28 June 2023—Sotheby’s celebrates 50 years in Asia and returns to Singapore with a live auction
Sotheby’s marks 50 years in Asia with a bang. Open to the public, the auction house’s massive exhibition at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore offers glimpses of stunning works by local, regional and international artists.
We were told to look out for works by Christine Ay Tjoe, Georgette Chen (lychees and peaches, anyone?), Jane Lee, Kei Imazu, Wu Guanzhong, Liu Ye, and Le Pho. The exhibition’s curation includes several fresh-to-market works (meaning that they have never been on auction before), and works of celebrated women artists from the 20th and 21st centuries—a genre that has seen a “meteoric rise” in previous sales.
And if you’re curious about how the works will go under the hammer, the Live Auction will be open to the public this Sunday. Check out our pictures for what works to expect!
The exhibition runs at Marina Bay Sands from 29 June – 1 July, while the auction will take place at 3pm on Sunday 2 July at the same location.
Sotheby’s Singapore Deputy Director and Specialist Michelle Yaw starting off the tour with Melt VII (2017) by Jane Lee. The emerald green hue is especially striking as most works from the Melt series sport shades of red, blue, and white.(Left) Woo by Kei Imazu. Here, the Japanese-born, Indonesia-based artist depicts objects from everyday life and classical history amidst a sea of bright pastel and earthy brown shades. The artist is known to create compositions digitally before bringing them to life with oil and acrylic paint. (Right) The Team of Red by Christine Ay Tjoe. Symbolising “vitality, confidence, courage, strength, love and beauty,” Tjoe’s red-hued works are massively sought after. Her works are currently in the collections of museums such as the M+ Museum in Hong Kong, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Singapore Art Museum.Probably our favourite work on display: Lychees and Peaches by Georgette Chen. It’s believed to have been made when Chen was under house arrest in Shanghai during World War II. Featuring an organic palette of muted reds, viridian, and warm brown, the work is rich with symbolism, as lychees are thought to represent love while peaches represent fertility and longevity.Yaw introducing another standout work, Pounding Rice by Liu Kang. The work is believed to have been created one year after the seminal trip to Bali, in which Liu and three other artists depicted subjects from Bali and Southeast Asia.Reflecting the auction house’s dedication to Southeast Asia are numerous works by artists with ties to the region. These include (left) Vietnamese-French artist Mai Trung Thu’s Jeune Femme Sur Le Chemin Avec Panier de Cumquats (1941) and (right) Le Pho’s Jeune Fille a la Fleur.Wu Guanzhong, Old Pier at Guazhou (dated 1936), oil on board.We ended the tour with Liu Ye’s Composition in Moonlight. Doused in a deep evening blue, the work features a girl admiring Mondrian’s geometric works. However, the artist insists on his artistic individuality by depicting the girl in a green skirt—a colour that Mondrian was thought to dislike.
Feature image: Sotheby’s 50th Anniversary in Asia exhibition and auction in Singapore, with (from left to right) Alex Branczik, Jasmine Prasetio, Nathan Drahi. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.
