On April Fool's day, Sotheby's NIGOLDENEYE® Vol. 1 was no joke. The highlight of the night belonged to KAWS' The KAWS Album, a work inspired by The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, which was hammered down for HK$100m and sold for HK$115.96m (US$14.78m), setting a new auction record for the American artist.
NIGOLDENEYE® Vol. 1 featuring the personal collection from NIGO, A Bathing Ape (BAPE) founder and streetwear entrepreneur, achieved an exceptional white-glove sale, selling all 33 lots of his artworks and collectibles totalling nearly HK$220m (US$28m) after premium.
THE KAWS ALBUM
KAWS
There was a lot of hype coming into the auction, but the result far exceeded all expectations. The accumulated hammer price for all 33 lots was an astounding HK$185m, six times the total of pre-sale estimate of HK$31m.
KAWS. UNTITLED (ASTRO BOY)
KAWS works took up the majority of the lots offered, making the sale almost like an auction dedicated to KAWS. The night was kicked off with five figures from Untitled (Astro Boy) set. The red COMPANION started at HK$500,000 and after 23 bids was hammered down for HK$2.5m and sold for HK$3.12m after premium.
Then came the coveted KAWS’ reworking series of The Simpsons, The Kimpsons. The series of artworks features various characters from the show replacing their eyes with the artist's signature XX eyes.
This one is inspired by Bart from The Simpsons
This one is inspired by Maggie from The Simpsons
Part of this series included 20cm x 20cm single or set of character portraits. Two single portraits of characters Bart and Maggie, both estimated at HK$300,000, were hammered down for HK$1.5m and HK$2m respectively (HK$1.87m and HK$2.5m after premium). Meanwhile, the lot featuring the parents - a pair of portraits, Homer and Marge was hammered down for HK$2.4m and sold for HK$3m (US$382,470) after premium.
The cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The star lot of the night belonged to The KAWS Album, a work NIGO commissioned from KAWS. The 1m x 1m piece of artwork was a parody of The Beatles’ album cover for their 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This The Kimpsons version features many characters from the show. This KAWS crossover of The Simpsons and The Beatles and KAWS makes this piece even more iconic, especially for fans of the comedic cartoon and the legendary band.
Kelly Chen (middle) was bidding on behalf of her client
Yuki Terase (with the paddle) won the painting for her telephone bidder
The bidding started at HK$5m and after four bids reached HK$7.5m but then all of the sudden someone in the telephone band quickly raised the bid to HK$15m which only engaged an even more hectic bidding war. It didn’t take long for the artwork to reach a whopping HK$50m, by then there were only two telephone bidders remaining, respectively represented by Yuki Terase, Head of Contemporary Art, Asia, and Kelly Chen, Sotheby's Taipei.
Both bidders showed no hesitation in offering an increment of HK$5m each bid. The people in the salesroom could only watch and admire the bidding war. Many took their phones out in preparation for the hammer awaiting the final winner.
KAWS' previous auction record was set by Untitled (Fatal Group), which sold for US$27.1m at Phillips New York
The lot was finally hammered down for a record breaking HK$100m to Yuki Terase’s client and sold for HK$116m (US$14.78m) after premium. The previous record for pieces from KAWS was from a Phillips sale in New York where the work Untitled (Fatal Group) was sold for US$2.71m after premium.
Yuki Terase, Head of Contemporary Art, Asia
The HK$116m The KAWS Album accounted for over half of the auction’s HK$220m total. Apart from it and other KIMPSONS series artworks, the auction also saw several pairs of BAPE Bapesta sneakers go for sale. One of the pairs featured a white base and black dots sold for HK$106,000, over two hundred times its estimate of only HK$500.
A white base and black dots sold for HK$106,000, over two hundred times its estimate of HK$500
Top three lots and other highlights
KAWS. The KAWS Album
Lot no.: 8
Created in: 2005
Size: 101.6 x 101.6cm
Estimate: HK$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Hammer price: HK$100,000,000
Price realised: HK$115,966,000 (US$14,784,505)
KAWS. UNTITLED (KIMPSONS)
Lot no.: 19
Created in: 2003
Size: 101.6 x 101.6cm
Estimate: HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Hammer price: HK$17,500,000
Price realised: HK$21,175,000 (US$2,699,601)
KAWS. UNTITLED (KIMPSONS #3)
Lot no.: 23
Created in: 2003
Size: 101.6 x 101.6cm
Estimate: HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Hammer price: HK$17,000,000
Price realised: HK$20,575,000 (US$2,623,107)
KAWS. KIMPSONS SERIES (FIVE WORKS)
Lot no.: 20
Created in: 2005
Size: 20.3 x 20.3cm (each)
Estimate: HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Hammer price: HK$3,500,000
Price realised: HK$4,375,000 (US$2,699,601)
KAWS. UNTITLED (ASTRO BOY)
Lot no.: 1
Created in: 2002
Size: 47 x 32 x 11.5cm
Estimate: HK$600,000 - 800,000
Hammer price: HK$2,500,000
Price realised: HK$3,125,000 (US$398,406)
KAWS. UNTITLED (ASTRO BOY)
Lot no.: 32
Created in: 2002
Size: 47 x 32 x 11.5cm
Estimate: HK$600,000 - 800,000
Hammer price: HK$2,400,000
Price realised: HK$3,000,000 (382,470)
KAWS. KIMPSONS SERIES (TWO WORKS)
Lot no.: 7
Created in: 2005
Size: 20.3 x 20.3cm (each)
Estimate: HK$500,000 - 700,000
Hammer price: HK$2,400,000
Price realised: HK$3,000,000 (US$382,740)
KAWS. KIMPSONS SERIES
Lot no.: 4
Created in: 2005
Size: 20.3 x 20.3cm
Estimate: HK$300,000 - 500,000
Hammer price: HK$2,000,000
Price realised: HK$2,500,000 (US$318,725)
KAWS. KIMPSONS SERIES
Lot no.: 2
Created in: 2005
Size: 20.3 x 20.3cm
Estimate: HK$300,000 - 500,000
Hammer price: HK$1,500,000
Price realised: HK$1,875,000 (US$239,044)
BAPESTA FS-029 CHOMPERS
Lot no.: 11
Size: US 9.5
Estimate: HK$500 - 800
Hammer price: HK$85,000
Price realised: HK$106,250 (US$13,546)
BAPE x Stash Spray Paint cans (set of five)
Lot no.: 3
Estimate: HK$3,000 - 5,000
Hammer price: HK$24,000
Price realised: HK$30,000 (US$3,825)
Auction summary
Auction house: Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Sale: NIGOLDENEYE® Vol. 1
Sale date: 1 April 2019
Lots offered: 33
Sold: 33
Sold by lots: 100%
Sale total: HK$219,944,750