LuxArtAsia: March 2011

Opening - Yayoi Kusama @ Gagosian Gallery, Rome

Gagosian Gallery in Rome is presenting an exhibition of recent paintings and sculptures by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, this living legend of international avant-garde. Her dynamic Dots Obsession painting series is an ongoing meditation on infinity and the void. In two vivid and large-scale Self-portraits, she paints herself in a stylized, flat and frontal like a Russian icon.

Three sculptures spanning fifty years reveal Kusama’s constantly evolving approach to reflectivity as concept, process, and metaphor. Narcissus Garden is a sculptural installation of hundreds of mirrored balls, distributed in an aleatory manner across the gallery floor, reflecting everything around them. It earned Kusama notoriety when she first presented it at the 33rd Venice Biennale in 1966 as a rogue event on the lawns of the Italian Pavilion. Dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono, she offered the mirrored balls for sale for 1200 lire apiece, drawing attention to the commercial realities of art ignored in the context of the international festival. Many years after this incident, Kusama produced Narcissus Garden in ten versions of varying scale.

Passing Winter (2005), a seemingly Minimalist cubic sculpture fashioned from highly polished industrial mirror glass, reveals trippy optical complexities as viewers peer into its depths via circular spyholes cut into all fours sides of its gleaming surface to find themselves reflected within, infinitely multiplied. Reach Up to the Universe, Dotted Pumpkin (2010) is another mirror, this time in the shape of Kusama’s favorite pumpkin motif, which she has described as a sort of alter-ego. A hollow form cast in aluminum, highly polished, and perforated with holes to reveal a bright vermilion interior, Reach Up… is installed in a matched monochrome environment dotted with convex mirrors of varying sizes, so that sculpture and environment endlessly reflect and multiply each other and the viewers moving between them.

MFW - Kim Choong-Wilkins presents strong, structured knitwear collection

Singapore-British designer Kim Choong-Wilkins presented a strong, highly structured knitwear collection, full of interesting studded details. It had a Mad Max roadwarrior meets Samurai man feel, with exaggerated zipper crotch details, broad shoulders and spikey studded shoes. The dark knitwear, which was made after hours of computer programing, had a luxurious feel with an unusual froisse effect.

After working last on the Menswear collection of Mathew Williamson, the London-based young designer recently launched his own men label, Bodybound, and plans to focus on knitwear as he sees a gap in the market.

News - Singapore Men's Fashion Week starts

Bodybound

Singapore Men’s Fashion Week 2011 starts today with the presentation of the Hugo Boss's BOSS Black A/W 2011 Men’s Collection and the first presentation of a capsule collection by Kim Choong-Wilkins, a young British designer (who grew up in Singapore), who last designed the A/W 2011 menswear designer collection for Matthew Williamson. Kim will be showcasing his own personal signature label, Bodybound, a very dramatic collection of knitwear that reflects his edgy and avant-garde style and sensibilities.

Reckless Ericka

While the MFW will have a sprinkling of European designers, it is primarily focusing on Asian designers, many of whom are showing their collection for the first time internationally. On Thursday night, there will be a showcase of Singaporean menswear designers, including Atzu by Noah Naima, Elohim by Sabrina Goh, Evenodd by Samuel Wong and Reckless Ericka by Afton Chen (Love his jackets!), Louis Koh and Ruth Marbun.

On Friday, Korean fashion star Eun Gil of G.I.L. Homme, who dresses all the top A-List Korean male celebrities, will present his A/W 2011 collection. This label now has a strong presence in China, and making in-roads into this part of Asia.

DressCamp of Japan, will also unveiled its new collection. The label has dressed the likes of Superstar Lady Gaga, Ciara, Namie Amuro, Chiaki Kuriyama and Ayumi Hamasaki, and collaborated with international brands such as Timberland, Piaget, M.A.C. cosmetics, amongst others.

And Shanghai Tang will premiere its A/W11 Men's collection entitled “From China with Love”, which rejects conformity in favour of a creative exploration of the old with modern Chinese aesthetics for a new era in style. More details to follow as the week progresses.

Auction result - Rare Chinese millefleurs altar garniture sell for $2 mln

Following the success of last week’s Asia Week sales series at Sotheby’s New York, a rare Chinese ‘Famille-Rose’ ‘Millefleurs’ altar garniture bearing six character Qianlong marks and of the period, sold for $2.098 million (twice its estimate). The garniture has provenance going back to England at the end of the

19th century, and was further distinguished by the fact that all five pieces have survived together. The sale was part of Property of a Palm Beach Private Collector, which achieved $8.4 million and contained a strong group of over 80 pieces of Chinese porcelain and works of art.

Other highlights from the Chinese works included a group of six rare Chinese ‘Famille-Rose’ ‘Soldier’ Vases offered over two lots–one as a pair and one as a group of four–which achieved $1.56 million in total. Today represented possibly the first time that six vases of this rare, large and highly-decorative form have appeared together in one sale.

My night with Merlion

Two weeks ago, when I first entered in the Merlion Hotel, Tatzu Nishi’s art installation that is part of the Singapore Biennale, it triggered some childish instincts in me and I wanted to jump around on the bed.

