16 Modern and Contemporary Art Highlights from The Hong Kong Sales

Skiing (1954) by the self-taught Indonesian expressionist painter Affandi is a compelling example of the artist’s signature ‘squeeze technique’, in which he applied paint directly from the tube before using his fingers to spread it on canvas. In a charming scene reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, Affandi portrays European skiers on a snowy slope between swirling skies and wooded lands. Nineteen fifty-four was also a landmark year for Affandi, whose work was presented at the Venice Biennale to international acclaim.

Fernando Botero’s Man on Horseback (2008) in white Carrara marble is one of the largest Botero marble sculptures to come to auction, standing at 110 cm tall. Known for his voluptuous depictions of humans and animals, this sculpture’s particular motif held personal resonance for Botero, whose father travelled as a salesman on horseback. A bronze version of the Man on Horseback motif can be found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Marc Chagall’s Fleurs de printemps (La Cruche aux fleurs de printemps) (1930) was painted during the artist’s second period in France. The influence of Surrealism can be seen in the visitation of two angels through the window and into this tableau of domestic bliss. The flowering bouquet, a key motif of Chagall’s oeuvre, symbolised not only his love for his first wife and lifelong muse Bella Rosenfeld but also for his new homeland. The angelic violinist provides a crucial link to Chagall’s past: his upbringing in Belarus Vitebsk, with its rich Slavic folklore and Jewish musical traditions. Chagall’s early works of such quality are rarely found in the auction market.

Pablo Picasso’s Le miroir (1947) was formerly in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1985 to 2001. It was created during a summer sojourn on the Côte d’Azur with his partner Françoise Gilot and his newborn child Claude, an idyllic period of sun-drenched happiness and productivity for Picasso. A moon-like pool of sky blue reflected in the mirror is complemented by a bowl of deep red cherries, a reference to his first meeting with Gilot at a Parisian restaurant when he brought a bowl of cherries to her table. The sculptural qualities of the work echoed Picasso’s latest obsession – pottery-making at Madoura, where he completed more than 1,000 pieces between 1947 and 1948.

Jean-Paul Riopelle was a leading light of the postwar École de Paris, whose singular visual language combined the energy of Abstract Expressionism with the poetic lyricism of European avant-garde abstraction. Untitled (1962) is a prime example of Riopelle’s remarkable sculptural painting technique – layers of thick impasto laid down with a palette knife create dynamic, topographical textures and colourful geological strata. This tactile, three-dimensional terrain thrums with tension between loose, spontaneous brushwork and hard-edged structural control. Nineteen sixty-two was a watershed year for Riopelle, who was selected to represent Canada at the prestigious Venice Biennale and honoured with his first major retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada.

Auguste Rodin’s Le Baiser, modèle avec base simplifiée (conceived in 1985 and cast in 1943) was initially owned by the Musée Rodin. Its iconic rendition of eternal love was originally intended for Rodin's monumental bronze portal The Gates of Hell, which had been commissioned by the French government. This particular cast was produced from one of the two plaster casts in its original size (86 cm), which is larger than any of the bronze casts made during the artist's life.

Mai Trung Thu’s Instant musical is one of the largest early period silk paintings by the pioneer of modern Vietnamese art to come to market. Two women clad in elegant white ao dai dresses sit by the edge of a lotus pond, whilst one plays the traditional string instrument Dan Ty Ba (known as the "queen" of traditional musical instruments) to her attentive companion. Music was particularly meaningful for Mai Thu, an accomplished practitioner of Vietnamese classic music.

Appearing at auction for the first time, Zeng Fanzhi’s Mask Series 1995 no.12 (1995) was executed the same year Zeng enjoyed his first solo exhibition outside of mainland China, at Hanart TZ Gallery in Hong Kong, where he unveiled his Mask Series for the first time to the public. Averting his eyes from the viewer's gaze, Zeng’s nouveau riche protagonist in his Western suit and red tie conceals the inextricable tension between outward appearances and inward emotions behind a mask. Mask Series 1995 no.12 contains a particular depiction of light and shadow, a new element in 1995 inspired by the artist’s new workspace in Sanyuanqiao with its small window.

