Closing with a combined $154,418,490 across the three auction houses, last week’s Hong Kong marquee auctions confirmed an Asian market now far more cautious and selective than in previous cycles—a shift in pace and taste made all the more apparent by the galleries’ turnout at the fairs held that same week. The results landed within estimates, with few fireworks from the rostrum. Notably, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s reported strong bidder activity from Southeast Asia, underlining the region’s rapidly growing economy and evolving art market. Millennials, too, were particularly active, signaling a promising generational shift among contemporary art collectors.

For the first time, all three auction houses strategically aligned their main auctions in the Asia-Pacific hub to coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong, creating a spring auction calendar that reflects the growing centrality of the region. The 2024 season has already seen major investments take root, including the unveiling of new luxury headquarters by Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams.

At Christie’s, cautious but confident bidders gravitated toward the region’s blue-chip names

Christie’s led the auction round with its second evening sale of 20th- and 21st-century art, held for the first time in its new headquarters inside the Zaha Hadid-designed futuristic tower, The Henderson, in Central—purposefully timed to align with Hong Kong’s art week. The sale closed at HKD 841,653,720 ($108,689,815), offering forty-one lots that spanned time and region, with a robust 90 percent sell-through rate. Christie’s also reported strong participation from a younger demographic, noting that Millennials accounted for over 70 percent of new bidders at the auction.

The night was led by the highly anticipated Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night), a 1984 painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat created at the height of his meteoric rise. The work achieved $14.5 million—surpassing its low estimate though falling just short of a $16.1 million high estimate—ultimately selling to an Asian collector bidding by phone. Having passed through multiple hands and exhibited by renowned galleries such as Galerie Yvon Lambert and Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris, the painting last appeared at auction at Christie’s in 2019, where it sold for $10.66 million. This latest result reflects a 5 percent annualized return since that sale.

Meeting expectations was a work by the sought-after Hong Kong painter Firenze Lai, which opened the evening with a result of HKD 1,638,000 (approximately $210,500). It was followed by a Ouyang Chun painting (HKD 2,016,000 / $259,173), an unusually self-referential work by Fernando Botero (HKD 3,402,000 / $437,350) and a canvas by Japanese artist Izumi Kato (HKD 746,000 / $95,904)—all of which landed solidly within their respective estimates. Reinforcing confidence in top-tier Asian blue-chip artists, Yayoi Kusama’s iconic pumpkin painting achieved HKD 39,095,000, while a classic Auguste Renoir landscape also outperformed estimates, selling for HKD 34,860,000. These results suggest enduring regional demand for Impressionist works, despite softer performance in other auction capitals such as London and New York.

One of the night’s standout surprises came from celebrated Thai contemporary artist Thawan Duchanee (1939-2014). His spiritual painting Mahānāradakassapa Jātaka, steeped in Thai and Buddhist philosophy, sold well above expectations for HKD 3,780,000 ($485,956), confirming the rising market value for his work, which now regularly commands six-figure prices at international auctions.

SEE ALSO: Can Hong Kong Maintain Its Status as the Asia-Pacific Region’s Leading Art Hub?

Surrealism continued to hold sway with collectors, particularly in the case of René Magritte. His Reverie de Monsieur James (1943)—a tender image of hands clutching roses in bloom—sold for $6.1 million, right between its $5.4 million to $7 million estimate. Earlier in the sale, Magritte’s La Clairvoyance achieved HKD 28,810,000 ($3,703,750) against an estimate of HKD 15-25 million. The painting had previously sold at Christie’s London in 2015 for £992,500, marking a significant appreciation. That upward trend culminated last November, when L’Empire des Lumières set a new record at Christie’s New York, selling for $121.2 million—a 53 percent leap over his prior auction record, set in March 2022 when another version of L’Empire des Lumières (1961) fetched $78.95 million at Sotheby’s London.

On the more contemporary end, Indonesian abstract artist Christine Ay Tjoe continued to demonstrate strong momentum among regional collectors. Her 2014 painting Layers as a Hiding Place #2 exceeded its already ambitious low estimate and sold for HKD 13,685,000 ($1,759,343). The result follows a headline-grabbing sale at Sotheby’s Singapore this January, where Lights for the Layer (2011) fetched $2.15 million (SGD 2.94 million), tripling its low estimate and setting a new personal auction record. That result marked a 24 percent jump over her previous record of $1.73 million, set just months earlier in May 2024 at Christie’s Hong Kong.

