PHILLIPS PRESENTS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MODERN & CONTEMPORARY ART HONG KONG SALE ON 30 SEPTEMBER
HONG KONG – 21 September 2026 – Phillips is pleased to present the full catalogue for its upcoming Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale and Modern & Contemporary Art Sale in Hong Kong. Both auctions will take place on 30 September at the company’s Asia headquarters in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Complementing the live auctions, Modern & Contemporary Art: Online Auction, Hong Kong will be open for bidding from 23 September – 2 October.
As previously announced, the Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale, taking place at 4:30pm HKT, will feature 20 exceptional lots, bringing together works of outstanding quality, rarity, and provenance by some of the most influential artists of the modern and contemporary eras. The sale is led by three extraordinary paintings that mark pivotal moments in the careers of Gerhard Richter, Zao Wou-Ki, and Zeng Fanzhi.
The Modern & Contemporary Art Sale, taking place at 6pm HKT, features 119 lots and presents a dynamic selection of important paintings, distinguished private collections, and works by both established and emerging artists. Highlights include a group of iconic paintings by Yayoi Kusama, a significant presentation of Chinese contemporary art spanning over three decades, and notable works by leading Asian artists from The Inquiring Eye: Property from a Distinguished Collection, Southeast Asia, assembled over five decades by a discerning collector. The sale is further enriched by a carefully curated selection of Western art, featuring works by post-war masters, Pablo Picasso's celebrated Madoura ceramics, and a group of fashion illustrations by Andy Warhol from an important private collection.
Rebecca Hu, Head of Sale, Modern & Contemporary Art, Phillips Hong Kong, said: “The strength of this season’s auction lies in its breadth and quality. Bringing together outstanding works from across Asia, alongside exceptional examples by celebrated Western Modern masters, the sale traces a rich narrative of artistic innovation across cultures and generations. Whether through the visionary worlds of Yayoi Kusama and Marc Chagall, the powerful evolution of Chinese Contemporary Art, or the enduring appeal of Southeast Asia’s most significant modern artists, each work has been selected for its significance, rarity, and ability to resonate with today’s global collectors.”
JAPANESE POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY
This season’s Hong Kong sales present a superb selection of signature works by Japan’s most celebrated artists, including a group of iconic paintings by Yayoi Kusama, whose extraordinary legacy continues to shape the global contemporary art landscape. At the forefront is the striking blue Pumpkin, a powerful embodiment of one of Kusama’s most enduring and deeply personal motifs. Inspired by childhood memories and the resilience forged during wartime Japan, the pumpkin became both a source of comfort and a profound symbol of self-identity for the artist. Rendered through the intricate interplay of her hallmark polka dots and infinity nets, the work brings together some of Kusama’s most recognisable visual languages, transforming the humble pumpkin into a mesmerizing meditation on repetition, infinity, and the dissolution of boundaries between the self and the universe.
Kazuo Shiraga's Wiper 8A exemplifies the dynamic energy and innovative spirit that made him one of the most influential figures of Japan's postwar Gutai movement. Created during a pivotal period in the artist's career, the work reflects his early experimentation with his distinctive "squeezing painting" technique, in which he uses wooden tools to manipulate paint into sweeping, expressive forms. Vibrant crimson gestures surge across a luminous gold background, interwoven with white, blue, green, and black lines, creating a powerful sense of movement.
WESTERN MODERN MASTERS
The sale also presents a distinguished group of works by leading figures of Western Modern art, including Marc Chagall, Bernard Buffet, and Pablo Picasso. Together, these works highlight the enduring international appeal of some of the 20th century’s most celebrated artistic voices.
A compelling work by Bernard Buffet, La Baume II exemplifies the artist’s instantly recognisable visual language, characterized by sharp linearity, expressive intensity, and a distinctive postwar sensibility. One of the most prominent European painters of his generation, Buffet developed a singular style that remains highly sought after by collectors worldwide.
Also featured is a work by Marc Chagall, whose poetic imagery and dreamlike compositions occupy a unique place within 20th century art. Blending memory, fantasy, and emotion, Chagall’s paintings transcend cultural boundaries, offering a timeless vision of love, nostalgia, and imagination.
Further strengthening the sale’s Western Modern offering is a notable group of ceramics by Pablo Picasso, created during his celebrated collaboration with the Madoura pottery in Vallauris, France. Demonstrating the same spirit of invention that defined his paintings and sculptures, these works transform everyday vessels into imaginative and highly expressive art objects. Highlights include Le Barbu (1953), in which Picasso ingeniously reimagines a pitcher as a bearded figure, exemplifying his ability to blur the boundaries among function, sculpture, and portraiture while continually expanding the creative possibilities of the ceramic medium.
