HONG KONG.- Christie's presents Asia+/First Open, a first ever contemporary art collaboration between its Asian and Western platforms, exhibited in one location. The carefully curated selection is a showcase of global talent, unique in their creative interpretations.

This new auction platform can be seen as an expert guide to the landscape and development of Asian and Western art, and an invitation to explore the unique aesthetics of these works, which were selected for their originality and artistic value. Representing Asia are works by Wu Guanzhong, Zao Wou-ki, Kazuo Shiraga, Yayoi Kusama, Liu Ye, Yoshitomo Nara and more. On the Western front are artists like Andreas Gursky, George Condo, Richard Pettibone, Arman, Vik Muniz, KAWS and Julian Opie.

Marcello Kwan, Christie's Specialist Head of Sale for Asian Contemporary Art, says “Christie's has brought together the best of global contemporary names, many of whom are artists who have defined or propelled art movements.” Edward Tang, Head of First Open, Christie's Americas, says “We hope to engage with international collectors by offering them an exciting platform that caters to the growing appreciation for art beyond borders.”

Asia+/First Open strives to be inclusive in its offering to collectors, both new and established. The sale is a perfect opportunity to explore lesser-known works by established artists around the world at accessible estimates.

ASIAN HIGHLIGHTS
KAZUO SHIRAGA (JAPANESE, 1924-2008) Goshoku Zanmai HK$160,000 - 260,000 (US$20,500 - 33,300)
In Esoteric Buddhism, the circle is a fundamental form of contemplation and an important symbol of the celestial Buddha. During the 1970s, Shiraga who became a monk, was preoccupied with painting with a wooden stick or plate to create wave patterns and semicircles, which eventually took over the place of foot painting. The works created are contemplations on anatman (the concept of non-self), the mysteries of the universe and a spiritual transcendence through his working methods.

YAYOI KUSAMA (JAPANESE, B. 1929) Infinity Accumulation of Dots HK$800,000 - 1,200,000 (US$102,600 - 153,800)
Created in 1998, Infinity Accumulation of Dots is festooned with a myriad of glistening ivory dots in a violet space. This repetitive accumulation of pattern not only demonstrates undeniable visual power, but also creates a sense of hallucinogenic effect that has always reflected her own interior state and her obsession to obliterate time and space.

LIU YE (CHINESE, B. 1964) Yuan Yuan HK$1,800,000 - 2,400,000 (US$230,800 - 307,700)
Liu invents a quiet scene with intense vibrant colours and a cartoon-like caricature of a young girl. Her whimsical poise brings joy and austerity, and at the same time, an abstracted emotional intensity. Liu Ye‟s ironic fairytales provide a mirror to the evolving world of post-Mao China, its effect on the consciousness of the artist and on his generation; at the same time, his colourful, delicately balanced compositions reveal the contemplative spirit of the artist.

WESTERN HIGHLIGHTS
ARMAN (FRENCH, 1928-2005) Untitled HK$150,000-250,000 (US$19,200-32,100)
The son of an art dealer, Arman‟s youth was filled with objects. These objects subsequently became crucial to his work, yet he deliberately disturbs and destroys their integrity as objects in order to realise his own particular aesthetic objectives. For Arman, the act is an important element of his artistic practice. He accumulates, cuts, burns, destroys,and transforms the object and, in so doing, gives it a new shape, a new life.

ANDREAS GURSKY (GERMAN, B. 1955) Hong Kong Port HK$400,000 - 600,000 (US$51,300 - 76,900)
With its majestic panorama, Hong Kong Port invites viewers to immerse themselves in the image which rapidly dissolves from a figurative landscape into a majestic work with radiant opulence. As Gursky has averred, „my pictures are becoming increasingly formal and abstract a visual structure appears to dominate the real events shown in my pictures. I subjugate the real situation to my aristic concept of the picture‟

GEORGE CONDO (AMERICAN, B. 1957) Crying Head HK$300,000 - 400,000 (US$38,500 - 51,300)
George Condo is one of the fasting rising artists in contemporary art today. His work represents the grotesque and the beautiful in which he developed an imaginative pictoral language that reveal the subject's inner psyche. His works encompasses a diversity of styles in media and using stylistic elements from Renaissance, Baroque, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop.