Sotheby’s has opened its new space in Shanghai as the house continues to actively expand its reach across the region. The opening of the physical site is accompanied by the launch of online initiatives in mainland China that target a young generation of affluent buyers.
Officially known as Shanghai Sotheby’s Space, the venue adjacent to the Suzhou River opened on Thursday, May 18 with a groundbreaking ceremony. The event coincides with the house’s celebration of its 50th anniversary this year in Asia. Spanning over 20,000 square feet, the location will serve as a showroom and exhibition space for artworks and luxury items featured in the house’s global auction calendar and on its Buy Now online shopping platform, which is also making its debut in mainland China, allowing shoppers to shop 24/7 all year round. The venue will also host a variety of programs such as lectures and workshops, which are expected to take place for the foreseeable future.
“Sotheby’s Shanghai will become the meeting point for collectors and art lovers from different communities in mainland China,” Jean Qian, managing director of Sotheby’s China, said in a statement. “Through a diverse offering of artistic and cultural activities both in person and online, we hope to bring a broader and deeper collecting experience that will drive long-term development in the broader art market in China and Asia.” The house has made ambitious expansion plans across Asia, including recently appointment in South Korea and Thailand, and a new headquarters in Hong Kong in the making.
Shanghai Sotheby’s space. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
The region continues to play an increasingly important role in the global market. Sotheby’s data suggests that Asian collectors make up 32% of bidders who placed bids for works worth $1 million or more between 2018 and 2022, slightly less than those in North America, or 34%, which is the largest base of collectors in the world, and more numerous than the 29 percent based in Europe.
Asian bidders are the most active when it comes to traditional Chinese paintings and artwork, Sotheby’s said, adding that recent sales of Chinese art in Hong Kong saw the highest number of mainland Chinese bidders in three years. Asian bidders also represent 18% of the Contemporary market and 17% of the Impressionist and Modern market from 2018 to 2022, the house noted.
A visitor seen in the new Shanghai Sotheby’s space. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
This trend appears to have continued into 2023, with Asian buyers accounting for a quarter of all home sales so far this year.
Asian buyers contributed a third of the total sales value at New York’s Modern Evening Auction this week. Local buyers bought works by top Western names including Gustav Klimt, Paul Gauguin, Camille Pissarro, Edvard Munch and Edouard Manet, as well as Claude Monet’s 1884 painting. Palm tree in Bordighera (sold for $5.8 million, fees included) and that of Henri Matisse Naked in bathrobe (1941), which sold for nearly $4.7 million.
Nevertheless, Asian buyers are even more present in Sotheby’s luxury sales. Asian customers account for half of the house’s global luxury business: 61% of wine and spirits sales, 53% of handbags and accessories sales and 37% of watch sales. A February online auction of more than 50 lots of rare Moutai (one of the most popular types of Chinese liquor), which was also Sotheby’s first online auction in mainland China, sold 100 %.
To capture the growing appetite of mainland Chinese buyers and collectors, the house has launched its official Chinese website and is encouraging bidders to place bids through the house’s WeChat mini program, the popular Chinese app that now has 1, 24 billion users worldwide.
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