Christie's Autumn Auction is in full swing in Hong Kong. Private and not-for-sale exhibitions of artwork from both the west and the east will take place all week alongside the curated sales. This auction is particulary special as Christie’s celebrates its 250th anniversary worldwide. And CCTV reporter Li Jiejun explains why Chinese pieces are in the spotlight.
Christie's Autumn Auction is in full swing in Hong Kong. Private and not-for-sale exibitions of artwork from both the west and the east will take place all week alongside the curated sales.
A groundbreaking private-selling exhibition of western masterpieces -- the first in Asia. Named "The Loaded Brush", the exhibition presents exquisite works of big names such as Picasso, Renoir and Monet.
The title refers to the potential-laden moment when an artist stands before an empty canvas with a brush dipped in paint. The exhibition seeks to celebrate the artists’ liberation of their inner creativity, while also strengthening ties between East and West.
"We have a very great cross over, for the type of tasete we see here in Asia, we call the exhition "The Loaded Brush". We see proximity between this type of work and calligraphy and action painting in many traditional and Asian painting. The Asian collections are very important for Christie’s and the art markets for the passed many years. The international art market has thrived on the Asian participation for the last three or four years. Some of the highest prices have been paid by Asian collectors. That’s the strength of Asian buyers," said Brett Gorvy, Chairman of Post-war & Contemporary Art, Christie's.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Christie’s, and the 30th year of Christie’s Asia. This exhibition celebrates the milestones by presenting a number of remarkable works from Asia, especially China.
Christie's Autumn Auction is in full swing in Hong Kong. Private and not-for-sale exibitions of artwork from both the west and the east will take place all week alongside the curated sales.
One standout piece is Chen Rong’s elaborately painted Six Dragons, which was graded as a painting of the highest quality in the Qianlong Imperial Collection.
"One of the highlights we have is the pioneer sale, which focuses mainly on Chinese, but also some Japanese and Korean arts, but largely the Chinese artists, who are mainly first generation who traveled outside China to Europe and absorbed a lot of European culture and techniques, and came back brought together the technique and culture of the east and the west. From blossom to harvest, which is focusing on the hundred years of traditional Chinese painting, both before and after 1949. We hope to excite and educate people about the wonderful world that is Chinese paintings," said Jonathan Stone, Chairman of Asian Art, Christie's.
Experts say there’s extraordinary enthusiasm for paintings, ceramics and other works of art from China and other Asian countries. The exhibition provides an insight into not only the spirituality of the artists, but that also of a nation.
The exhibitions and sales explore the evolution of taste in Asia across the centuries, and highlight the region’s status as a global center for collectors from East and West. It’s one of the most important fairs that art fans cannot miss at the end of this year.
