黑料不打烊

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night), 1984. acrylic, silkscreen, oil stick, and paper collage on canvas. Photo: Christie’s

Hong Kong’s spring auction season unfolded alongside Art Basel Hong Kong for the first time this March, with Christie’s and Sotheby’s staging their marquee evening sales on the 28^th and 29^th as part of a carefully staged attempt to reignite momentum in the regional market. The two leading auction houses aligned their sales with the fair’s calendar, aiming to attract the wave of collectors and institutional figures in town for the broader festivities. While the strategy succeeded in generating foot traffic – Sotheby’s reported 35,000 visitors to its pre-sale exhibition, while Christie’s welcomed 7,000 – the muted sale results indicate a price-sensitive environment that has not overcome a prevailing attitude of caution. The two sales brought in a combined total of $110.2 million, the lowest figure for spring evening auctions in Hong Kong since 2016 when they combined for $136 million.

Despite strong sell-through rates which exceeded 95% at both houses, bidding rarely pushed above the low estimate range. Mainland Chinese collectors accounted for a significant share of acquisitions at both houses, but the absence of aggressive top-tier buying proved symptomatic of an underlying bearish market structure. The confidence that was displayed tended to cluster around beacons of stability like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marc Chagall, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and René Magritte.

Basquiat sets 2025 High-Water Mark at Christie’s

Auctioneer Adrien Meyer selling Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Sabado por la Noche during Christie’s 20th/21st Century Evening Sale in Hong Kong on March 28^th, 2025.

Christie’s led the week with its 20th/21st Century Evening Sale, held at its new Asia-Pacific headquarters in The Henderson skyscraper which is located in the central district of Hong Kong. The sale brought in HK$559.96 million ($71.99 million) including fees, with 39 of 41 works sold. Two lots, including a Yayoi Kusama sculpture, were withdrawn. The results landed within the expected range of $56.88 million to $82.14 million, but the hammer total came in only six percent above the sale’s low estimate.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Sabado por la Noche, 1984, highlighted the auction, selling for HK$112.6 million (US$14.5 million) to an Asian collector. The work was last sold at Christie’s London in 2019 for £8.37 million ($10.61 million) and returned a modest gain in line with the mood of the evening – meeting but not exceeding its HK$95-125 million ($12.2-$16 million) estimate. The Basquiat now holds the honor of being the most expensive lot sold at auction globally thus far in 2025.

Other high performers included René Magritte’s Rêverie de Monsieur James, 1943, which achieved HK$47.5 million ($6.1 million), and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s La Promenade au bord de la mer, 1892, which surpassed its his estimate of HK$28m ($3.59m) to sell for HK$34.9 million ($4.5 million). A signature pumpkin painting by Yayoi Kusama realized HK$39.1 million ($5 million), coming in just a touch above its high estimate of HK$35 million ($4.5 million) when taking into account the buyer’s premium.

Zao Wou-Ki, 28.8.67, Painted in 1967, oil on canvas. Photo: Christie’s.

The sale also included works by Chinese modernists Zao wou-ki and Chu Teh-Chun, whose performance on the Christie’s auction block reinforced the trend of lower prices for Chinese art that began in 2020. Zao’s abstract 28.8.67 hammered at its low estimate and realized a price of HK$48.8 million ($6.3 million), while Chu’s No. 269, 1968, pulled in only HK$10.1 million with fees ($1.3 million), or about half its 2018 sale price of HK$21.7 million ($2.2 million). The inclusion of three Zao paintings in a relatively tight sale may have diluted demand, though all found buyers.

Thawan Duchanee, Mah膩n膩radakassapa J膩taka, oil on canvas. Photo: Christie’s

Local Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung’s Excited Plastic, 2021, sold for HK$781,200 ($100,431 USD), far surpassing its high estimate of HK$250,000 ($32,140 USD) and setting a new auction record for the artist best known as the creator of the Labubu character.  Among Southeast Asian artists, Thai painter Thawan duchanee stood out. His Mah膩n膩radakassapa J膩taka sold well above its high estimate of HK$2.5 million ($321,401) at HK$3.8 million ($486,000). It was the fourth-highest auction result for Duchanee, whose work has witnessed a surge of interest on the secondary market after his passing in 2014. Emerging artists also saw selective support: Gongkan’s fantastical Flyte, 2023, fetched HK$630,000, setting a new auction record for the artist who also known by his birth name of Kantapon Metheekul.

Alarmingly Low Turnover at Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s held its Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction the following evening at its new Maison venue inside the Landmark Chater complex. The auction totaled HK$297.5 million (US$38.2 million), with 40 of 42 lots sold for a 95% sell-through rate, not including the four withdrawals. The slimmed-down sale total marked a 55% decline in turnover from last year’s equivalent event, and at no point in the last decade has Sotheby’s posted a lower nominal total for its Hong Kong spring evening sale.

Marc chagall, Fleurs de printemps (La Cruche aux fleurs de printemps), 1930, oil on canvas. Photo: Sotheby’s

The silver lining to an otherwise alarmingly short evening was Marc Chagall’s Fleurs de printemps, 1930. The illustrious work came in as the top seller of the night at HK$34.5 million ($4.44 million) and set a new auction record for the artist in Asia. Henry Moore’s Working Model for Reclining Figure: Prop, 1976, sold for HK$20.5 million ($2.6 million), also a regional high. European modernism played a visible role in the upper tier of results. Renoir’s Baigneuse accoudée, 1882, reached HK$23.5 million ($3 million) after an 18-bid contest, while Picasso’s Le miroir, 1947, formerly in MoMA’s collection, sold within estimate for HK$18.7 million ($2.4 million). Collectors from Mainland China acquired all of these top lots, including Yayoi Kusama’s Starry Pumpkin, 2019, which achieved HK$15 million ($1.9 million) despite falling short of its HK$16,000,000 ($2 million) low estimate.

Ji Xin, Dawn, 2021, oil on canvas. Photo: Sotheby’s

Among the evening’s more positive results were auction records for two emerging Chinese painters. Ji Xin’s large-scale figurative work Dawn, 2021, a life-sized portrait inspired by Piero della Francesca's Resurrection, 1460, sold for HK$2.5 million ($327,000), well above its high estimate of 1,500,000 HKD (193,048 USD). Li Hei Di’s dreamlike canvas Drifted Petals on Her Lifted Mound, 2022, achieved HK$1.4 million ($180,000), affirming demand for the youngest artist on Pace Gallery’s roster. The sale also marked a solid return for Nicolas Party, whose pastel-on-linen composition Grotto, 2019, brought in HK$15 million ($1.93 million), his first seven-figure result of the year after a quieter-than-usual 2024.

Taken together, the Hong Kong spring auctions revealed a market in unrelenting contraction, with sales falling to their lowest level in close to a decade. Attention now turns to New York, where Sotheby’s and Christie’s will hold their next major evening sales in May amidst a tumultuous macroeconomic climate of tariffs and heightened economic nationalism.

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