Auction houses see push for blue-chip, contemporary and Asian artists
There's no arguing that 2024 was challenging for the art world. In a recent report, consultancy firm Artprice revealed that art sales dropped by a third compared with 2023, to US$9.9 billion. This figure, the lowest since 2009, reflects the ebb and flow of the global economy.
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'The overall art market is currently more conservative,' says Meiling Lee, head of modern and contemporary art, Asia, at Phillips. 'Art collectors are cautious about investment, hoping to make no mistakes and looking for the best artworks at the best prices.'
Many auction houses remain optimistic, and see such downtime as an opportunity for growth and recalibration. Major houses have been around for centuries and have always adapted to changing times; in Hong Kong, all four major auction houses – Sotheby's, Christie's, Phillips and Bonhams – have moved into
new flagship Asia showrooms over the past two years.
Phillips positioned itself at the heart of art action in 2023 by opening a showroom in the West Kowloon Cultural District, opposite the M+ museum. In September 2024, Christie's unveiled its new showroom in the city's newly unveiled architectural landmark The Henderson, while in the same year,
Sotheby's opened its space at Landmark Chater, and Bonhams unveiled its new Asia headquarters at Six Pacific Place.
An untitled work by Jackson Pollock. Photo: Handout
Opening these expanding spaces can be viewed as a reflection of the industry's overall confidence in its recovery, as can the
growth of online auctions and selling exhibitions , set-ups that help engage buyers beyond the seasonal auction cycle. Julia Hu, Bonhams' managing director, Asia, says digital innovation is accelerating growth, while private sales are also thriving, fuelled by growing demand for discreet, flexible, tailored transactions beyond auctions.
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It may be that the turn towards digital innovation is a move to focus on millennial and Gen Z collectors. Despite the 2024 Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting showing an overall decline in auction sales, major houses such as Phillips, Bonhams and Christie's all found that around 30 to 40 per cent of sales for 2024 came from millennial and Gen Z collectors.
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