Modern and Contemporary defends itself in Hong Kong and Shanghai

The works secured were two including Damien Hirst, 'Beautiful Architect' (2003) which sold for HKD 3 million (USD 385,700), 14% less than the minimum estimate of HKD 3.5 million (USD 450,300).

The second session devoted to Modern went slightly better but suffered from the same problems as the Contemporary sale. Originally 60 lots were offered, two works were withdrawn before the sale, including Zao Wou-ki '04.03.63' (1963), while 13 works did not find a buyer. The 45 lots sold generated HKD 48,402,000 ($6.22m) against an estimate of between $6.56m and $11.2m. The sell-throngh rate was 75% on the 60 lots announced.

The work by Claude Monet was the top lot of the auction 'Les Nuages' (1868) sold for HKD 7.2 million ($925,700) 139% above a minimum estimate of HKD 3 million and a maximum estimate of HKD 6 million.

The auction house conducted the 20th/21st Century auctions with an online and a day sale in Hong Kong and an evening sale in Shanghai. The 20th/21st Century online sale in Hong Kong (5-12 November) closed with a counter value of HKD 15,323,868 ($1,967,624), just above the low estimate of $1,775,083 and $3,001,582. With a sale rate of 88%, the auction brought together 125 lots with works by emerging and established artists, with diverse categories and affordable price levels across all sizes and mediums. In addition to iconic works such as Yayoi Kusama's 'Pumpkin', Yoshimoto Nara's round-headed girl in 'Put Wings on Her!!!' and Chu Teh-Chun's 20th century work 'L'azur de L'espace (Azure Infinity)'. Some works were offered without reservation.

The sale featured several works by young female artists who have commanded high auction and gallery prices in recent years. Among them Cristina BanBan her work 'At the Studio', 2018 sold for HKD 189,000 ($24,421), well below the minimum estimate of HKD 200,000 ($25,844). It was worse for other young artists who are very popular at wet paint auctions. They were Genieve Figgis, Chole Wise and Loie Hollowell whose works could not find a buyer.

The auction "20th/21st Century Day Sale" in Hong Kong (9 November) closed with a counter-value of HKD 65,233,980 ($8,390,872) a result that is at the high end of the $5.66 - $9.52m estimate with a sale rate of 88% from the originally announced 105 lots. The lots offered dropped to 103 as two works were withdrawn before the sale including Hernan Bas's "He'd Never Heard of Dinosaurs" (2004) estimated at $77,200 to $154,400,

Of the 103 works, 92 found a buyer while 8 were secured, including Takashi Murakami's "Panda & Panda Cubs (2015) which sold for HKD 3,276,000 or $421,400, 48% above the minimum estimate of $283,100. Among the 11 unsold items was a ceramic by Pablo Picasso, 'Gros oiseau visage noir' (1951) with an estimate between $115,800 and $193,000. The star of the sale was the Viennese artist Le Pho (1907-2001), with five works mostly sold at prices well above estimate or at the top end. The top lot 'Portrait of the Artist Le Thi Luu' (1935) a rare portrait of Le Thi Luu at the age of 24, a talented painter, friend and muse of the first generation of modern Vietnamese painters of the 20th century. The painting is not intended to be a manifesto but remains one of the most pertinent illustrations of Le Pho's (and Le Thi Luu's) social environment in Vietnam in 1935. Sold for HKD 5,040,000 or $648,300 the price represents 151% above the minimum estimate of $258,560; the work has been traded three times in the past.

Another star of the auction was the Vietnamese artist Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000) who, after starting his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Hanoi, obtained a scholarship at the age of 23 that enabled him to study and travel in France. His works were strongly influenced by the French Impressionists, in particular Matisse and Bonnard. His artistic production can be divided into two distinct phases. The first corresponds to silk painting, which drew on the ancient Chinese painting tradition. Later, he devoted himself to oil painting, influenced by the works of his contemporaries in France. At auction, the five works offered fetched prices well above their maximum estimates with 488% and 336% higher, as in the case of 'Divinité', 1967 sold for HKD 882,000 ($114,025) compared to an estimate of between HKD 150,000 and 250,000 ($19,392 - $32,320). Finally, also among the lots that performed high against estimates was the work by Chinese Zhang Enli, "Container" (2007) which sold for HKD 1,386,000 or $179,182 ($25,700 low estimate), 592% above the low estimate. The artist working with Hauser&Wirh documents the more prosaic aspects of contemporary life and regularly works with everyday objects that he is instinctively drawn to, such as a piece of string, a pipe or even a marble ball from the floor of his studio. Zhang Enli often enlarges his subjects to depict a specific fragment of a scene, as if magnified through the lens of a camera.

The evening appointment in Shanghai for the art of the 20th/21st Century on 7 November featured 27 lots for sale but three works failed to find a buyer, includingYayoi Kusama's 'INFINITY-NETS (TWAHZN)' (2006), with estimates ranging from CNY 14-20 million ($1.97 to $2.81 million). The sale of the 24 works totalled CNY 150,789,600 or CNY 20.8 million within the pre-sale estimates (CNY 17.4 million to CNY 26.75 million). The sell-through rate was 89% calculated on the 27 lots announced.

The oil on canvas '30.09.65' painted in 1965 by Zao Wou-ki was the top lot sold for CNY 64,570,000 ($9,103,589) from an estimate of CNY 45-65 million ($6,350,206 - $9,172,520). Another top lot, Yoshitomo Nara's 'Untitled' (2007) sold for CNY 30.55m ($4.30m)z, above the minimum estimate of CNY 30-50m ($4,233,471 - $7,055,785) realising a negative return of 38%, the last auction sale being in 2021 for $6.99m at Christie's. Among the top performers were two works on paper by Marc Chagall (1887-1985) "La femme en rose à Sils" and "Variante de la gravure VI des Poèmes" sold for CNY 693,000 ($97,705) and CNY 819,000 ($115,469) respectively, values far from the minimum pre-auction estimates in the range of 711% and 640%.