The pandemic has spurred the growing trend of the affluent wealthy outselling one another via online auctions, turning any potential luxury acquisition into a “The so-called alternative asset class. This inadvertently pushed the art auction market to new heights, with global auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s reporting their sales. the total $7.1 billion and $7.3 billion, respectively, for 2021.
Notably, Asian art buyers have been a major factor in this growth, making up 31 percent of Christie’s global sales, 36 percent of global spending for Phillips, and 46 percent of the more than $5 million pieces sold at Sotheby’s.
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As a result, international auction houses are starting to pay more attention to Asia. Since last year, they have doubled their focus on the continent.
In July 2021, Christie’s revealed plans to move to its four-story, 50,000-square-foot Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong in 2024. Russian-owned Philips has partnered with Poly Auction for its sales in Hong Kong and announce Plans to move to a new and expanded building next to the new M+ Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Sotheby’s will also move to its new headquarters at the upcoming Six Pacific Place in the heart of the city, just a short distance from the auction house’s newly announced gallery space, which is set to open in 2024.
International auction houses have also expanded their teams on the continent. Bonhams has made several new hires recently, with his Asian squad now the largest ever. That’s in addition to the opening of a new office in Shanghai in June 2021. Back at Sotheby’s, Alex Branczik, former head of contemporary art in London, and Max Moore, a New York specialist focused on NFTs, joined the in-house Asia team last year.
Interestingly, certain cities, outside of China and Hong Kong, have caught the attention of the global auction market this year in particular. At the end of August, Sotheby’s held a successful auction sale in Singapore for the first time in 15 years while Christie’s hosted plural public viewing of Controversial Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the city. Moreover, Christie’s Spread Job advertisement for an associate specialist in Singapore. Even Phillips has tentative plans to host a temporary exhibition or event in January to coincide with the upcoming inaugural edition of the long-awaited city fair Art SG.
One of the biggest attractions of Singapore is its location as the center of one of the most dynamic and underprivileged regions in the world, Southeast Asia.
According to Francis Bellin, Head of Asia Pacific at Christie’s, “The Southeast Asian market has been fundamental to our business, along with Greater China, and we have been operating representative offices there since the 1990s. In recent seasons, we have seen increased participation from regional buyers in art and luxury auctions and a growing recognition and desirability of artists from Southeast Asia for works of art.”
While buyers from Asia and the Pacific fell by 40 percent from the first half of 2021 to 2022, Christie’s reported that in the first half of 2022, buyers from Southeast Asia tripled their purchases in international auctions from the first half of 2021, Which suggests that the appetite for the post-lockdown auction market is still growing in this part of the world.
Additionally, 2021 and 2022 saw global auction records for Southeast Asian artists double compared to before the pandemic at their Hong Kong salesroom. Singaporean painter Georgette Chen Still life with rambutans, mangosteens and pineapples (circa 1960s) reached HK$13 million in November at Christie’s Hong Kong Art Auction in the 20th and 21st Century while one of Thailand’s most prominent contemporary artists, Natee Utarit Allah (2011) sold for HK$4.03 million in May during Christie’s Hong Kong sale of the 20th and 21st Century Art Evening. Both were new artist recordings.
As auction houses look to engage with various countries in Southeast Asia directly, Singapore’s position as a well-established global financial center and the easing of pandemic restrictions appear to be having an impact.
“As the world opens up post-Covid, Singapore has emerged as one of the most advanced economies in the world, and we have noticed wealthy collectors from all over Asia increasingly settling in the city and using it as their base,” said Jonathan Crockett, Head of Asia at Phillips. “An increasing number of global companies already have or are moving their base of operations in Asia to Singapore.”
Chung Huai, a Singaporean art collector and co-founder of the Family Art Advisory Bureau, agreed that economic and geopolitical uncertainty in Hong Kong and China, by contrast, makes Singapore a reliable safe haven for family wealth. Actually, it is Accelerated go up The family office is a clear indication of the continuing massive influx of wealth into the city.
“Besides, Spore is right in the middle of ASEAN, which is a stable and fast-growing region with a young consumer base. So I think the reality of the market has prompted and prompted auction houses to do more in Spore.”
South Korea, a rising art capital with international galleries opening in the city along with the launch of Frieze Seoul last September, is also very attractive to global auction houses right now. Thanks in part to the local art market, which is set to surpass the record for 2021 $682.8 million.
In fact, Philips recently eye Minhee Suh, a former senior specialist at K Auction, a local company in the city, is appointed as its regional manager in Seoul. Likewise, Sotheby’s It said Jin Yoon, who specializes in international expositions and auctions, has been appointed as Managing Director for South Korea.
Nicholas Chow, Sotheby’s Asia Chairman and International President and Head of Chinese Art, described South Korea as one of “areas we’ve been watching closely for some time. With new recruits on the ground there, we’ll focus on nurturing our homegrown footprint in the region.”
To date, most international auction houses remain steadfast in their commitment to having a presence in China, despite the country internal tensions And the Wealth policieseven with Sotheby’s declaring Launching a new headquarters in Shanghai in early 2023. But there are clear signs of tremors beneath the surface. For example, Philips partners With Chinese auction house Yongle this month for its Hong Kong and Beijing auctions, it is breaking away from its previous partnership with China’s state-owned auction house Poly Auction amid industry furore that the Russian-owned auction house may have new owners in the future.
The main challenge [for auction houses] “It was and is political,” said Wendy Goldsmith, a London-based art consultant who previously worked at Christie’s. “Right now, with the insecurity in Hong Kong, I know many collectors moving their business to Singapore Freeport for example, and others simply trying to get their money out, often to Singapore as well. The word on the street is that South Korea might become the next Asian hub.” With its stability also being a factor.”
Local auction fashion is also increasingly looking beyond its shores. Poly Auction is considering expanding its market presence further into Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea in the coming years, according to Jenny Locke, Hong Kong-based in-house business development and operations chief. SBI Art Auction House, a well-known Tokyo-based auction house that specializes in modern and contemporary art, is looking to expand into Asia, according to its spokesperson, though nothing has been announced yet. “Customers in Asia love the thrill of the chase,” Goldsmith added. “There will always be this demand, and the challenge will be finding the right supply.”
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