Christie's, one of the world's three largest auction houses, announced yesterday evening that it will restart its Shanghai auction suspended due to the epidemic at the new art space on the Bund on the evening of March 1, and for the first time connect the two major auctions in London and Shanghai in the innovative form of joint auction. It is reported that some of the most expensive works in the Shanghai evening auction are the masterpieces of Jean Mixie Baschia's golden creation era, "The Leader", which is also the first time that the works of this currently closely watched Western contemporary artist have been auctioned in Chinese mainland. In addition, a piece of Picasso's 1937 "Sleeping Woman (Marie Therese Walter)", which has been cherished by Picasso's granddaughter, will also be unveiled in Shanghai.
Christie's Shanghai Art Space, "Art of the 20th and 21st Centuries: Shanghai Evening Auction" Shanghai Preview Site
Completed in 1916, The Bund One, the new site of Christie's Shanghai Art Space, was the tallest building on the Bund at the time, blending Baroque and Modernist styles. The new space will reach a total area of 1,600 square meters, and its design integrates more functions, is more environmentally friendly, creates a composite art ecology, facilitates auctions, previews, private exhibitions, cultural salons, and art public education, and becomes a new cultural and artistic landmark in Shanghai.
The joint auction is divided into three parts. At 9:00 p.m. on March 1, the first part of the "Art of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: Shanghai Evening Sale" will take the lead in raising the hammer, kicking off the joint auction with paintings by 20 art masters such as Baschia, Picasso, Chagall and Zao Wou-Ki, as well as recent avant-garde artists. The next major auctions, Art of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: London Evening Sale and Surrealist Art Evening Sale, will take over from London, with around 90 blockbuster lots continuing this feast of modern and contemporary art in the East and the West. All three auctions will be broadcast live, providing a real-time cross-regional auction at Christie's Shanghai, Hong Kong, London and New York auctions for global audiences.
Keith van Dongen (1877-1968) Woman in Necklace Oil On Canvas 100.3 x 81.2 cm, 1908
It is reported that some of the artists who attracted much attention in the Shanghai evening auction were the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 - August 12, 1988), according to the surging news, Shang Mixie Basquia's short and interesting life, he was early recognized as a New York graffiti artist, and later became a successful 1980s expressionist artist. He was once known as "The Radiant Child": From a street graffiti teenager to a protégé of Andy Warhol to the cover star of The New York Times magazine, Baschia took less than 8 years. In 1988, he died suddenly at the age of 28. On the streets of New York in the early 1980s, graffiti was not considered art. It can be said that it was Baschia who turned graffiti into art. Baschia's work still deeply influences contemporary artists today.
Jean-Miché Baschia (1960-1988) Leader Acrylic Oil on canvas 152.4 x 152.4 cm 1982
The work at auction is Baschia's golden age masterpiece "The Leader", which is the most expensive work in this evening auction and the first time that the work of the Western contemporary artist has been auctioned on Chinese mainland. It is understood that the work is an important work created by Bascia in 1982, inspired by Bascia's legendary trip to Modena, Italy, showing the confidence and maturity unique to Baschia in this important period.
It is also worth mentioning that a piece of Picasso's 1937 "Sleeping Woman (Marie Terrace-Walter)", which has been cherished by Picasso's granddaughter, will be unveiled at the Shanghai auction, which is also the first time that Christie's has auctioned important works from the 1930s in Chinese mainland since christie's Shanghai auction in 2013.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Sleeping Woman (Marie Tres Walter) Oil paint charcoal canvas
46 x 61cm, Paris, 8 January 1937
Yang Yuancao, Chairman of Christie's China, said that Christie's has been deeply involved in the Chinese mainland market for many years, and the opening of the new space and the restart of the Shanghai auction have witnessed the company's continuous investment and confidence in the Chinese art market, and also marked a new chapter in Christie's business development in Chinese mainland. "In the future, we will continue to innovate and inject new energy into the market!"
It is reported that from February 26 to March 1, the Shanghai preview of the auction will be held soon, and it will also carry out in-depth exchanges with local and cross-regional collectors in Shanghai through a series of art forums, live tours and other activities. On February 28, the Art Salon "From Aesthetics to Investment: The Multiple Values of Art" will be held at Christie's Shanghai Art Space.