Starting from the 18th of September, there will be various events and exhibitions at the 798 District in Beijing.
If you are in the area, make sure to join in the festivities.
For more information on the Festival’s events, please have a look at our 798 Festival micro-site at http://www.798district.com/798festival.
]]>“This remarkable work is almost a thousand years old, and we feel a deep responsibility to preserve it for another millennium,” said Colin Mackenzie, senior curator of Chinese art at the Nelson-Atkins.
]]>A total of 29 auctions will be held during the seven-day event, including traditional Chinese painting, jade wares, modern porcelain, sculpture and contemporary works.
More than 6,600 pieces will go under the hammer at Beijing International Hotel, among which ancient Chinese coins, bronze mirrors and stamps, all hotly pursued in recent years, account for more than half.
Traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy works will be a highlight at the auctions, as prices of these types of works have dramatically increased in the past few years, bucking the doom and gloom of the economic recession.
Last year, several traditional Chinese painting pieces and calligraphy works were sold for more than 100 million yuan (US$15 million) each, considered by art experts and economists as a symbol of the Chinese art market’s quick recovery.
China Guardian will offer a range of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy works from the Song (960-1279) to Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, with five different painting schools and six features by individual collectors represented.
Art experts and market researchers are paying close attention to the first spring auctions on the Chinese mainland, the outcome of which will serve as a barometer for the rest of the year’s sales.
“It is not only art lovers and collectors, but other auctions houses in and out of China that are looking forward to these spring auctions,” commented Zhao Li, director of Art Market Research Center (AMRC), an independent organization devoted to Chinese and international art market research.
Zhao added that since Chinese traditional pieces were extremely hot last year both in the domestic and overseas art markets, concerns have been raised about the market’s sustainability and this year’s spring auctions will serve as a key indicator to whether the market will continue to soar, or overheat.
]]>Last year the fair was attended by 16,500 visitors from all over the world, showcased 4,000 superb works of art exhibited by 60 leading Asian, European and American galleries, and recorded sales of over HK$ 230 million, an increase of 130% over 2008. This premier art event presented a wide range of collecting categories, from museum-quality ancient bronzes, outstanding Chinese ceramics and works of art, furniture, textiles and jades, to exceptional modern and contemporary art.
Andy Hei, Founder and Director of HKIAAF, said: “We are delighted to announce that this year our fair will have a new name: “FINE ART ASIA 2010”. The new name reflects its status as Asia’s premier art fair presenting a unique combination of Art and Antiques. We aspire to the same level of excellence as TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s leading fine art fair.
“The robust sales of our October 2009 fair already reflected signs of recovery in the Asian art market. This Spring, we have witnessed a further upsurge in the art market, boosted especially by the enthusiastic participation and strong buying power of collectors from Mainland China. Hong Kong is now universally recognized as the centre of the art market in Asia and the third most important art auction centre in the world after New York and London. I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to grow as the hub of art business in Asia and play a vital role in the global art scene.”
FINE ART ASIA 2010 has now established a firm foundation as a key annual event in the Asian art world. The high reputation which the fair has earned since its foundation in 2006, ensures that it coincides with Sotheby’s Autumn Auctions in the same venue. Early October is the peak art season in Hong Kong, attracting major international dealers and collectors from around the world.
The unique nature of FINE ART ASIA 2010, where the link between tradition and modernity can be seen and appreciated under one roof, continues to attract the enthusiastic participation of renowned international galleries. These include overseas antique specialists such as Rossi & Rossi (London, UK), Robert Hall (London, UK), Nicholas Grindley Works of Art (Suffolk, UK) and Marcus Flacks (New York, USA), as well as leading local antique dealers M & C Gallery (Hong Kong), Ever Arts Gallery (Hong Kong) and Martin Fung Ltd (Hong Kong). Participating art galleries include Michael Goedhuis (London, New York), Sundaram Tagore Gallery (New York, Beverly Hills, Hong Kong), Grotto Fine Art (Hong Kong), Galerie du Monde (Hong Kong), and art jewellery designer Wallace Chan (Hong Kong).
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Picasso’s 1932 ‘Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust’ is seen at Christie’s auction house in New York.
Related Link: Collectors and Auctioneers See Signs that Art Market is on the Verge of Solid Recovery
A 1932 Pablo Picasso painting of his mistress has sold for $106.5 million, a world record price for any work of art at auction.
“Nude, Green Leaves and Bust,” which had a pre-sale estimate of between $70 million and $90 million, was sold at Christie’s auction house on Tuesday evening to an unidentified telephone bidder.
There were nine minutes of bidding involving eight clients in the sale room and on the phone, Christie’s said. At $88 million, two bidders remained. The final bid was $95 million, but the buyer’s premium took the sale price to $106.5 million.
Conor Jordan, head of impressionist and modern art for Christie’s New York, said he was “ecstatic with the results.”
“Tonight’s spectacular results showed the great confidence in the marketplace and the enthusiasm with which it welcomes top quality works,” he said.
The striking work of Picasso’s muse and mistress Marie-Therese Walter has been exhibited in the United States only once, in 1961 in Los Angeles to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Picasso’s birth. The painting, which measures more than 5 feet by 4 feet, shows a reclining nude figure with an image of Picasso in the background looking over her.
The painting had belonged to the late California art patron Frances Lasker Brody, who bought it in the 1950s. It had been kept in her family since then.
Part of the sale proceeds will benefit the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif., where Brody was on the board.
The previous record for a work of art at auction was $104.3 million for “Walking Man I,” a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti sold on Feb. 3 at Sotheby’s in London.
The previous high price for a Picasso work was $104.2 million for “Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice),” attained in 2004 at Sotheby’s New York.
On Wednesday, another rarely seen Picasso is slated to sell at Sotheby’s auction house. “Woman in a Hat, Bust” is a 1965 work inspired by Jacqueline Roque, the last love of Picasso’s life.
It is estimated to sell for $8 million to $12 million.