Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Flexible was sold for HK$350m last Friday. Since Basquiat holds the record of the highest-grossing American, it is no surprise to see his works showing up at auctions from time to time. One of the top lots from Christie’s Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art (Evening Sale) / Contemporaries: Voices from East and West (Evening Sale) in Hong Kong spring sales is Basquiat's Untitled (Orange Sports Figure).

Basquiat’s Untitled (Orange Sports Figure) shows his unique style of street graffiti. The composition is electrically vivid in acrylic, oilstick and spraypaint on canvas.

This painting was created in 1982, a very crucial year for Basquiat. During that time, Basquiat not only produced some of his finest paintings, but also had his own exhibitions in both New York and Los Angeles. The painting has some of Basquiat’s signature motifs, such as the crown and the gritted teeth.

2.11.59

Another artist featured in this sale is Zao Wou-Ki. Amongst his seven paintings in the sale, three of them worth over HK$50m while the remaining are estimated between HK$8m - 20m. The abstract master broke his personal auction record at Christie's Hong Kong last autumn with the mastepiece 29.01.64, which was sold for HK$202m. The frenzy for Zao's paintings continues, maybe it can contribute to the sale of this Zao's painting. 

10.11.58 - 30.12.70

Zao's three most expensive paintings in this sale were all painted in late 50s, often considered as the most productive and energetic decades of his career. It was a transition period in Zao’s artistic career between the evocative mystery of his oracular paintings from the ‘50s, and the dramatic elemental energy of his expressionist work in the ‘60s. The creation of 10.11.58 - 30.12.70 spans 12 years, witnessing the beginning to the end of the artist's experimental period in the late 50s to early 70s.

Created in 1959, Zao's14.12.59 has an estimate of HK$68m - 88m. It shows a more vibrant use of colour, reflecting Zao's bolder move in terms of his colour use. In the painting, we find all the elements of Zao’s work from the 50s and 60s combined into a single composition. His confident brushwork and dramatic colour contrasts between red, black and white are the focal points of the masterpiece.

Another lot from the sale which arouses much attention is Yun Gee’s Old Broadway in Winter. It was painted in the 1930s to 1940s and is estimated at HK$30m - 40m. Speaking of some notable examples by Yun Gee, Wheels: Industrial New York, which was presented at Sotheby's Hong Kong last autumn, caused a sensation after selling for HK$105m. The painting was especially painted for the inaugural exhibition for MoMa's relocation. 

Honored with the title 'pioneer of Chinese modernism,' Yun Gee was the earliest Chinese artist to explore the modern art of Europe and America. He mastered Eastern and Western forms and created an individual style based on his unique theory of 'Diamondism,' while his success made him a shining example for other 20th century Chinese artists. 

In the present painting, we can see that the sky and snowy street have been built up from thin layers of red, blue, and green, while the notion of blended primary colours produces the brilliant, shifting light effects in the light yellow, sky blue, and pinks on the canvas. Those combinations provide visual richness, deriving from Gee's many years of experience in apply primaries in his Diamondism scheme. 

 

Top lots 

Zao Wou-Ki. 14.12.59.

Lot no.: 23
Created in: 1959
Size: 130 x 162cm
Provenance:

• Samuel Kootz Gallery, New York, USA

• Private Collection, USA

• Private Collection, Taiwan

• Anon. Sale. Christie’s Hong Kong: 27 May 2007, Lot 226.

• Private Collection, Asia

• This work is referenced in the archive of the Fondation Zao Wou-Ki and will be included in the artist's forthcoming catalogue raisonne prepared by Francoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen (Information provided by Fondation Zao Wou-Ki).

Estimate: HK$68,000,000 - $88,000,000

Jean-Michel Basquiat. Untitled (Orange sports figure).

Lot no.: 60
Created in: 1982
Size: 152.4 x 122.5cm
Provenance:

• Annina Nosei Gallery, New York

• Anon. sale, Sotheby's New York, 16 February 1989, lot 346

• Private Collection, Paris

• Anon. sale, Christie’s London, 25 June 1997, lot 73

• Gagosian Gallery, New York

• Private Collection, New York

• Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2012

Estimate: HK$62,000,000 - $94,000,000

Zao Wou-Ki. 2.11.59.