Unlike the millions of tourists that come to Singapore and pose by the statue, I’ve never been that enamored with the half fish-half lion beast. But then again, I have never been up the Eiffel Tower despite living in Paris for over 20 years. Buildings and monuments become so much a part of our visual landscape we barely noticed them after a while, which is exactly what Nishi is trying to change with his installations.

The Japanese artist, who is based in Germany, creates rooms around well-known monuments to invite viewers to look at them differently, in a way “rediscovering” them. As soon as you walk into the Merlion Hotel, you are taken by the urge to take photos, behaving exactly as a tourist. But Nishi’s installation is more than just bringing us face to face with the seven-meter tall white cement beast. Trying to put the Singapore icon into context within the room, he has designed a fabulous wallpaper (red for good luck) that juxtaposes several local icons in a toile de Jouy pattern: The water spouting Merlion, Sir Stamford Raffles, a Chinese temple and the Marina Bay Sands. Attention has been given to the room’s detailing that gives it a luxurious feel.

While the space is open to the general public during the day, it is utilized as a fully-functioning hotel room at night, an extension of the nearby Fullerton Hotel. Reservations filled up quickly and within an hour of the phone lines opening all nights had been fully booked. I was one of those lucky enough to secure a night’s stay and on paying the $150 for two, breakfast included, I was issued my reservation with its gentle reminder of the Merlion’s status as a "landmark of Singapore".

Spending a night with the Merlion was quite a surreal experience. First, it brings mixed feelings: on one hand you feel extremely privileged to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity yet you also feel a bit self-conscious as people outside take photos of you. Suddenly, you become part of the artwork, part of the Merlion’s fish bowl, performing for others. Sure you can close the curtains, but really what would be the point. And then after an hour or so you treat the space as just another hotel room. You’ve become familiar again with the icon, and your attention wonders off. Soon the spectacle is outside, the night view around the bay, the bumboats passing by, and the people sitting on the promenade, chatting late into the night. One of the highlights was taking a bath - with the lights out so as to keep the bathroom curtains open - and take in the view, all the while looking back to take in the sight of the Merlion through the open bathroom doorway.

But for me, the “rediscovery” of the Merlion happened the next morning, after watching the sunrise over the bay (a truly special sight). The park around the Merlion was now empty and with no one in sight, the area was very peaceful, just the faint background-buzz of traffic. The early-morning’s sunrays bounced off the still waters of the bay and reflected on the Merlion's face and that’s when I actually looked at him in a different way, I enjoyed seeing something in him I’d never really noticed before…

Auction - rare enamel singing bird pistols coming up at Christies

On May 30, Christie’s HK will auction a rare pair of matching gold and enamel Singing Bird Pistols, as the highlight of its watch sale. With an estimate of $2.5 million to $5 million, the matching mirror-image pistols set with diamonds, agate and pearls, are attributed to world-renowned craftsmen Frères Rochat and they are is the only publicly known pair of singing bird pistols in the world. One single pistol is found in the Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem which houses the Sir David Salomons Magnificent Collection of Clocks and Watches. Another single pistol is recorded in the Maurice Sandoz Collection in Switzerland. The Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, Switzerland owns two single pistols, one of which was purchased at Christie’s in 1989. This pair on offer is the most advanced version of this type of singing bird pistols attributed to Frères Rochat and the only publicly known examples of the kind in a matching pair.

The Frères Rochat were three brothers who worked in Geneva, Switzerland from 1800 to 1835. They are most famous for perfecting the highly complex singing bird mechanism and placing it in cages, mirrors and even pistols. The ingenuity of these pistols is beyond description: each pistol features a bird that shots out of the double barrels, pivots, moves its wings and tail, and opens its beak to sing and then disappears again. With the combination of sumptuously decorated cases and intricate movements, these matching pistols are the perfect example of such coveted decorative objects made for discerning dignitaries and royalty in China and Europe. In advance of the sale, the pair of Singing Bird Pistols will be exhibited from 2 – 7 April at Christie’s Hong Kong office; 23-24 April in Shanghai; and 30 April – 1 May in Singapore

Auction - Sotheby's to put under the hammer 13 Zao Wou-ki works Apr 4

Nu et Tapis Jaunes

The 91-year-old French-Chinese master painter Zao Wou-ki seems to be everywhere. De Sarthe Fine Art opened a show with his works recently in Hong Kong, featuring Zao's works from the 1950s and 1960s. And now, 13 of his works will go under the hammer at Sotheby's on Apr 4 (which seems a bit too much for one sale and could trigger some bidding fatigue).
Born in Beijing in 1921, Zao studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou before moving to Paris in 1948. His early work was heavily influenced by painters like Paul Klee and Othon Friesz, but he shifted towards an abstract approach in the late 50s after spending some time in New York.

Sotheby's will auction five paintings of his “Paul Klee” period, which have not appeared in the market for half a century. These compositions combine a realistic style with a spatial approach. Most representative of the five paintings on offer is Nu et Tapis Jaunes (est. HK$2 - 3.1 million), executed in 1953. This portrait painting harks back to the period of Zao’s artistic growth prior to his departure for France. At the time, Zao had just graduated and painted several portraits of his sisters, his wife and himself to hone his compositional techniques. Most of them were, however, destroyed during the 1960s to 1970s and, therefore, this portrait work is especially prized for its rarity. In Nu et Tapis Jaunes, the protagonist has both her hands raised to ear level, seemingly in a bid to detect sounds from afar. The gesture seems to suggest her recollection of antiquity and her selfless devotion. A yellow carpet, seemingly glittering in golden light, is painted in a single colour tone of varying intensity to provide a multi-textured backdrop.

