Art Basel Hong Kong edition marked by mixed signals for the art market
by Francesco Michienzi
The 2024 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong featured 242 galleries, the highest number since 2019. There were over 75,000 visitors. In general, there was a sense that collectors were more cautious, offset by a little more dynamism from institutional buyers, for a low profile in demand, but also in supply, who seemed to prefer to glide over the controversial issues of the present and stick to a lighter, more glamorous atmosphere.
There is a general sense of a slowdown in the Asian market. There is a strong focus on established artists in Asia, and it is no coincidence that the best-selling artist was Sol LeWitt. This in the Chinese market, which includes Hong Kong, which, according to the latest Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report, was the second largest after the United States in 2023, with a 19% share, and is still maintaining, if not growing, business volumes. China overtook the UK in terms of annual sales, $12.2 billion against $10.9 billion, second only to the United States of America’s $27.2 billion.
COLLECTORS APPEARED TO BE MORE CAUTIOUS, COMPENSATED
BY A GREATER DYNAMISM ON THE PART OF INSTITUTIONAL BUYERS
FOR A STILL LOW PROFILE IN TERMS OF DEMAND BUT ALSO
IN TERMS OF SUPPLY.
But it seems that not everything went right these days, or at least not enough to generate the expected response, and while there was no shortage of seven-figure transactions in the early hours of the morning, international observers reported a slow and subdued pace of sales compared to previous years.
The massive visitor turnout was testament to the city’s vibrant interest in contemporary art, further stimulated by a highly attractive supporting programme.
Among the most interesting sales were Giorgio Morandi’s Paesaggio from 1937, a work on paper by Zao Wou-Ki, Willem de Kooning’s Untitled III for $9 million, Philip Guston’s The Desire to an Asian Collector for $8.5 million, a work by Anselm Kiefer for $1.25 million, a monumental painting by Alex Katz for $1.3 million and three works by Salvo for $375,000, $225,000 and $175,000.
(Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 – Valuable Art – Barchemagazine.com – June 2024)
