Hong Kong December 2021 Auctions: Young Artists Drive Record Sales

Phillips and Christie's held contemporary art auctions in Hong Kong between November 30 and December 1, 2021, achieving strong results driven by demand for emerging artists. Phillips' evening sale, in collaboration with Poly Auction, totaled over $58 million. Top lot was Gerhard Richter's Kerzenschein (Candle-light) (1984) at over $13 million, followed by Yayoi Kusama's INFINITY-NETS (OPRT) (2004) at $2.9 million and Matthew Wong's Far Away Eyes (2017) at $2.7 million, doubling its estimate. Cinga Samson's Ivory V (2018) sold for $323,000, ten times the estimate, and Nina Chanel Abney's Untitled (IXI Black) (2015) fetched over $380,000. Christie's evening sale exceeded $190 million, with Jean-Michel Basquiat's Donut Revenge (1982) achieving $21 million. Records were set for Amoako Boafo, whose Hands Up (2018) sold for $3.4 million, and Avery Singer, whose Untitled (Tuesday) (2017) reached $4.5 million. Yayoi Kusama's Pumpkin (LPASG) (2013) matched its 2019 record at $8 million. Other notable sales included works by Sanyu, Dana Schutz, Shara Hughes, Claire Tabouret, Jadé Fadojutimi, and Nicolas Party.