Phillips took the spotlight of Hong Kong’s autumn auction season on 27 September with its Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale. All 20 lots on offer found buyers, delivering a white-glove result and a total of nearly HK$160 million (US$20.5 million). Six works crossed the HK$10 million mark, led by Yoshitomo Nara’s Pinky, which achieved HK$56.64 million (US$7.2 million) including premium.
The sale marked the first major test of Phillips’ newly launched Priority Bidding (PB) system. Under this model, collectors who place a written bid at or above the low estimate at least 48 hours before a live sale will qualify for a reduced buyer’s premium. If the same bidder continues to compete during the auction and ultimately wins the lot, the lower premium still applies.
Among the goals of PB is to secure advanced interest and reduce the risk of unsold lots. The 48-hour window prior to the sale allows Phillips to adjust strategies—from enhancing promotion to lowering estimates or withdrawing works altogether. In this sale, seven lots were withdrawn, and several others saw their estimates revised downward. These strategic adjustments ultimately contributed to the 100% sold result.
Auctioneer Jonathan Crockett (Chairman, Asia)
Lot 11 | Yoshitomo Nara | Pinky, acrylic on canvas
Painted in 2000, in Germany
159.7 x 145.2 cm
Provenance:
- Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
- Private Collection
- Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2009
Estimate: HK$35,000,000 - 55,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$46,000,000
Sold: HK$56,645,000 (US$7.3 million)
For instance, the top lot, Yoshitomo Nara’s Pinky, was originally estimated at HK$60–80 million. On the day of the auction, however, the estimate was adjusted to HK$35–55 million.
Bidding opened at HK$30 million, with PB paddle 6038 coming in at HK$38 million. Competition intensified between a woman in the room and Kevie Yang (Deputy Chairwoman, Americas and Senior International Specialist), who eventually secured the work for her client with paddle number 1061 for a final price of HK$56.64 million including premium.
*Phillips does not publicly disclose which lots were subject to Priority Bidding. All prices are based on standard buyer’s premium rates.
Kevie Yang secured the work for her client with paddle 1061
Yoshitomo Nara studied in Germany during his early years
Yoshitomo Nara’s iconic girls are red-hot in the Asian art market, with several works selling for over HK$100 million, making Nara the most expensive Japanese artist to date. So far, seven of his paintings have surpassed the HK$100 million mark, with the top two—Knife Behind Back and Missing in Action—both created in 2000.
The piece auctioned this time, Pinky, was also painted in 2000, the same year as the two record-holders. That was the year Nara returned to Japan after 12 years studying and working in Germany—a turning point in his artistic career.
Nara has said that these mischievous, sly, and slightly sinister-looking girls are reflections of himself. Looking across his body of work, we see how the girl’s appearance changes over time—mirroring the artist’s childhood, student life, and adulthood, each stage revealing a different worldview.
This work is titled Pinky. Over the course of his career, Nara has created four paintings with this title. Among them, this is the earliest.
Knife Behind Back (2000) | Sold: HK$195,696,000, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2019 (Auction record for the artist)
Missing in Action (2000) | Sold: HK$123,725,000, Phillips Hong Kong, 2021 (Second most expensive painting by the artist sold at auction)
Close-up of Pinky
A closer look at Pinky reveals the girl's face emerging through multiple layers of translucent acrylic paint. From the gauzy background to the glimmer in her eyes, every brushstroke and detail bears the unmistakable touch of Nara’s hand.
A passionate fan of rock music, Nara often paints while blasting music in his studio. While Knife Behind Back echoes the raw energy of New York punk legends The Ramones, Pinky hums with the dreamy, psychedelic atmosphere of Pink Floyd.
Lot 16 | Zao Wou-Ki | 27.01.86, oil on canvas
Painted in 1986, in France
200 x 162 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Artcurial, Paris
- Private Collection, Europe
- Tajan, Paris, 21 November 2001, lot 93
- Private Collection, Asia
- Sotheby’s, Beijing, 30 November 2014, lot 38
- Private Collection, Asia
- Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 3 April 2016, lot 1025
- Private Collection, Asia
- Christie's, Hong Kong, 2 December 2020, lot 16
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$30,000,000 - 40,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$24,000,000
Sold: HK$29,805,000 (US$3.8 million)
The second-highest lot of the evening was Zao Wou-Ki’s 27.01.86. Opening at HK$20 million, the work received four bids before the hammer fell at HK$24 million. The final price was HK$29.8 million (US$3.8 million), with Meiling Lee (Head of Modern and Contemporary Art, Asia) placing the winning bid via phone for paddle 1063.
Zao Wou-Ki’s 27.01.86 was completed in the 1980s, by which time the artist was already in his sixties. Having endured the loss of close family members in the 1970s, Zao returned to painting with a more restrained and introspective touch. Drawing from his inner spiritual transformation and the wisdom of Eastern philosophy, he ushered in what became known as his “Infinite Period”—a phase marked by a more open and expansive visual language.
Close-up of 27.01.86
Following this, Zao embarked on a global exhibition tour, which included a long-awaited return to his homeland. In 1985, he made a special visit to his alma mater, the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he taught briefly. During this time, he revisited traditional Chinese ink painting, particularly its brush techniques and spatial concepts, integrating the fluid, dynamic space of ink art into his abstract canvases.