Study for Homage to the Square: Fall's Finale (1962) by German-born artist and educator Josef Albers is an excellent example of one of the most significant bodies of work from the post-war era. Executed in one of the larger formats of 30 x 30 inches, this work embodies Albers's rigorous investigations into the perception of colour. The warm, elegant palette of yellow and ochres hark to the warmth of the South, in particular the Mexican house facades that inspired the series.

Dreieck zwischen Arm und Rumpf (Triangle between Arm and Torso) (1977) by Georg Baselitz epitomises the experimental approach of one of Europe's most influential post-war painters, whose upside-down images supersede the traditional boundaries of representation and content. Painted for documenta VI in 1977, this work was withdrawn in protest of A.R. Penck’s exclusion due to political censorship. Baselitz’s contemporaries Gerhard Richter and Markus Lüpertz followed suit. Happily, the withdrawn works by the four artists were later reunited in the seminal 1983 group show “Expressions: New Art From Germany”. Dreieck zwischen Arm und Rumpf enjoys an impressive provenance, having previously been owned by the Galerie Beyeler and the Saatchi Collection.

Chu Teh-Chun’s emerald-tinged Neige de Mai (1987) is a rare colourful work from the modernist artist’s acclaimed Snowscape series. On a train journey through the Alps in 1985, Chu’s train was assailed by a snowstorm. The fierce snow and wind, evoking imagery reminiscent of Tang poetry, spawned what would become one of Chu’s most sought-after bodies of work. Luminescent splashes of snow embody the "freehand" spirit of traditional Chinese art as well as the dynamism and spontaneity of post-war Abstract Expressionism, whilst the distant sun perforates the misty landscape of Chu’s imagination.

Fresh to auction and hailing from Günther Förg’s acclaimed Tupfenbilder (“Spot Paintings”) series – the most sought-after body of work for the renowned German abstract painter – Untitled (2008) is expressive, yet simple and sublime. Tupfenbilder were partially inspired by Francis Bacon's studio, which was covered in colourful splotches of excess paint wiped on the walls. With its exuberant palette and bravura gesturalism, paintings such as Untitled were a reaction to the structurality of Förg’s earlier series Lead Paintings and Grid Paintings.

One of the rising stars of the Chinese contemporary art scene, Li Hei Di’s oneiric dreamscapes blend Eastern and Western artistic traditions to explore the themes of identity, desire and transformation. Drifted Petals on Her Lifted Mound (2022) was presented in Li's first solo exhibition at Linseed Projects in Shanghai, "Tits at Dawn", in 2022. Visceral beings and ephemeral forms collide and fuse in fluid, bold brushstrokes and luminous hues. In Li’s paintings, intimacy and metamorphosis are inextricable from the inevitability of fragility and renewal. Li's work is held in the collections of the Long Museum in Shanghai, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Yageo Foundation in Taipei, among others.

09.06.2000 (2000) by the celebrated Chinese modernist Zao Wou-Ki shows a bona fide art world giant at the height of his abilities. The youthful energy of Zao's early abstract paintings had evolved into an exploration of the transcendental inner landscape pursued by Chinese literati painters throughout the ages. Atmospheric light and space are captured in wash-like layers of pure colour using a unique mixture of Western oil and traditional Chinese ink painting techniques. "Maybe I have matured at this time, I paint my life, but I also want to paint a space that is invisible to the eyes, a space of dreams," explained Zao.

Ole Reliable (2018) by American painter Shara Hughes was the centrepiece of the artist's first solo exhibition in Asia at Galerie Eva Presenhuber in 2019. Her lush, surreal “invented landscapes” reinvigorate the viewer’s perception of reality, and the intense, clashing Fauvist and German Expressionist-inspired palette suffuses these dream-like spaces with gestural tactility. Hughes asserts that she is not merely a “landscape painter”; rather, viewing art is a collaboration between the viewer and the artist in which each person brings their own experiences to the table.

Nicolas Party’s Grotto (2019) is a typically ethereal exploration of the natural world by the Swiss visual artist. Party’s surrealist tendencies are shown at their best in his layered landscape of plump stalagmites and teat-like stalactites executed in shades of velvety blue pastel. Party draws inspiration from art historical fascination with caves, in particular the mystical Caves of Manacor (c. 1901) by the Belgian painter William Degouve. Grotto was unveiled Party’s 2019 show at Xavier Hufkens in Brussels, as one of three pieces depicting caves.