The results are in: The third edition of Art Basel Hong Kong featured a new, moved-up date and reported strong sales and attendance.
This was the first year the fair took place in March instead of May. The new dates translated to the strongest lineup of galleries to date, with 29 galleries exhibiting at Art Basel in Hong Kong for the first time. The timing also coincided with the city’s “Art Month.” Throughout March, a wide range of arts and culture events are took place in Hong Kong, such as satellite art fairs and public arts and exhibitions.
“Over the last three years Art Basel’s Hong Kong show has gone from strength to strength, with the quality of the art, and of the collectors’ attending, improving each year and proving that Hong Kong truly is the art hub of Asia,” says Pascal de Sarthe, director of de Sarthe Gallery in Hong Kong. “I am very happy about the date change to March.”
The fair featured 233 galleries with exhibition spaces in 37 countries and territories. Half of the participating galleries had exhibition spaces in Asia and Asia-Pacific. Nearly 60,000 people attended the show—and unlike past years, many of were local residents. ‘This is our fourth year in Hong Kong and there was undeniable new momentum at the fair this year with sales in the seven figures to clients in the United States, Mainland China, the United Kingdom and Europe in general,” says Glenn Scott Wright, co-director of London’s Victoria Miro Gallery.
Couldn’t make it? Below are the top five reported sales from Art Basel Hong Kong. (Some galleries do not disclose sales figures.)
1. David Zwirner Gallery, New York and London
Chris Ofili
Dead Monkey -‐ Sex, Money and Drugs, 2000
Acrylic, oil, polyester resin, pencil, glitter, map pins, and elephant dung on linen
The price: Sold for $2 million within the first hour of the fair.
2. Liang Gallery, Taipei
Chen Cheng-po 陳澄波 Foliage 綠蔭, 1934
Oil on canvas
The price: Sold for $1.95 million.
3. Liang Gallery, Taipei
Chen Cheng-po 陳澄波 Footbridge in Shanghai上海路橋, 1930
Oil on canvas
The price: Sold for $1.95 million.
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4. David Zwirner Gallery, New York and London
Neo Rauch
Die Fremde, 2015 Oil on canvas
The price: Sold for $1 million to a new client from mainland China in the last minutes of opening day.
5. David Zwirner Gallery, New York and London
Neo Rauch
Marina, 2014 Oil on canvas
The price: Sold for $1 million to a collector from Shanghai.