It was in this context that 27.01.86 was created. In this work, earthy greens, ink-like greys, and deep reddish-browns interlace to form an expansive, forceful web in ink. At the center, an intense energy field emerges—complex and vigorous, radiating a powerful life force. The ink-like lines extend beyond the canvas, creating a sense of boundless, open space.
(Left) The poster of the 1988 Seoul Olympics; (Right) 27.01.86
In 1988, Zao was commissioned by the organizers of the Seoul Olympics to create an abstract piece for the event. The resulting official Olympic poster shared a strikingly similar visual language and energy with 27.01.86, resonating deeply with the Olympic ideals of peace, unity, and perseverance.
27.01.86 boasts an impressive exhibition history. It was shown in 1988 at Galerie Artcurial in Paris, and in 2004 at the Bridgestone Museum of Art in Tokyo (now the Artizon Museum) during a major Zao retrospective. It was also included in Michael Sullivan’s seminal book, affirming its art historical importance and academic value.
Lot 9 | Tom Wesselmann | Smoker #17, oil on shaped canvas
Executed in 1975, in the USA
243.8 x 332.7 cm
Provenance (Supplemented by The Value):
- Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
- Private Collection (acquired from the above in 1980)
- Sotheby’s, New York, 15 May 2007, lot 48 (Sold: US$5,864,000)
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$13,000,000 - 20,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$11,000,000
Sold: HK$13,945,000 (US$1.8 million)
The third-highest lot was Tom Wesselmann’s large-scale painting Smoker #17. Opening at HK$6 million, a flurry of phone bids followed. Robert Manley placed a winning bid of HK$11 million on behalf of his client with paddle 1037. With fees, the final price was HK$13.94 million (US$1.8 million).
Wesselmann’s works are more commonly seen in New York and London, and are relatively rare in Hong Kong auctions. A key figure in the 1960s American Pop Art movement, Wesselmann is often mentioned alongside Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
Before gaining fame, Wesselmann illustrated cartoons for men’s magazines. In an era dominated by abstraction, he set out to revive figurative art with bold, large-scale, and sensual imagery, often depicting fragmented female bodies, lips, and smokers—leaving a lasting visual impact.
Though often labeled a Pop artist, Wesselmann rejected that categorization, insisting that his use of consumer imagery was for formal power, not social critique.
The scene of the Smoker
Smoker Study (For Smoker #17) | 30.5 x 38.2 cm | Sold: £193,750, Sotheby’s London, 2019
Smoker #17 is part of his famed Smoker series, which began in 1967. These works often juxtapose lips and lit cigarettes. The first piece in the series, Smoker #1 (Mouth #12), is now housed at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. One year prior to completing Smoker #17, in 1974, Wesselmann created a small oil study, Smoker Study (For Smoker #17).
The last time Smoker #17 appeared at auction was in 2007, when it sold for US$5.864 million at Sotheby’s New York, setting a then-record for the artist. The current consignor acquired it at that sale.
That record was broken the following year, in 2008, when Great American Nude #48 sold for US$10.68 million—a record that still stands today.
Other Highlight Lots:
Lot 10 | Yayoi Kusama | INFINITY-NETS (SFOOUY), acrylic on canvas
Painted in 2017, in Japan
194 x 194 cm
Provenance:
- David Zwirner Gallery, New York (acquired directly from the artist)
- Private Collection, USA
- Ticolat Tamura Limited, Hong Kong
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$10,000,000
Sold: HK$12,725,000
Lot 22 | Yoshitomo Nara | Untitled, acrylic on canvas
Painted in 1990, in Germany
180 x 110 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Humanité, Nagoya
- Private Collection
- Hong Kong, Christie’s, 27 May 2018, Lot 111
- Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$9,000,000
Sold: HK$11,505,000
Lot 21 | Zeng Fanzhi | Mask Series 1999 No. 2, oil on canvas
Painted in 1999, in China
150 x 180 cm
Provenance:
- Private Collection (acquired directly from the artist)
- Private Collection (acquired from the above)
- Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 27 April 2022, lot 1114
- Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$8,000,000
Sold: HK$10,285,000
Lot 5 | Ruth Asawa | Untitled S.013 (Hanging Single-Lobed, Five-Layer Continuous Form within a Form), hanging sculpture, woven oxidised copper wire
Executed circa 1987, in the USA
Numbered S.013/80
22.5 x 28.8 x 28.8 cm
Provenance:
- Collection of the Asawa Family
- Christie's, New York, 9 November 2011, lot 609
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$2,200,000 - 4,200,000
Hammer Price: HK$3,200,000
Sold: HK$4,128,000
Lot 27 | Jean-Michel Othoniel | Black Tornado, chrome painted aluminum, steel (Auction record for the artist)
Executed in 2017, in France
346 x 170 x 170 cm
Provenance:
- Perrotin, Shanghai
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Hammer Price: HK$1,300,000
Sold: HK$1,677,000
Lot 1 | Firenze Lai | Basic Knot, oil on paper
Executed in 2016, in Hong Kong
38 x 29 cm
Provenance:
- Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$100,000 - 200,000
Hammer Price: HK$370,000
Sold: HK$477,300
Auction Details:
Auction House: Phillips Hong Kong
Sale: Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale
Date: 27 September 2025
Number of Lots: 20
Sold: 20
Sale Rate: 100%
Sale Total: HK$159,961,800 (US$20.5 million)