The late 1950s heralded Zao’s ascension to a new phase in his artistic journey. By then, he had given up the use of signs and allusive symbols to embrace his inner world, in a whole-hearted pursuit of Abstract Expressionism. Executed in 1962, 4.1.62 (est. HK$4 – 6 million) marks his coming of age in this transitional phase. Administering base layers of bronze-green hues on canvas, Zao delineates a barren primeval world, born in the turbulence of the universe’s creation, as evoked in the contrast of colours layered upon each other, to dramatic effect. Swift brushstrokes intersperse with layers of darkened lines to unleash dynamic currents of his emotions.

Pins Landais

Another masterpiece by Zao is Pins Landais (est. HK$3.2 – 4 million). The title refers to the famous pine trees found in Landes, a province in France, also reputed for its picturesque landscape. Inspired by nature’s beauty, this painting was possibly completed following Zao’s visit to the region. Zao enlivens the composition with shades of red, added in as a contrast to the mass of symbols constructed from black lines.

Auction results - Sotheby's NY sales of Chinese ceramics bring in $71.3 million

Sotheby's of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art have concluded, bringing the overall total for the series of auctions to $71.3 million, the highest total ever achieved anywhere in New York. All three auctions exceeded their estimates and competitive bidding was seen across all categories and periods. The sales followed an energetic exhibition period packed with collectors from the United States, Europe and Asia. Sotheby’s Asia Week auctions began with the much anticipated sale of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art from J.T. Tai & Co. The auction brought a stunning total of $36.3 million and was nearly 94% sold by lot. The sale was led by An Unusual ‘Famille Rose’ and Gold Decorated Vase, Probably Republican Period (see previous post). Sotheby’s upcoming Hong Kong sales begin on 1 April and will be led by two evening auctions — The Meiyintang Collection – An Important Selection of Imperial Chinese Porcelains and The Ullens Collection – The Nascence of Avant-Garde China.

Auction results - Christie's NY closes Asian Art week with $117 million sale

Christie's Asian Art Week round of auctions totalled $117 million, the highest total for Asian Art Week at Christie’s New York, achieved in seven sales from March 22 to 25. The auctioneer noted record prices in every category.

Auction results - Christie's sale of fine chinese ceramics brings in $53.7 million

Christie's Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art including property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections sale realized $53.7 million, selling 85% by lot and 92% by value. The top lot of the sale was a rare and finely cast gilt-bronze figure of Acuoye Guanyin, Dali Kingdom, Yunnan Province, 12th century, realizing $4 million, which set a world auction record for a gilt bronze figure from the Dali Kingdom.

Auction results - Christie's sale of Gordon Collection brings in $23 million

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The Magnificent Qing Monochrome Porcelains and Earlier Works of Art from the Gordon Collection sale by Christies realized $23 million and was sold 95% by lot and 99% by value. The top lot of the sale was a beautiful celadon-glazed carved baluster vase, Qianlong seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1736-1795), which sold for $7.92 million and set a world auction record for Qing monochrome porcelain. (Photo)

Auction results - Sotheby’s March sales of Chinese Works of Art total $71.3 mln

Sotheby’s sales of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art have concluded, bringing the overall total for the series of auctions to $71.3 million, well above the anticipated estimate of $17.5/$25.1 million. This was the highest total ever achieved anywhere in New York. All three auctions exceeded their estimates and competitive bidding was seen across all categories and periods. The sales followed an energetic exhibition period packed with collectors from the United States, Europe and Asia.

The J.T. Tai & Co (see previous post) was followed by a second single owner collection , Harmony of Form, Serenity of Color: A Private Collection of ‘Song’ Ceramics, which achieved a total of $9.03 million. The sale was led by a rare Imperial numbered 'Jun' narcissus bowl, early Ming Dynasty (PHOTO) which sold for $2.2 million. A carved 'Ding' 'Peony' dish, Northern Song Dynasty fetched $866,500, comfortably exceeding the estimate and a molded 'Ding' basin, Jin Dynasty made $506,500, again surpassing the $120/160,000 estimate by a considerable margin.

The various owner sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art achieved a total of $25.9 million. The sale was led by a pair of 'Huanghuali' Yokeback armchairs (Guanmao Yi), 17th Century which sold for $2.77 million, several times the $200/300,000 estimate. The highlight of the paintings in the sale was the Imperial Nian Rebellion Battle painting Qing Dynasty, Guangxu Period which was fought after by five bidders before selling for $1.98 million. . A strong group of jades included A Rare Imperially Inscribed Celadon Jade Archaistic Vessel And Cover (Yi), Qianlong Fanggu Mark And Period from the Collection of Robert Tod which sold for $1,650,500 several times the $70/90,000 estimate.

