SCMP charity art auction features work by major Chinese artists
Works by local and mainland artists to go under the hammer this autumn in a charity auction organised by the Post, writes Isabella Cheuk
A new work by Zeng Fanzhi will lead a charity art auction organised by the South China Morning Post this autumn. Snow, which has an estimated value of between HK$1 million and HK$1.6 million, will go under the hammer on September 3, as part of continuing events to celebrate the newspaper's 110th anniversary.
Proceeds from the sale will go to St James' Settlement, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the Society for Community Organisation (SoCo). St James' Settlement will use the money to give spectacles to schoolchildren, and to provide food and counselling for low-income families. The Tung Wah group will use the funds to offer physiotherapy to the elderly, and SoCo will launch a home improvement scheme for poor families.
The SCMP Charity Art Auction, conducted by Sotheby's, will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. A preview exhibition of the auction will be held at Sotheby's Art Gallery from August 1 to 5.
show is Snow by mainland artist Zeng, whose Last Supper set a record last year for contemporary Asian artwork when it sold for US$23.3 million. He painted the oil on canvas especially for the auction. It features a cluster of three trees with their branches covered in snow against a stark, grey background. The piece is stretched onto a circular frame, harking back to ancient Chinese round paintings and evoking a wonderful stillness, as if one is looking through a small window with the clutter of the wider world blocked out.