Phillips Auction (Phillips) announces the schedule for its first exhibition and auction to be held at its new headquarters located in the WKCDA Tower in West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong. The new Asia headquarters spans a total of six floors with an area of 52,000 square feet (approximately 1,400 pyeong) and will open gradually starting March 18.
Phillips Asia’s new headquarters is situated in the WKCDA Tower designed by Herzog & de Meuron, directly opposite the world-class M+ Museum, also designed by them. The interior was designed by LAAB Architects and features auction rooms, exhibition galleries, office spaces, a caf?, and VIP lounges that embody openness, flexibility, and an innovative spirit, enabling year-round events and auctions.
To mark the opening of the new headquarters, Phillips Auction will hold a preview exhibition for the main Hong Kong mid-year auction of 20th century and contemporary art over two days, March 30 and 31. A highlight is Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin. This piece is one of the highest-valued works by the artist offered at auction, with proceeds from the sale to be donated to the Clarinda Carnegie Art Museum located in Clarinda, Iowa, USA. The work was donated by the distinguished collector couple Robert & Karen Duncan, who owned it for 23 years. The sale will promote the global art enthusiast community and contribute to the museum’s mission to support local art and youth programs.
In May 2022, Phillips Auction set the artist’s highest auction record with Kusama’s Infinity Net series work, Untitled (Nets), 1959, at a New York auction (approximately KRW 13.8 billion / USD 10.496 million). By presenting the Pumpkin, which is being auctioned for the first time, at this event, Phillips adds great anticipation and significance. Pumpkin combines three of Kusama’s most iconic motifs: the pumpkin, polka dots, and infinity nets. Currently exhibited at M+, “Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Now” is the largest retrospective of the artist held in Asia outside Japan. Alongside this exhibition, Phillips’ new headquarters directly across the street will display Kusama’s Pumpkin (1995) and Infinity Dots (HTI) (2001), which will be offered in the evening sale.
Also included in this auction is The Road by Matthew Wong, a Chinese-Canadian artist, which was exhibited at the 2018 Karma Gallery show in New York. The Road, unveiled for the first time at auction, is a signature work that translates a deeply loved landscape into a grand scale. This piece closely resembles the 2018 work River at Dusk, which set the artist’s global auction record when sold for over HKD 37.7 million (approximately KRW 6.3 billion) at Phillips Hong Kong in 2020. Both masterpieces share striking autumn pumpkin hues and skillful use of a high horizon line to express depth in perspective. The artist captivates art lovers worldwide with his dreamlike landscapes and still lifes, often compared to Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Edvard Munch.
Additionally, the evening sale includes Loie Hollowell’s 2018 work, A Gentle Meeting of Tips. This piece was created in 2018, a pivotal year when the artist gained international acclaim through two successful solo exhibitions at PACE Gallery. A Gentle Meeting of Tips was first unveiled at the artist’s debut solo exhibition at Pace London. The forms in this work are deeply connected to the artist’s own body parts’ sizes. The piece resonated even more profoundly after it was revealed that the artist had been trying to conceive early in her career and gave birth to her first child in December 2018.
Moreover, the Hong Kong auction will showcase works by Korean master artists such as Kim Chang-yeol, Park Seo-bo, Yoon Hyung-keun, Ha Chong-hyun, Jeon Kwang-young, and Lee Bae, as well as young domestic artists gaining significant attention from the MZ generation, including Ok Seung-chul, Ahn Sung-min, and Kwon Hyun-jin. Notably, a portion of the auction proceeds from works by Ahn Sung-min and Kwon Hyun-jin will be donated to the Hong Kong Art School.
Steven Brooks, CEO of Phillips Auction, stated, “We have achieved remarkable growth with record annual sales for two consecutive years. This success signifies that Phillips holds outstanding expertise and a unique competitive edge as the only auction house focused on 20th and 21st-century collectors.” He continued, “Since holding our first auction in Hong Kong in December 2015, we have played a very central and important role in the market. This year marks our eighth year in Asia, and to celebrate, we plan to significantly expand our service scope. Under this goal, Phillips is modernizing the collecting experience with imagination, professionalism, and plausibility. We are very pleased to open our Asia headquarters in the West Kowloon Cultural District.”
He added, “This enables us to strengthen our business in the Asia region further and transition from events held twice a year to year-round exhibitions and auctions. Phillips now welcomes a new era as the first international auction house in the region with a dedicated auction room and gallery. This is a highly anticipated milestone for the company, and we look forward to meeting many clients at the opening in March and throughout the year’s events.”
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