Leading international auction house Bonhams has just launched a newly configured department dedicated to contemporary art. The London-based department is presenting a unique single-owner collection, 'Voyages of Discovery', at its inaugural Hong Kong auction.
The sale, which has a total estimate of HK$3.6 million to HK$5.65 million, is being held on Sunday at 7pm in the Island Ballroom of the Island Shangri-La Hotel.
Highlights of the collection have already been shown in Singapore, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Lisbon, Paris and New York.
The collection comprises an exciting selection of Imperial and contemporary Chinese objects: 15 paintings and works on paper by two of China's most important contemporary artists, Chu Teh-chun and Zao Wou-ki, along with 12 exquisite objects that include ceramic dishes, flambe-glazed vases and unique cloisonne enamel boxes.
Anthony McNerney, international head of contemporary art at Bonhams, says the auction house is delighted to be working with a collection that is unique in being so complete. 'We have works by two of the most important living Chinese artists alongside some of the most historically significant artworks from China, spanning almost a millennium. It is extremely rare to come across a collection of this breadth and high quality,' he says.
Chu (born in 1920) and Zao (born in 1921) trained in the historical painting styles of China before emigrating to the artistic milieu of 1950s Paris. Both artists were soon influenced by the painterly abstraction they found, creating their own unique styles - distinct fusions of Chinese tradition and European innovation.
The artists present an important bridge between the traditional calligraphy and painting aesthetics of China and the most innovative art movements of 20th-century Europe. The development of their artistic oeuvres culminates in bodies of work that confirm their status as two of the most important living Chinese artists.