Published - Auction Houses Benefit From Renewed Chinese Passion for Pocket Watches

Swiss watchmakers who are increasingly designing their timepieces to cater to the tastes of a Chinese clientele are following a marketing strategy that has been successfully traced before. This time the result is a return to the classic aesthetic of slim and elegant wristwatches. But back in the late 18th and 19th centuries, Swiss watchmakers were making enameled pocket watches, some with lavish musical mechanisms, especially for the Chinese market. Many of those beautiful timepieces are now highly sought after in the auction rooms. Commenting on the rapid rise in auction values, Aurel Bacs, the international head of watches at Christie’s, said: “Depending on the type of pocket watches, some have clearly increased 100 percent in the last couple of years.”

According to Vanessa Herrera, head of watches at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, watches made for the Chinese market had several typical characteristics. “They were often set with seed pearls on the bezel,” she said. “There are also jump or center seconds hands because the Chinese had a preference for having the seconds hand at the center rather than at 6 o’clock; and the enameled decorations on the back are very colorful and lively.”

Ms. Herrera said the current growth of interest in these watches partly reflected the search for alternative investments following the rise in the price of gold, and partly a renewed interest from Chinese collectors in the art of enameling.

Some of the most sought-after pocket watches are those that have a connection to the Qianlong Emperor, who was an avid collector of western-style clocks, as well as automata and pocket watches. In 2008, Christie’s raised $375,000 from the sale of “The Imperial Pomegranates,” a rare pair of gold, enamel and pearl-set pocket watches, circa 1820, that were made by Piguet & Meylan. The watch set was reputedly given to Qianlong by the British Royal Family. Collectors will have an opportunity to bid for some exquisite pocket watches over the coming months. Sotheby’s spring sales in Hong Kong on April 7 will include 40 to 50 pocket watches dating to the early 18th to the early 20th centuries. Many, like a Bovet Fleurier open face watch, circa 1860, with enamel and pearl decoration and a center second, would originally have been manufactured for the Chinese market. Read the whole story in the

IHT .

Published - Not Just in, Thin Is Almost De Rigueur

Tourbillons have become a popular feature of fine watchmaking, but these additions to the mechanics of a watch escapement to counter gravity’s effects on accuracy take up space and this is becoming an issue for watch brands looking to feed into the recent aesthetic design trend for thinner watches, highly favored by Chinese clients. So this year, several watchmakers, like those at Richard Mille and Piaget, have been working to slim down their tourbillons. At the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva in January, Piaget presented the Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Automatic Ultra-Thin. Three years in development, the watch combines Piaget’s 2006 Calibre 600P (which, at a thickness of 3 millimeters, or 0.1 inch, is the world’s thinnest hand-wound tourbillon movement) and the 2010 Calibre 1208P (the world's thinnest automatic movement with micro-rotor at 2.35 millimeters thick), making the Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Automatic Ultra-Thin the world’s thinnest self-winding tourbillon movement, measuring just 5.35 millimeters thick.

By fine watchmaking standards, the Emperador case is still hefty, at 10.4 millimeters thick — by comparison, Piaget’s Altiplano Automatic Ultra-Thin watch case is 5.25 millimeters thick — yet it is slimmer than those tourbillon watches previously considered thin, like the Blancpain Leman Automatic Tourbillon, with a 11.4 millimeter-thick case, or the hand-wound Breguet Tradition Tourbillon at 11.65 millimeters.

Not to be outdone, Richard Mille, which is better known for its bold and chunky statement watches, unveiled the RM 017 Tourbillon Extra Flat, a manual wind titanium timepiece measuring just 8.7 millimeters from top to bottom. The extra-flat, rectangular case is a counterpoint to the existing collection’s themes of motor sport and sailing, yet has the same wrist fitting curvature and taper. The RM 017 tourbillon also makes use of the function selector developed by Richard Mille, which is based on a car’s gearbox. The selected mode — winding, neutral or handsetting — is displayed by a needle situated at 4 o’clock.

The Swiss brand DeWitt will be releasing in Baselworld this week an automatic Tourbillon with a decidedly slim appeal, as its case is only 10.28 millimeters thick. The Twenty-8-Eight Tourbillon has a peripheral oscillating rotor, a dead-beat second, a patented Automatic Sequential Winding system and a power reserve of 72 hours.

Mr. Koh notes that the slimmer tourbillon is a return to the source as the first wristwatch tourbillon with an automatic system, which was produced by Audemars Piguet in 1986, was also an ultra-flat one. Read the whole story in the IHT

Published - The Triumph of Unnecessary Beauty

Every year, watchmakers try to outdo one another, inventing new complications or tinkering with existing ones, even though in most cases experts agree that the innovations bring little in terms of time accuracy. So it was that last year the Swiss watch brand Maurice Lacroix unveiled the Masterpiece Régulateur Roue Carrée, a watch with a square wheel mechanism. Activated by a toothed cloverleaf and making a complete revolution in 12 hours, the square wheel displays the hour and rotates so slowly and smoothly that it appears motionless. At the Baselworld watch and jewelry show that opens this weekend, Maurice Lacroix plans to unveil the Masterpiece Roue Carrée Seconde, focusing on the seconds display, with the square wheel now turning 720 times faster, at one revolution a minute, bringing it to life.

