The resumption of Hong Kong Art Week after three years of Covid restrictions kicked off this week with the opening of Phillips’ new 52,000 square foot headquarters in West Kowloon. The auction house’s Asia director, Jonathan Crockett, anticipated a “high level of energy and sales” as the international art community descended on the city.
Crockett expresses optimism about Hong Kong’s potential to rebound as an art market hub, despite several difficult years in recent years due to both the pandemic and China’s increased governance. “There are other broader obstacles and difficulties that we have encountered in Hong Kong, but in terms of the art market, the collectibles market, we have not seen much impact” , of a slowing economy, “others of the difficulties that we have encountered because of the Covid pandemic,” he says.
Phillips launched its first Asian operations in Hong Kong in 2015. In 2020, it “had to get creative,” says Crockett, first by selling online. “At the end of 2020, we were able to have our strongest year ever in Asia, and 2021 surpassed it; we achieved our strongest ever sales in June 2021.” During this period, “we found that with a captive audience here in Hong Kong, unable to travel, people were actually more engaged” .
Last year brought different ground, Crockett says, “as the fifth wave hit other art businesses, which really struggled. “Because of what was happening in Hong Kong, people were distracted and disengaged. This contrasted with what was happening with the auctions in London and New York, which had our strongest year ever. Remarkably, we had significant support from the community of Asian collectors. Chez Basquiat Untitled, sold at Phillips New York for $85 million in December 2022, was both consigned and purchased by Asian collectors. Phillips now has a team of over 100 people in Asia, spread across eight locations.
The local attention that emerged during Hong Kong’s Covid years also proved to be a silver lining for the lockdown city, and throughout Art Week an increased celebration of Hong Kong artists was perceptible. This also extends to Phillips’ fundraising section in support of the Hong Kong Art School, for which the auction house has worked with galleries in the region to log works by emerging artists.
“We wanted to show contemporary artists who are really emerging,” says Crockett, with some of the proceeds going to the artists as well as the school. “We are very aware that the sale of art at huge prices by young contemporary artists most of the time does not benefit the artists themselves.” The section showcases works by young Hong Kong artists, including Lulu Ngie, Szelit Cheung, Fu Rao and Amy Tong. The evening spring sale also includes works by local stars Matthew Wong, Chris Huen Sin Kan and Stephen Wong Chun Hei.
In the coming months, Phillips’ exhibition space in Hong Kong will feature a duo exhibition of works by Japanese artists Chiaru Shota and Yayoi Kusuma, followed by a solo presentation by Brett Crawford. In the summer, it will show the entire collection of a patron from Hong Kong. “It’s not for sale, but it’s such an interesting and eclectic group of objects,” says Crockett.
“Being at the heart of the West Kowloon Cultural District, it’s essential that we engage with the community and help develop a wider appreciation of the arts, through the exhibits as well as a cafe and lounge,” says Crockett, “to help build our ecosystem”.