Lot no.: 24
Created in: 1959
Size: 130 x 97cm
Provenance:

• Private Collection, New York, USA

• Doyle New York, 22 May 2007, Lot 1173

• Private Collection, New York, USA

• Private Collection, Europe

• Anon. sale, Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2011, Lot 1014

• Private Collection, Asia

• The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Foundation Zao Wou-Ki, dated 19 January 2011.

• This work is referenced in the archive of the Fondation Zao Wou-Ki and will be included in the artist's forthcoming catalogue raisonne prepared by Francoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen (Information provided by Fondation Zao Wou-Ki).

Estimate: HK$50,000,000 - $60,000,000

Zao Wou-Ki. 10.11.58 - 30.12.70.

Lot no.: 25
Created in: 1958 - 1970
Size: 130 x 195cm
Provenance:

• Galerie de France, Paris, France

• Private Collection, Mexico

• Private Collection, Asia

• Anon sale, Christie’s Hong Kong, 23 November 2013, Lot 0004

• Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

• This work is referenced in the archive of the Fondation Zao Wou-Ki and will be included in the artist's forthcoming catalogue raisonne prepared by Francoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen (Information provided by Fondation Zao Wou-Ki).

Estimate: HK$50,000,000 - $70,000,000

Chu Teh Chun. No. 81.

Lot no.:27
Created in: 1961
Size: 162 x 130cm
Provenance:

• Private Collection, Asia

• Anon. sale, Christie’s Hong Kong, 24 November 2012, Lot 12

• Private Collection, Asia (acquired from the above by the present owner)

• The authenticity of the artwork has been confirmed by Fondation Chu Teh-Chun, Geneva

Estimate: HK$35,000,000 - $45,000,000

Yun Gee. Old Broadway in Winter.

Lot no.: 29
Created in: circa 1930s-1940s
Size: 121 x 101cm
Provenance:

• Anon. Sale, Christie's Hong Kong, 28 April 2002, Lot 148

• Acquired from the above by the previous owner

• Anon. Sale, Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2008, Lot 556

• Acquired from the above by the present owner

Estimate: HK$30,000,000 - $40,000,000

Chu Teh Chun. No. 51 - Mille Vies se Cachent dans le Bois (A Thousand Lives Hiding in the Woods).

Lot no.: 26
Created in: 1960
Size: 120 x 100cm
Provenance:

• Private Collection, Asia

• The authenticity of the artwork has been confirmed by Fondation Chu Teh-Chun, Geneva

Estimate: HK$25,000,000 - $35,000,000

Roy Lichtestein. Coup de Chapeau II.

Lot no.: 67
Created in: 1996
Size: 226.1 x 74.3 x 33cm
Provenance:

• Estate of the Artist.

• Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2012.

Estimate: HK$24,000,000 - $40,000,000

Zao Wou-Ki. Neige Danse (Swirling Snow).

Lot no.: 4
Created in: 1955
Size: 73 x 60cm
Provenance:

• Galerie Pierre Loeb, Paris, France

• Acquired from the above by the previous owner

• Private Collection, Germany

• Acquired from the above by the present owner

• This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by the Foundation Zao Wou-Ki.

• This work is referenced in the archive of the Fondation Zao Wou-Ki and will be included in the artist's forthcoming catalogue raisonne prepared by Francoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen (Information provided by Fondation Zao Wou-Ki).

Estimate: HK$20,000,000 - $25,000,000

Chen Yifei. Beauties on Promenade.

Lot no.: 30
Created in: 1997
Size: 190 x 208cm
Provenance:

• China Guardian, 26 October 1997, Lot 1588

• Acquired from the above by the present owner

Estimate on request 

Auction details

Auction house: Christie’s Hong Kong
Sale: Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art (Evening Sale) / Contemporaries: Voices from East and West (Evening Sale)
Lots offered: 77
Preview:
2018/5/25｜10:30am - 8pm
2018/5/26｜10:30am - 7pm
Auction: 2018/5/26｜6pm