In January, during the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2011 in Geneva, Montblanc released the innovative Tourbillon Bi-Cylindrique in the Collection Villeret 1858, the first wristwatch with a tourbillon escapement and a cylindrical double balance-spring, similar to that of ships’ chronometers.

While most watch professionals agree that a tourbillon does little to improve a watch’s accuracy, it remains the star complication. Invented around 1795 by the French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet to even out the effects of gravity on a pocket watch, the mechanism has been transformed over the years into double-tourbillons, multi-axis tourbillons, flying tourbillons and a bi-axial flying double-tourbillon, to name a few. Whether theses architectural marvels add significantly to precision is a matter of debate, though watch aficionados do not really mind. Find out why in this IHT story.

Published - China, a Huge Market, With New Players

An 11th-century Chinese mechanical marvel — a water-driven astronomical clock tower in Kaifeng that has long since been dismantled — has inspired the introduction of a new Hong Kong-based watch brand, the Chinese Timekeeper, which proudly proclaims its 100 percent Chinese-made pedigree. "Greater China is a huge market for watches, and when you look specifically for mechanical watches, they’re almost all sold as Swiss-made,” Adrien Choux, the Frenchman who is founder and marketing director of the new brand, said in a telephone interview. “Yet when you look into the details, most of them have some parts manufactured in China. This proves that the quality of Chinese-made components is good and you just have to pay attention during the assembly process and apply a strict quality control.”

A report released in November by Bain & Co. said that the Chinese luxury watch market was worth 15.5 billion renminbi in 2009, or $2.34 billion, and that it was growing at 35 percent a year. The high end of the market was dominated by foreign brands, especially the top five: Cartier, Longines, Omega, Rolex and Tudor.

While there are several large Chinese watch brands — like Sea Gull, made by Tianjin Sea Gull Watch Manufacturing Group, the largest producer of automatic movements in the world, Rossini, Ebohr, Shanghai Watch and Fiyta — they have mainly focused on mass-market production. Aspirations toward the luxury end of the market, however, are starting to emerge among several Chinese players.

“The Chinese have always had a unique relationship to luxury products, such as silk, jade and porcelain,” Mr. Choux said. “They also have a long history in time-keeping, creating the first water-driven escapement mechanism, the first armillary sphere or even the mechanical gears. I felt there were all the elements to establish a strong new Chinese brand: A clear opportunity in terms of manufacturing, a huge consumer market and a history you can play on.”

Mr. Choux, who has lived in Asia for more than a decade, noted that in the two years before the introduction of the Chinese Timekeeper in December he had been encouraged by the fact that the French luxury house Hermès took a similar strategic approach to the market by introducing a China-made luxury brand tailored for its Chinese customers, Shang Xia. Of his brand, he added: “It’s a Chinese brand designed and assembled in Hong Kong by local watchmakers, inspired by a fascinating Chinese history and destined to intrigue the Chinese customers. The fact that I’m French doesn’t really matter. I see a great opportunity here.”

Another Hong Kong brand, Longio, started producing tourbillon watches in 2007 and now has seven models, with retail prices ranging from $2,800 to $8,000.

In 2009, Shanghai Watch released its first tourbillon, a piece designed by Eric Giroud, the Swiss designer behind the Harry Winston Tourbillon Glissière. In January, the brand offered the Unity 128 Tourbillon, again designed by Mr. Giroud in consultation with Carson Chan, managing director and international watch specialist at Bonhams Hong Kong. Read the whole story in IHT .

Opening - Karl Lagerfeld photographs @ MBS

Karl Lagerfeld may be better known for his immense contribution to contemporary fashion, but the German designer is also a noted photographer, with a sharp eye for black and white contrasts and the ultimate use of lighting that gives his photography an old Hollywood glamour. One can clearly see the influence of silent films in his work, which is probably why in the 1990s he chose to collaborate many times with Adnan Taletovich, a professional fashion model and photographer, whose dark brooding looks apparently reminded him of Rudolf Valentino. Taletovich, who is now based in Hong Kong, was in town to open a very small photographic exhibition of the maestro at the Marina Bay Sands, ahead of the Singapore Men's Fashion Week next week.

Auction results - Stunning start to Sotheby's Asia Week

Sotheby’s Asia Week auctions began in New York today with the much anticipated sale of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art from J.T. Tai & Co. The auction brought a $36.3 million with 94% lots sold. The sale of more than 300 lots took over nine hours, with multiple bidders in the room, on the phones and online competing for nearly every lot. More than 81% of the sold lots brought prices above, and in many cases significantly above, their high estimates, reflecting the reverence for Tai’s legendary connoisseurship and the electric atmosphere in the salesroom. The remarkable prices achieved today were the result of a perfect storm of esteemed provenance, a strong market and attractive estimates.

The sale was led by An Unusual ‘Famille Rose’ and Gold Decorated Vase, Probably Republican Period, which sold for $18 million (Photo), having been estimated at $800/$1,200!!!!!. The vase was catalogued as ‘Probably Republican’ (early 20th century) and the estimate reflected this dating. There was a healthy debate surrounding the age of the piece, with a number of collectors clearly feeling it was significantly earlier. In the end, more than seven bidders competed for the vase, which finally sold to an anonymous bidder on the telephone.