CHINESE CONTEMPORARY
In addition to the previously announced Evening Sale highlight, Zeng Fanzhi's Mask Series No. 4, this season's auctions offer a compelling survey of Chinese contemporary art spanning more than three decades. The Chinese contemporary art section of the Modern & Contemporary Art Sale is led by Jia Aili’s Untitled (2016), complemented by a significant presentation of works from Chen Yifei’s celebrated Water Village series and an early work by Huang Yuxing, exhibited in the artist’s first-ever solo exhibition. The sale further brings together outstanding works by a distinguished group of leading Chinese contemporary artists, including Chen Ke, Wang Xiyao, Zhang Yingnan, Cui Jie, He Xiangyu, Zhang Yuewei, and Wang Keping, underscoring the breadth and vitality of contemporary artistic practice in China today.
Among the first generation of post-1970s Chinese painters to join the roster of internationally renowned blue-chip galleries, Jia Aili has developed a distinctive visual language shaped by the industrial landscapes and ruins of Northeast China. Created in 2016, Untitled is a compelling example of the artist’s mature practice. A bolt of lightning cuts through a near-black sky, illuminating withered trees, a desolate landscape, and a solitary circular form at the edge of the canvas. Suggestively, both an abandoned banquet table and an enigmatic altar heighten the work’s sense of mystery and drama. By this period, Jia had embraced a more abstract and theatrical mode of expression, with human presence receding as celestial forces take centre stage in a vast, otherworldly landscape.
This season’s sale also features important works from Chen Yifei’s celebrated Water Village series, developed following the artist’s 1982 sketching trip to the ancient town of Zhouzhuang. Distinct from both revolutionary historical painting and the dominant artistic currents of the West, the series drew on Chen’s personal memories and lived experience. In Sunset, On The River (Suzhou), he combines the realist techniques of Western oil painting with the poetic sensibility of traditional Chinese aesthetics, capturing the mist-laden waterways of Jiangnan with remarkable lyricism. Eschewing grand historical narratives, the work transforms a familiar homeland landscape into a meditation on memory, time, and belonging, expressed through a visual language that resonates across cultures.
Chen Ke’s iconic early motif of the wide-eyed young girl, her alter ego “Little K,” emerged from the anxiety and solitude she experienced after arriving in Beijing. Created in 2005, Be with you, will not feel lonely forever No. 4 is among the most poignant works from this celebrated series. Set against a vast dusk landscape, two small figures lean gently toward one another on the horizon, their quiet companionship offering a powerful counterpoint to the immensity of the world around them. As the title suggests, the work is a tender meditation on friendship, comfort, and belonging.
THE INQUIRING EYE: PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED COLLECTION, SOUTHEAST ASIA
Phillips is honoured to present a group of exceptional works assembled over five decades by a discerning Southeast Asian art connoisseur. Offered across the house’s Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 seasons in Hong Kong, the collection reflects a deeply personal journey shaped by intellectual curiosity, rigorous research, and an unwavering commitment to quality. At the collection's core is a vibrant cross-cultural dialogue, capturing the pivotal moment where the era of European expatriate artists in Bali coincided with the rise of pioneering Asian masters returning from elite Western academies. Spanning luminous Balinese depictions, Nanyang modernism, and radical post-war and contemporary expressions, the collection stands as a testament to a longstanding pursuit of continuous discovery, graciously passing the torch to a new generation of art enthusiasts.
In parallel with his passion for Indonesian masters such as Affandi and Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès featured in the Evening Sale, the collector also sought out works by the pioneering Nanyang artists, whose practices forged a distinctive synthesis of Chinese artistic traditions and Western modernism. A highlight of the collection is Snack Stall in Bali by Lee Man Fong, one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Indonesian art. Celebrated for his refined fusion of Chinese literati aesthetics and Western painterly techniques, Lee developed a lyrical visual language that played a pivotal role in shaping modern Indonesian art. Exemplifying the elegance and technical mastery for which he is renowned, Snack Stall in Bali captures the quiet poetry of everyday life through a composition marked by harmony, restraint, and remarkable sensitivity.
Complementing these highlights is Cheong Soo Pieng’s The Red Tone (1962), a striking example from one of Singapore’s most revered modern artists. Painted during a pivotal period in the artist’s career, the work demonstrates Cheong’s innovative approach to form, colour, and composition, reflecting the transnational influences that shaped the development of the Nanyang artistic movement. Richly nuanced and visually dynamic, the painting embodies the spirit of experimentation that established him as a defining figure in Southeast Asian modernism.
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Modern & Contemporary Art Sale: 6pm HKT, 30 September
Public Viewing: 21-30 September, 11am-7pm HKT
Location: Phillips Asia Headquarters, GF, WKCDA Tower, West Kowloon Cultural District, No. 8 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong