Sotheby’s Strikes Gold with Mandopop Star’s Curated Sale

On June 18, Jay Chou x Sotheby’s collaborative sale achieved a total of HKD 846 million (USD 109 million), with all of the lots finding buyers across Sotheby’s salerooms in Hong Kong, New York, and London, for a “white-glove” result, and surpassing its pre-sale estimate of HKD 617.9 million (USD 36.6 million). Selected by the Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou and supported by the creative agency Enviseam and the K11 group, the sale featured nine works that achieved auction records, with more than 60 percent of the 46 lots fetching prices eclipsing their high estimates. The top lot, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1985), which was portrayed with the artist on the cover of The New York Times Magazine, hammered at HKD 290 million (USD 37.3 million), becoming the eighth most expensive Basquiat sold at auction to date.

The evening sale demonstrated continued strength in Asia for iconic works of postwar art, including Pablo Picasso’s oil-on-canvas tribute to Vincent van Gogh, Buste d’homme (1969), which was purchased for HKD 108 million (USD 14 million). Frank Stella’s Untitled (Double Concentric Square) (1978), one of his signature geometric paintings, hit a record for the New York painter at HKD 42 million (USD 5.4 million). Zao Wou-ki’s abstract green oil painting 14.05.63 (1963) did not disappoint either, making HKD 38.8 million (USD 5 million).

Meanwhile, artists working in pop-cultural styles remain in demand. Richard Prince’s Runaway Nurse (2005–06), an inkjet and acrylic painting, reeled in HKD 94 million (USD 12.1 million), setting a record for the artist. Banksy’s Laugh Now But One Day We’ll Be in Charge (2000) realized HKD 17.7 million (USD 2.28 million) and Andy Warhol’s classic screenprint Campbell Soup I (Set of Ten) (1968) sold at HKD 8 million (USD 1 million). Among younger American artists, Loie Hollowell’s abstract painting of warping forms, Linked Lingams (yellow, green, blue, purple, pink) (2018), gained over five times its low estimate at HKD 16.5 million (USD 2.1 million). The airbrushed, 3D-rendered canvas Boots (2017) by Avery Singer sold for HKD 10 million (1.3 million). Following closely behind, Chinese artist Jia Aili’s oil painting of a thunder storm, The Memory of North Liucao Island (2013–14), realized HKD 8.65 million (USD 1.1 million).  

Other international talents also flew past their pre-sale estimates, perhaps on the wings of Jay Chou’s brand, including Jamian Juliano-Villani’s hyper-saturated acrylic painting, Heat Wave (2013), which went for ten times its low estimate at HKD 3.15 million (USD 405,000). Japanese painter Yukimasa Ida’s King of Rock (2021), an oil portrait of Elvis Presley created specifically for the auction, incited intense bidding and was eventually sold for HKD 2.77 million (USD 357,000). Collaborative artist group a’strict’s auction debut, Waterfall – Sands (2020–21), a video of pouring pink sands, also designed for the sale, exceeded its high estimate of HKD 650,000 (USD 83,700) and reached HKD 945,000 (USD 122,000).

Speaking of the successful night, Jay Chou thanked Sotheby’s and Enviseam for making his dream possible. “We are now on our way to achieve my mission of making art accessible to new audiences in unique ways. My dream is to bring together the worlds of art and entertainment to share with even more people the many different ways of understanding and appreciating the art that surrounds us everyday,” Chou said in a statement.

As Yuki Terase’s last evening sale before her departure as head of Sotheby’s contemporary art in Asia, Jay Chou x Sotheby’s marked a successful ending to an impressive tenure. Sotheby’s will hold their “British Art: Modern Contemporary” auction on June 29 in London.

*All results include buyer’s premium.

Judy Chiu is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.

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