Among the other exceptional ceramics prices were A Fine And Rare Blue And White Bowl Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period which sold for $1.59 million, a 'Famille-Rose' Vase, Republican Period which fetched $1.3 million and A Fine Carved 'Ding' Bowl, Song Dynasty which brought $392,500 (est. $15/20,000).

The archaic bronzes in the sale were led by A Large Archaic Bronze Ritual Food Vessel (Ding) Shang Dynasty, 13th / 12th Century BC which sold for $410,500.

Published - Thailand to Expand Space for Yachting With New Marina

With its distinctive limestone cliffs and emerald green water, as featured spectacularly in the 1974 James Bond film “The Man With the Golden Gun,” Phang Nga Bay in Thailand has long been a favorite of yacht owners cruising in Southeast Asia. Phuket Island has been the natural base of the region’s sailing community, but its four marinas can often be crowded in the high season of November through January, making it hard to find a berth. Now plans are afoot for a new marina on the other side of Phang Nga Bay, about 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, across the sea from Phuket Boat Lagoon and 3 kilometers off the town of Krabi on the mainland.

The new marina, Port Takola Marina — on the site of a former shrimp farm at the mouth of the Krabi River — is still under construction, with a first phase expected to be ready in the middle of 2012. When completed, the marina will have about 250 berths that can accommodate yachts ranging from 10 meters to 35 meters, or 33 feet to 115 feet. The marina is being developed by Suriya Na Nagara, a retired surgeon admiral in the Royal Thai Navy who hired Simon Arrol, a marina consultant, to design it. Mr. Arrol was the managing director of Camper & Nicholsons Marinas, which specializes in marina investment, development and management, for 16 years before setting up his own company, Arrol Ltd., in 2008. Read the whole story in the IHT

Opening - Zhang Huan @ Espace Louis Vuitton Macau

The in-store art gallery Espace Louis Vuitton Macao will present ‘East Wind, West Wind’ - a solo exhibition by renowned contemporary artist Zhang Huan from March 25. The exhibition will mix some of the artist’s new creation with previous works including cow-skin sculptures, ash paintings and sculptures, carved antique wood door. The internationally reknown Chinese artist made a name for himself with his performing art, which often involves his body. But in recent years, he's developed a new technique using incense ash from various Buddist temples in paintings and sculptures.

Published - Make yourself at home with the art

The Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi invites the public to interact with public objects in novel ways. Over the years, he has constructed a temporary one-room apartment around a bronze angel weather vane atop a 14th-century cathedral in Basel, and enclosed a 4.5-meter- high statue of Queen Victoria in Liverpool to make it the centerpiece of a temporary hotel room. For the Singapore Biennale 2011, running until May 15, Mr. Nishi has transformed the 8-meter, or 26-foot, white cement Merlion, a tourist landmark, into the centerpiece of a luxurious hotel suite. The suite, built around the usually water-spouting half-lion, half-fish beast, comes complete with a bathroom, balcony overlooking the Marina Bay and a dedicated butler from the nearby Fullerton Hotel. During the day the room is open to the biennale public, while at night, a few lucky guests can sleep under the statue’s leonine head, which bursts through the floor in a décor wallpapered with a Toile de Jouy pattern that mixes motifs of Sir Stamford Raffles (who founded Singapore), the Merlion and a Chinese temple. Mr. Nishi, who started this practice to bring his art closer to the public and is also working on a living room project in New York, said he liked to “make the public private” by creating an “inside” around a space that is perceived as “outside.” The 32 nights made available to the public for 150 Singapore dollars, or $120, a night sold out in an hour.

The third Singapore Biennale should have been staged last year but was postponed so that it would not coincide with the Youth Olympics, which were held in Singapore. The biennale, which features 63 artists from 30 countries and 161 artworks, aspires to be international, but it still has a strong Asian flavor — 57 percent of the artists are from the Asia-Pacific region. And while the previous biennale’s theme, “Wonder,” favored aesthetically pleasing and more accessible works, this year’s biennale is taking a slightly more difficult conceptual tack.

The biennale is built around the idea “Open House,” and the concept has been stretched to the fullest. “Open House is not strictly a theme, but more of an attitude and way of thinking,” said the biennale’s artistic director, Matthew Ngui, an artist who believes the biennale should be a platform for experimentation. “It is not so much about identifying works that talk about space, but rather identifying artistic processes and practices, and the way they work in specific spaces and interact with them. That is why more than half of the artworks are newly commissioned or works that are premiered here for the first time.”

One of the commissioned works is a new installation by the Thai artist Arin Rungjang, “Unequal Exchange / No Exchange Can Be Unequal.” The artist has created a large living room that will continue to change using a system of exchange in which he invited Thai workers in Singapore to “re-furnish” the space by swapping a piece of furniture from their home with one of his initial pieces from Ikea. The process is to be documented over 64 days with daily photographs added to the wall. Mr. Rungjang said he was interested in exploring social and economic mobility through this work.

In another commissioned piece, Compound, the Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich used bamboo and rattan to create a fictional city surrounded by bombs, alluding to his country’s still recent violent history.

