Jerome Guillet, Hong Kong boulevard. Painting, 80 x 80 cm.
How did Covid-19 transform the art market?
The Covid-19 pandemic has damaged, and transformed forever, the Western art market, leading to the cancellation of important fairs and events, as well as the inevitable closure of some galleries. In this context, however, the Asian world has shown all its strength and resilience, imposing itself on the global market with record-breaking art auctions and fairs, which, organized in full compliance with the pandemic guidelines, have presented artists and works on a global level. In fact, during the waves of Covid-19, the city of Hong Kong established itself as one of the world's greatest art centers, along with the legendary and timeless cities of New York and London. This news, however, should not surprise us, as the aforementioned Chinese city has been, since the earliest times, a center for the country's traditional arts trade, whose geo-strategic location has subsequently transformed it into the indispensable nexus between the West and the East. In fact, its position as an international financial and commercial center, as well as its proximity to the vast market of mainland China, has attracted the attention of major global players in the art world, such as international auction houses, art fairs, and galleries, which have located there. In summary, the resilience of Hong Kong's art market is due to the city's valuable museums, public art institutions, dozens of international galleries, its thriving ecosystem of art-related professional services, and the large size of its market, which, richly fueled by auctions and fairs, has secured the art business despite the socio-economic impact of Covid-19. Against this backdrop, the idea of a potential and future economic recovery led by Asia, and especially by this Special Administrative Region, is gaining momentum.
Fokda, Cyber Hong Kong, 2020. Digital art, several formats available.
Sergio Capuzzimati, All those moments will be lost in time, 2022. Digital photograph on paper, 60 x 42 cm.
Hong Kong wins over London
As anticipated, in this era of pandemic, the Western art market has suffered considerable losses, reporting an average drop in sales of up to 36%. Excluded from these terrifying figures is only the Asian continent, where, for example, the two largest auction houses in the Western world, Sotheby's and Christie's, recorded purchases of between 30% and 34% of world sales. In fact, according to a report by art market analysis company ArtTactic, Hong Kong surpassed London as the contemporary auction market in 2020, remaining behind only New York. Thus, for the first time in history, Asian clients drove global spending, in a trend that was not limited only to auction houses. Asia's resilience to Covid-19 was also well demonstrated through the work of Hong Kong's art galleries and fairs, as evidenced by the world-famous Art Basel, held, in its only physical event in 2020, in the aforementioned Chinese city.
Philippe Manson, The shelter, 2021. Acrylic / oil on linen canvas, 92 x 73 cm.
Hong Kong: brief history of a triumphant rise
Often, even among the most experienced art lovers, it is believed that Hong Kong's entry into the global market can only be traced back about a decade ago. In reality, however, this city has been a key trading center for fine art and antiquities for over a century. In fact, the first Chinese collectors, wealthy businessmen and industrialists, migrated from mainland China to Hong Kong during the 20th century, bringing with them capital and vast collections of cultural treasures. In particular, the Chinese art and antiques trade began to grow in the 1970s, when local collectors formed a solid backbone for the market. Just in November 1971, London-based Sotheby's held its first auction in Hong Kong. The great impact of this event, described by the New York Times as "the most successful auction of Chinese art objects ever held anywhere," determined the global market's interest in the aforementioned city, which represented, both a repository of Chinese art to sell, and an entry point into a "new" and flourishing art business. As far as the contemporary world is concerned, China now represents one of the most significant art markets in the world, which, having reached an estimated value of $64.1 billion in 2019, accounting for 18% of the share of the global art market, after the US (44%) and the UK (20%).
Patricia Blanchet-Olivier, Hong Kong under the rain. Oil on linen canvas, 80 x 80 cm.
Nathalie Lemaitre, Canton, 2018. Oil / collage on canvas, 145 x 89 cm.
Hong Kong: current affairs
2008 was a decisive year for the establishment of Hong Kong as Asia's leading art center. In fact, Sotheby's and Christie's consolidated their sales there and the ART HK, or Hong Kong International Art Fair, the city's first large-scale international fair, was inaugurated. Subsequently, the latter's success attracted Swiss exhibition giant MCH Swiss Exibition (Basel) Ltd, which acquired a 60 percent stake in it, renaming it, in 2013, Art Basel Hong Kong. That event has become Asia's most important, instrumental in Hong Kong's art market along with the growing number of international art galleries that have opened there. In addition, the aforementioned art activism also increased the development of the local art scene, which gained more attention internationally.
Serge Horta, H-H series #1, 2014. Digital photograph on paper, 80 x 120 cm.
Sven Pfrommer, Hong Kong Downtown VI, 2015. Analog print on plexiglass, 100 x 100 cm.
Fun fact: some record-breaking sales in Hong Kong
- The painting Quatre Nus, by French-Chinese painter Sanyu (1895-1966), is one of the 10 most expensive artworks of 2020, as it sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong for HKD 258 million, or $33.3 million.
- German master Gerhard Richter's painting Abstraktes Bild, which sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong for HK$214.6 million ($29.2 million), became the most expensive Western artwork ever sold at an auction in Asia.
- Sanyu's painting White Chrysanthemum in a Blue and White Jardinière, which sold at Christie's Hong Kong for HK$192.3 million ($24.8 million), set a new auction record for a still life by the Chinese-French artist.
Adrian One, ICC Hong Kong, 2008. Photography, several formats available.
Is the future of art in Asia?
The richness, resilience and adaptability of the Chinese art market and scene, combined with the unstoppable general economic growth and the increase in the number of high net worth individuals, makes Asia one of the undisputed protagonists of our future, in which it will most likely play an even more prominent role. Consequently, Hong Kong, as the main art center of the Asian continent, will continue to dominate the growth and success of the art market, within a time frame that includes at least the next ten years.
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Olimpia Gaia Martinelli