GERHARD RICHTER, ZAO WOU-KI AND ZENG FANZHI TO HEADLINE PHILLIPS' MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART EVENING SALE IN HONG KONG ON 30 SEPTEMBER
Distinguished by Prestigious Provenance and Rare Compositions, the Three Exceptional Paintings Exemplify Defining Moments in the Oeuvres of Richter, Zao, and Zeng
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Gerhard Richter Abstraktes Bild (522-1), 1983 oil on canvas, 100 x 70 cm. Estimate: HK$18,000,000-25,000,000/ US$2,310,000 - 3,210,000 |
HONG KONG – 11 September 2026 – Phillips is pleased to present highlights from its upcoming Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Hong Kong. Bringing together a tightly curated selection of rare and exemplary works, the sale features internationally acclaimed artists spanning generations and geographies, including Gerhard Richter, Zao Wou-Ki, Zeng Fanzhi, Hajime Sorayama, Lauren Quin, Natee Utarit, and Issy Wood. Distinguished by exceptional quality, rarity, and prestigious provenance, the Evening Sale will be held on 30 September, with a public exhibition on view at Phillips' West Kowloon galleries from 21 to 30 September.
Dina Zhang, Head of Modern & Contemporary Art, China, Phillips, said: "This season's Evening Sale brings together works of exceptional quality, rarity, and provenance by some of the most influential artists of the modern and contemporary eras. From Gerhard Richter's iconic abstraction and Zao Wou-Ki's pivotal early painting to Zeng Fanzhi's acclaimed Mask Series, each work represents a defining moment in the artist's career and offers collectors the opportunity to acquire works of profound art-historical significance.”
Leading the Evening Sale is Gerhard Richter's Abstraktes Bild (522-1) (1983) (illustrated page 1), an outstanding example from the artist's celebrated "Wild Abstracts" period, widely regarded as one of the most significant breakthroughs in postwar painting. Executed during the pivotal year of Richter's move from Düsseldorf to Cologne, the work marks a moment of profound artistic transformation and showcases his mature squeegee technique at its most dynamic, balancing intentionality and chance to create a richly layered surface of remarkable chromatic power.
Acquired directly from the artist by the influential curator Kasper König, Abstraktes Bild (522-1) was included in the landmark retrospective Gerhard Richter. Bilder 1962-1985 at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, before touring major institutions across Europe. Further documented in Dietmar Elger's authoritative catalogue raisonné, the work stands among the most important abstractions of this seminal period, encapsulating Richter's groundbreaking exploration of colour, materiality, and the dynamic interplay between control and chance. Its rarity, provenance, and exhibition history affirm its importance within Richter's oeuvre and the broader history of contemporary art.
Another standout highlight is Zeng Fanzhi's Mask Series No. 4 (1994), a seminal work from the artist's iconic Mask series, widely regarded as one of the defining bodies of work in Chinese contemporary art. Painted in the inaugural year of the series, the work marks a pivotal moment in Zeng's career, when he shifted from the raw expressionism of his early Hospital paintings to the allegorical and psychologically charged imagery that would establish his international reputation. Created shortly after the artist's move from Wuhan to Beijing, Mask Series No. 4 encapsulates the anxieties and aspirations of a rapidly changing society, using the motif of the mask as a powerful metaphor for identity, conformity, and the complexities of modern urban life in 1990s China.
Distinguished by its exceptionally rare double-seated composition, the painting stands among the most compelling examples from this formative period. Its significance is further reinforced by an outstanding provenance, having formerly belonged to the renowned collector and philanthropist Guy Ullens, one of the earliest international champions of Chinese contemporary art. The work also boasts an important exhibition history spanning Europe and South America. Combining inaugural-year importance, compositional rarity, distinguished provenance, and extensive scholarly recognition, Mask Series No. 4 stands as a landmark work that captures both a transformative moment in Zeng's artistic development and the emergence of contemporary China onto the global
stage.
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Zeng Fanzhi Mask Series No. 4, 1994 oil on canvas, 166 x 180 cm. Estimate:HK$11,000,000-16,000,000/ US$1,410,000-2,050,000 |
Zao Wou-Ki's Sans titre (La Théière) (1951), painted in the year of the artist’s transformative encounter with the work of German artist Paul Klee, captures the emergence of the visual language that would later establish him as one of the 20th century's most celebrated abstract painters. While the still-life motifs of a teapot, vase, and flowers remain discernible, they are already infused with the calligraphic vitality, spatial freedom, and poetic abstraction that would become the hallmarks of his mature practice. Serving as a remarkable synthesis of Western modernism and Chinese artistic traditions, the work reveals Zao's unique ability to bridge cultures, drawing upon the structural lessons of European avant-garde painting while retaining the spirit and philosophy of classical Chinese ink painting.
Its exceptional art historical significance is matched by outstanding provenance and exhibition credentials. Acquired directly from the artist by the renowned American publisher Harry N. Abrams and Nina Abrams, the painting remained within the Abrams family for more than half a century before entering an important Asian private collection. It was featured in Zao's first New York exhibition in 1952, one of the earliest introductions of the artist's work to American audiences, and later included in the influential exhibition School of Paris 1959: The Internationals at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, where Zao was presented alongside leading figures of the postwar European avant-garde.
As part of the Living Art partnership between Phillips and Capella Hotel Group this year, the successful bidder of the present work will receive an exclusive invitation to Capella Taipei, for a suite stay elevated by a Capella Curates experience created entirely around them — an experience as singular as the work of art itself.
Zao Wou-Ki
Sans titre (La Théière), 1951
oil on canvas, 54 x 65 cm.
Estimate: HK$10,000,000-15,000,000/US$1,280,000-1,920,000
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