"Open House” is presented across five different spaces including the city-state’s first civil airport terminal. The airport was closed in the 1960s and had been used until 2009 by the People’s Association, a community group set up by the government to foster racial harmony. One of the most visually appealing works is an installation by the Vietnamese artist Tiffany Chung, who as a small child experienced firsthand the 1978 flooding of the Mekong River. She rethinks urban planning with a utopian miniature floating city, inspired by vernacular architecture from across Asia. Her project proposes flat sustainable living using local materials, eschewing futuristic high-rise designs that are alien to local habitats. The large installation hangs from the ceiling to appear as though it were floating on water and is complemented by the artist’s jewel-decorated cartographic works of Vietnam. Read the whole story in the IHT .

Auction - Christie's to auction intense yellow and oranage diamond necklace

A spectacular intense and vivid yellow and orange diamond necklace, along with one of the largest drop-shaped natural pearls so far recorded and a natural Burmese ruby weighing 22 carats are among the highlights of Christie’s April 20th sale of Jewels in Dubai. The diamond necklace comprises a double swag of graduated diamond flowerheads, with matching earrings. Each are mounted with a series of rare Fancy Intense diamonds of yellow and orange hues of impressive size. The necklace converts for use as a tiara and may also be worn as a single row necklace.

Meanwhile, Christie's NY will sell on Apr 12 another line-up of top-quality fancy colored diamonds in shades of pink, blue and yellow. There will be a ring with a Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink diamond of 10.09 carats estimated at $12-15 million, as well as including Fancy Vivid blue ring (3.25 carats) and a Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond

of 50.29 carats by Carvin French.

Opening - Cheong Soo Pieng @ iPreciations

iPRECIATION is holding a small exhibition of works by Singapore pioneer artist Cheong Soo Pieng (b. 1917- 1983) until April 2. One of the most prominent Nanyang artists, Cheong made significant contributions to the local art scene but is better known for portaits with elongated limbs and pastoral scenes hat are sought after by collectors at auctions.

Born in China’s Fujian province, he studied at the Xiamen Academy of Fine Arts from 1933 to 1935, and continued his artistic training at the Xin Hua Art Academy in Shanghai. He moved to Singapore in 1946, and was invited by the principal of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Lim Hak Tai to teach there. In 1952 he travelled to Bali with three other artists - Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi and Liu Kang - where they remained for 5 months The trip deeply influenced the way he, and the other artists portrayed Southeast Asia and resulted in their development of what was eventually called the Nanyang Style of painting. It was considered a fusion of Eastern philosophy with Western aesthetics, style and composition.

Cheong’s work focused on scenes of the “everyday,” but went beyond depicting ordinary people engaged in common activities, like mending fishing nets or watching puppet shows.

In 1961, he embarked on a 2-year tour to Europe, to familiarize himself with the developing contemporary art movement. There
broke away from traditional forms of presentation and turned toward abstraction. He also monochromatic for a while, purging all the colors.

A trip to Guilin, China, in 1979 resulted in a return to traditional ink painting, but within a frame format, instead of a scroll one. Early on, in the 1950s, the artist had challenged the pictorial convention of the hanging scroll format, which emphasizes a space continuum between the foreground, middle ground and background. He used the near and far banks as horizontal axes to frame the picture, with the middle ground holding the composition together using mainly grid-like lines, Mr. Seng said.

His works have been categorised into different stages of experimentation; beginning with the oil in impasto effects from 1948 to 1959, Chinese ink on rice paper from 1960 to 1963, oil with new effects from 1963 to 1968, abstraction from 1968 to 1970, mixed media sculptures and porcelain work from 1970 to 1972, abstraction continued from 1972- 1979, oil with new effects from 1975- 1983, Chinese ink with new effects in 1979, painting on tiles and porcelain from 1982- 1983, and Chinese traditional medium on cotton in 1983. The exhibition present a selection of 33 paintings, dated from 1960 to 1982. If you want to read more about this artist, I wrote this story in the
IHT last year.

News - LVMH goes Spring shopping

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world’s largest maker of luxury goods, is opening its large wallet and shopping around for brands to add up to its stable. First it increased its stake in Hermes, then earlier this month, it acquired Italian jewelry house Bulgari, and now the company is reportedly interested in Jimmy Choo, according to the Sunday Times. Meanwhile, L Capital Asia, the private equity arm of LVMH, is also said to have bought a 20 percent stake in Singaporean shoe brand Charles & Keith for more than $30 million.

Opening - Bye Bye Kitty!!! @ Japan Society Gallery in NY

Makoto Aida

In recent years, Japanese contemporary art has too often confined itself to the restrictive hierarchies of the antique, the childish or the cute. Bye Bye Kitty!!! Between Heaven and Hell in Contemporary Japanese Art, curated by David Elliott, founding Director of the Mori Art Museum, is a radical departure from recent Japanese exhibitions. Moving far beyond the stereotypes of kawaii and otaku culture, Japan Society’s show features sixteen emerging and mid-career artists whose paintings, objects, photographs, videos, and installations meld traditional styles with challenging visions of Japan’s troubled present and uncertain future. Each of the three sections, “Critical Memory,” “Threatened Nature,” and “Unquiet Dream,” aims to demolish preconceptions about contemporary Japanese art. A shimmering taxidermy deer (last seen in Singapore's SAM) and a gasp-inducing canvas depicting a tumulus of minuscule salary men are among the compelling works will greet visitos to Japan Society Gallery in NY from Friday, March 18 to June 12.

Manabu Ikeda

Kumi Machida

Many of the paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, and videos in Bye, Bye Kitty!!! illustrate the manner in which today’s artists in Japan creatively sample Japanese pictorial conventions, ultimately reframing tradition—whether it be the conservative aesthetic of traditional Japanese painting and sculpture or the graphic ingenuity of Ukiyo-e prints.

A two-panel work by Makoto Aida, for instance, emulates the traditional decorative form of painted screens, but with imagery—two massively heroic schoolgirls squared off against one another, each hoisting a South Korean or a Japanese flag aloft—that is a biting commentary on today’s uneasy East Asian relations.

The 16 artists represented in Bye Bye Kitty!!!, half of them women, are Makoto Aida (b.1965); Manabu Ikeda (b.1973); Tomoko Kashiki (b.1982); Rinko Kawauchi (b.1972); Haruka Kojin (b.1983); Kumi Machida (b.1970); Yoshitomo Nara (b.1959); Kohei Nawa (b.1975); Motohiko Odani (b.1972); Hiraki Sawa (b.1977); Chiharu Shiota (b.1972); Tomoko Shioyasu (b.1981); Hisashi Tenmyouya (b.1966); Yamaguchi Akira (b.1969); Miwa Yanagi (b.1967); Tomoko Yoneda (b.1965). Half of the proceeds of this exhibition will go to the Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

Kohei Nawa

Published - Diamond World Sees Treasure in Asia

Flawless white or “colorless” diamonds may be the most sought after when it comes to engagement rings, but colored or “fancy” diamonds are far more rare and can be hugely more valuable. Where a one-carat white diamond may cost from $3,000 to $10,000, a pink, red or blue diamond of the same weight can easily sell for more than $1 million. In November, Laurence Graff, the London-based international jeweler, paid a record $46.1 million at Sotheby’s Geneva for a ring featuring a 24.78-carat fancy intense pink diamond, equivalent to $1.86 million a carat. The record price for a blue diamond at auction, $1.4 million per carat, is held by the Bulgari Blue, which sold in October at Christie’s in New York to an Asian buyer for $15.7 million. The top price for a red diamond was hit in November 2007 with a 2.26-carat fancy purplish-red diamond ring at Christie’s Geneva, which sold for the equivalent of $1.18 million a carat. Even relatively common yellow diamonds can outsell most whites. The top price per carat for a fancy vivid yellow diamond was achieved by a 13.83-carat marquise diamond, the Burden Yellow, which sold at Sotheby’s New York in 1997 for $3.3 million, or $238,612 per carat.

Although colored diamonds are extremely rare, the jeweler Lev Leviev has built a name selling some of the biggest in the world since opening his first Leviev store, in London, in 2006. Quickly adding three other stores — in New York, Moscow and Dubai — Mr. Leviev, who controls some of the largest private diamond mines in the world, then turned his eye to the fast-growing Asian market, opening a store in Singapore last year. Putting the store in the hotel lobby of the Marina Bay Sands, Leviev is targeting international clients, of course, but in particular the wealthy Asians drawn to the hotel’s casino. Asian clients, particularly the Chinese, have become an important force in the market, both for jewelry stores and in the auction rooms, where they bid enthusiastically for high-grade gemstones and jewelry, especially pieces featuring colored and large colorless diamonds.

Recognizing this growing demand for glittering jewels, several high-end jewelry companies are aggressively expanding in China. Van Cleef & Arpels added two outlets there last year, bringing its total to six. Laura Lai, the general manager for Van Cleef & Arpels’s in China, said in an e-mail that two more stores were planned for the summer. Tiffany & Co. has announced a major focus in China, with plans to double its stores in the country to 30 in four to five years. In October, Tiffany also unveiled its 2011 jewels and diamonds collections in Beijing, the first time the brand had offered a major new collection outside of its U.S. home market.

On April 6, Sotheby’s Hong Kong plans to auction a pear-shaped, fancy pink diamond ring that, excluding its clear diamonds, weighs 12.72 carats and carries an estimate of $3.2 million to $4.1 million. Also on auction will be an extremely rare 1.92-carat fancy VS2 red diamond ring, estimated at $2.5 million to $3 million, or about $1.3 million per carat. Red diamonds of such size and clarity are extremely rare, and the auction house purposely chose to present it in Hong Kong because the auctioneers believed its auspicious red color would attract significant Chinese buyers, said Quek Chin Yeow, head of the jewelry department at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. While mainland Chinese buyers accounted for about 2 percent of sales at jewelry auctions in Hong Kong three years ago, Mr. Quek said they now account for more than 20 percent of sales. “And I’m sure other auction houses will have seen a similar pattern,” he added. He said Sotheby’s expected the trend to continue and the share of Chinese buyers to rise “a fair bit.”“Most of our clients are now looking to offer their stones in Hong Kong, because that’s where the buyers are,” Mr. Quek said, “and the window of opportunity is slightly larger than in Geneva, because here we will bring the diamond around the region in previews.” Read the whole story in the IHT

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