Auctioneer Liang-Lin Chen selling Sanyu's Femme nue sur un tapis (Nude on Tapestry) at Christie's Hong Kong 20th/21st Century Art Evening Sale on November 28, 2023. Photo courtesy Christie's.
According to Newsis, a Korean media outlet, the November auction at Christie’s Hong Kong recorded an average sales rate of around 90%, totaling HKD 10.5 billion (approximately KRW 1.736 trillion). Despite successes with works by Asian masters like San Yu, Yayoi Kusama, and Chung Sanghwa, the overall auction market exhibited a more subdued atmosphere.
Compared to the May auction, which achieved total sales of around KRW 2.095 trillion, the recent sales were lower, and popular works did not surpass high estimates. In contrast to the prior auction, where approximately 50% of lots exceeded high estimates, fewer works surpassed high estimates this time, leading to less intense competition.
In terms of works by Korean artists, at the Evening Sale on the 28th, Chung Sanghwa’s Untitled, a blue-colored work, exceeded the highest estimate (HKD 1.8 million), selling for a substantial price of HKD 3.024 million (approximately KRW 5 billion). However, on November 29, Korean artworks faced challenges, with Lee Ufan’s From Point and Correspondence, along with Kim Tschang-yeul’s Water Droplets,’ failing to find buyers. Park Seo Bo’s Ecriture No. 060503 sold for HKD 2.646 million (approximately KRW 4.4 billion) at a lower price than the estimated range (HKD 2-4 million).
Christie’s Korean representative, Hak Jun Lee, indicated that many successful bidders for Korean artworks at Christie’s Hong Kong are Korean collectors. They appear to have restrained spending due to the aftermath of the economic downturn. Lee noted that the relatively smaller scale of the Korean market, more susceptible to economic downturns than the Chinese market, is reacting sensitively to external shocks.
Despite the gloom and doom of the autumn sale, Christie’s Hong Kong highlighted the international interest in the November auction, with participants from 34 countries. Approximately 40% of new buyers, especially 67% of new buyers in the Evening Sale, belonged to the millennial generation, indicating a noteworthy trend.