Strong results were also recorded for celebrated South Korean contemporary masters, including Lee Bae, Lee Ufan and Park Seo-Bo. The latter’s Écriture No. 60-73 surpassed its low estimate, selling for HKD 7,308,000 ($939,516) despite being backed by a third-party guarantee—a sign of continued upward momentum in Park’s market following his recent passing.

Several international artists whose profiles have risen across both the market and institutions in recent years also delivered solid results, affirming their growing collector bases in the region. Hernan Bas’s Colored Plastic Complex of Noise + Dance + Joy sold within expectations for HKD 3,402,000 ($437,361), while a haunting, vaporous canvas by Miriam Cahn was placed for HKD 1,512,000 ($194,382), well above her primary market prices from just five years ago. Cahn’s current auction record—£584,200 (approximately $703,070)—was set at Sotheby’s London in March 2023. Still, the overall selection skewed regional, with Christie’s clearly leaning into names already resonating with Asian collectors, particularly in the contemporary and ultra-contemporary segments.

Younger buyers and the rise of South East Asia at Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction launched the night with notable momentum, as rising star Li Hei Di set a new auction record with Drifted Petals on Her Lifted Mound, which achieved HKD 1,397,000 ($179,668) after a competitive 20-bid exchange. The result followed her September announcement as the latest addition to mega-gallery Pace’s roster—a significant milestone for the London-based RCA graduate. That gallery representation was quickly followed by two back-to-back auction records in November 2024: first at Phillips’ Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York, where Unfolding a Flood (2022) fetched $127,000, then at Phillips Hong Kong, where Orange Swim (2021) reached $155,035.

The evening’s other artist record came courtesy of Ji Xin, a fast-rising young Chinese painter now represented by Almine Rech. Her work Dawn drew spirited bidding that propelled the final hammer price to HKD 2,540,000 ($326,669), well beyond its HKD 800,000–1.5 million estimate and nearly doubling her previous auction record, set in November 2023 when White Cat (2021) sold for HKD 2,016,000 ($258,693) at Christie’s Hong Kong.

Works by established Chinese contemporary artists also performed well, often landing within or above expectations. Among them, Zeng Fanzhi’s Mask Series 1995 No.12—a fresh-to-market canvas by a key voice of China’s “Post-1989 Generation”—sold for HKD 10,867,000 ($1,397,605), squarely within the HKD 8-15 million range. Zhang Xiaogang’s iconic Bloodline: The Big Family came in above estimate, realizing HKD 5,588,000 ($718,673), while Ding Yi’s Appearance of Crosses 93-3, composed of his signature grid motifs, reached HKD 1,905,000 ($245,002), bolstered by renewed interest following his 2023 solo exhibition at Château La Coste.

Southeast Asian artists—particularly women—saw strong demand throughout the sale, with a 100 percent sell-through rate and many results exceeding initial expectations. Among them, Indonesian artist Christine Ay Tjoe saw a 12-bid contest for her work Freezing 01, which ultimately doubled its estimate to achieve HKD 4,500,000 ($310,336). Vietnamese-French painter Mai Trung Thu also saw exceptional results: her Joie de vivre I sold for HKD 6,985,000 ($898,341), nearly doubling its low estimate, and Instant musical soared past its high estimate to reach HKD 10,135,000 ($1,303,462). Trung Thu’s blend of Vietnamese heritage and European classicism continues to gain global traction—her current auction record stands at $3,136,419, set in 2021 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong with Portrait de Mademoiselle Phuong.

Elsewhere, Indonesian expressionist Affandi’s Skiing surpassed its HKD 1.5-2.5 million estimate to close at HKD 3,429,000 ($440,832), while two works by Srihadi Soedarsono—Golden Harvest and Melasti Procession—sold over their low estimates, with the former reaching HKD 1,016,000 ($261,336). Both artists maintain strong regional demand, even as their markets remain largely concentrated in Southeast Asia.

But the top lots of the evening were all by Western artists. A Picasso painting formerly held in the MoMA collection sold for HKD 18,675,000 (US$2,401,792), while Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Baigneuse accoudée achieved HKD 23,555,000 ($3,029,409). New auction records in the region were also set for Henry Moore, whose Working Model for Reclining Figure reached HKD 20,505,000 ($2,637,148), and Marc Chagall, whose Fleurs de printemps (La Cruche aux fleurs de printemps) exceeded its high estimate and sold for HKD 34,535,000 ($4,441,546).

