kong will offer a selection of contemporary Asia photography works for the first time at auction. Representing the current generation, the ten artists featured in this section demonstrate the effective use of visual manipulation to transform ordinary things into an extraordinary existence through skilful implementation of various media aside from traditional paper to project different aspects and effects of the works.

• Angki Purbandono (b. 1971)
Miss Pop Scanography; C-Print on Positive Film, Neon Box Installation, in 3 parts
Each: 150 x 100 x 13 cm; Overall: 150 x 300 x 13 cm
Executed in 2011
Est. HK$55,000 – 85,000 / US$7,000 – 11,000

• Tanapol Kaewpring (b. 1980)
A Little Things Series: Untitled #1 and #4
Inkjet on fine art paper, in 2 parts
Each: 70 x 100 cm
Executed in 2010
Est. HK$20,000 – 30,000 / US$2,600 – 3,900

* Estimates do not include buyer’s premium