Notably, these results unfolded amid a broader institutional focus on Western modernism in Hong Kong this season, including a major Picasso exhibition at M+ and the Cézanne and Renoir show at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. The results further underscore a growing appetite for museum-caliber works by established artists—collectors in the region are increasingly prioritizing cultural significance, institutional validation and long-term value over speculative hype. That shift in sensibility echoed the recalibrated pace and preferences observed at this year’s edition of Art Basel Hong Kong.

SEE ALSO: Hong Kong Art Week 2025: Supper Club, Current Plans and the Art Beyond Basel

The evening also saw a new record in Asia for German artist Günther Förg, whose work sold for HKD 8,890,000 ($1,143,343), and a notable rebound for Nicolas Party, with Grotto surpassing its high estimate to fetch HKD 15,015,000 ($1,931,079). The result marked a return to form for the artist, whose market has struggled to hit seven figures recently, particularly in London and New York. Demand remained strong for Les Lalanne and ultracontemporary figures like Louise Bonnet and Henry Taylor, while internationally renowned artists popular with Chinese and Asian collectors—such as Antony Gormley—also saw healthy interest.

Sotheby’s closed the evening with a total of HKD 297,519,500 ($38,150,000) and a robust 95 percent sell-through rate. The auction was defined by dynamic, layered bidding across price tiers and geographies. According to Sotheby’s, Chinese collectors acquired all five top lots, though participation from Southeast Asian buyers increased notably—further proof of the region’s rapidly evolving and increasingly sophisticated art market.

A blend of “New Now” art and design at Phillips targets younger collectors

On March 29, Phillips’ New Now: Modern & Contemporary Art and Design auction was geared toward a fast-growing base of younger collectors, spotlighting artists whose work taps into youth-driven aesthetics alongside status-symbol pieces of collectible design. That strategy appeared to resonate: artists favored by a younger demographic mostly sold within or above estimates. Among the top 10 lots was Ayako Rokkaku’s Untitled (2023), which soared past its HKD 2.4-3 million estimate to fetch HKD 4,127,500. Issy Wood’s Professional Help on Rye (2020) landed squarely at the mid-estimate at HKD 952,500 ($122,286), while George Condo’s Untitled (1982) exceeded its high estimate, closing at HKD 825,500 ($106,420). Reflecting the artist’s momentum across Hong Kong sales, Li Hei Di also performed strongly at Phillips—her Concubine Fell In Deep Sea (2021) nearly doubled its estimate, selling for HKD 952,500 ($122,286) against a projected range of HKD 300,000-500,000. Meanwhile, Jason Boyd Kinsella’s Husayn (2020) also doubled expectations, bringing in HKD 635,000 ($81,635).

The sale set several new auction records for emerging artists. American figurative painter Jansson Stegner’s Cedar Lake (2020) opened the auction and achieved HKD 762,000 ($97,741), surpassing his previous record of $13,970 set in 2023, also at Phillips. A new high watermark was also established for young Australian artist Holly Greenwood, whose auction debut After the Game (2024) sold for HKD 27,940 ($3,592). Other artists popular among regional collectors—such as Sylvia Ong, Daniel Crews-Chubb, Yuan Fang and Christine Ay Tjoe—landed near or within their estimates. However, works by previously in-demand names, including Eddie Martinez, Melike Kara, Michael Kagan, Andrea Marie Breiling and Edgar Plans, failed to find buyers.

On the design side, discerning collectors turned out for key lots, most notably Charlotte Perriand’s iconic Mexique bookcase from the Maison du Mexique at Cité Internationale Universitaire, Paris (1952), which fetched HKD 2,222,500 ($285,216)—nearly twice its high estimate. KAWS and Estudio Campana’s plush pink chair also sold for HKD 431,800.

The sale concluded with a total of HKD 22,305,518 ($2,868,490) and a modest 72 percent sell-through rate, with 81 percent of sold lots falling within estimate. The day prior, Phillips held its Editions auction, also targeted toward new and younger collectors. That sale, led by Banksy’s Barely Legal (LA Edition) (2007), which achieved HKD 825,500, totaled HKD 8,252,016 ($1,061,209) across 101 lots, with a 77 percent sell-through rate. Notably, over 30 percent of buyers were new to Phillips, indicating a growing appetite for editions, photographs and multiples as accessible entry points into the market—and into art patronage more broadly.