Cover Masumi Shinohara, the managing director, Asia, Sotheby’s (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s and Shinohara)
Masumi Shinohara, the managing director, Asia, Sotheby’s (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s and Shinohara)
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How a lifelong love for French modern art and decades in luxury fashion inspired Masumi Shinohara to transform Sotheby’s Hong Kong maison into a vibrant, multi-generational cultural hub
There is a saying that what is meant for you will never miss you. That sentiment certainly rings true for Masumi Shinohara, who took the helm as the managing director of Asia at Sotheby’s in 2025. The French-born Japanese executive spent nearly two decades navigating the luxury sector, holding C-suite positions at Berluti, Valentino and Zegna—alongside a brief stint in biotechnology—before joining the venerable auction house. His role, as he describes it, sits squarely “at the intersection of three things that are really my passion: art, luxury and culture.”
Working at Sotheby’s retraces his childhood devotion to art for the first time in his professional life. “I lived in Paris. Every Sunday, my parents would take me to the banks of the Seine, the gardens of Versailles, Fontainebleau and Giverny, where we would set up a beautiful picnic in the garden where Monet painted. The Impressionist movement became a deeply important memory for me,” he recalls. “Every Easter and summer holiday, my family would travel to the south of France, especially the Côte d’Azur. Driving from Paris, we would pass by Montagne Sainte-Victoire, which became the subject of many of Cézanne’s most famous paintings. Seeing the mountain always reminds me of Cézanne and his work.”
Above Sotheby’s managing director of Asia, Masumi Shinohara, has an early exposure to Henri Matisse. Showing here is Matisse’s ‘La Séance du matin’, which was sold to a collector in Asia for US $20million in May 2026 in New York (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s)
Sotheby’s managing director of Asia, Masumi Shinohara, has an early exposure to Henri Matisse. Showing here is Matisse’s ‘La Séance du matin’, which was sold to a collector in Asia for US $20million in May 2026 in New York (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s)
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His parents operated a business on Rue Saint-Honoré that collaborated with premier French luxury houses, including Christian Dior and Fendi during the 1980s and ’90s, laying the groundwork for Shinohara’s corporate career managing global fashion brands after departing Japanese investment firm Mitsubishi.
When Sotheby’s approached him following the passing of his father, the timing felt remarkably symbolic. “Suddenly, I had the impression that all my passions were connecting. It felt like a premonition—my father telling me to unite these three passions within me,” he says.
Above Cartier London Crash wristwatch being sold at Sotheby’s auction in April (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s)
Cartier London Crash wristwatch being sold at Sotheby’s auction in April (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s)
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Shinohara takes charge during a resilient period for the Asian art market, marked by strong regional momentum and a growing presence in global sales. Asian collectors heavily backed recent New York and record-breaking London evening auctions, acquiring major blue-chip works by artists including Picasso, Matisse, Klimt and Freud. Furthermore, Sotheby’s achieved its most valuable watch sale in Asia during April, highlighted by a rare Cartier London Crash wristwatch that set a world record at HK$15.6 million.
But that’s not the only shift that he observes in the market. Today, statistically, one-third of Sotheby’s buyers in Hong Kong for modern and contemporary art are under the age of 40. “We are currently assisting in the greatest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history,” Shinohara says. “Newer generations of collectors are not mono-category; they collect across disciplines. They might acquire a piece of contemporary art while simultaneously purchasing a timepiece or bidding on a classic car at our US auctions. They are digital natives, exceptionally well-informed, and for them, provenance and artistic vision are paramount.”
Above ‘Super Saiyan 3 Goku’ animation cel from the ’Dragon Ball Z’ franchise by Toei Animation, sold by Sotheby’s (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s)
‘Super Saiyan 3 Goku’ animation cel from the ’Dragon Ball Z’ franchise by Toei Animation, sold by Sotheby’s (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s)
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While blue-chip art continues to command significant market share and value, Shinohara observes an increasingly diverse range of collecting interests: spanning contemporary pieces, Dragon Ball manga prints, trading cards and vintage production art from the Sailor Moon anime franchise. “The Dragon Ball prints were among our most successful offerings in terms of volume and sell-through,” he says.
To cater to evolving collector preferences while continuing to serve traditional connoisseurs, Shinohara has positioned the Sotheby’s Maison in Central Hong Kong at the core of his regional strategy. Designed to transcend the boundaries of a conventional auction house, commercial gallery or museum, the flagship space functions as an accessible, dynamic cultural venue for the public.
Above ‘Dirty—Jeff on Top’ (1991) by Jeff Koons at Sotheby’s Maison, Hong Kong (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
‘Dirty—Jeff on Top’ (1991) by Jeff Koons at Sotheby’s Maison, Hong Kong (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong)
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“The maison serves as a laboratory where we test new concepts and engage more intimately with our audience,” he explains. Beyond hosting traditional pre-auction viewings, the space presents museum-grade selling exhibitions, private sales and multidisciplinary curated showcases that fluidly blend historical eras and mediums. Past presentations have juxtaposed 2,000-year-old classical Greek sculptures with Lucio Fontana canvases, Salvador Dalí lip sofas, Andy Warhol screenprints and live butoh or shibari performances.
“We are not dismantling the traditional auction model; rather, we are expanding it to bridge what were historically separate entities—auction houses, galleries and museums,” Shinohara says. Crucially, the maison remains open and free to all, welcoming seasoned collectors alongside art students, families and young pop-culture enthusiasts who “may well become the collectors of tomorrow.”
Above Masumi Shinohara, the managing director, Asia, Sotheby’s (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s and Shinohara)
Masumi Shinohara, the managing director, Asia, Sotheby’s (Photo: courtesy of Sotheby’s and Shinohara)
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Transitioning from high fashion to the upper echelons of the art and auction world revealed more synergies than differences for Shinohara. Central to both realms is an uncompromising dedication to the client experience. “When you are working for a high-fashion brand or maison, you focus intensely on the client—what they want, what captures their interest—alongside the craftsmanship, heritage and narrative of the piece,” he says. “Working in luxury helped me understand the client journey on a much deeper level. What I discovered upon joining Sotheby’s is that our client relationships are even more profound—extending not just across one generation, but across several.”
“You might see three or four generations of a single family acquiring works together,” he continues. “Exploring new auction categories and welcoming new clients—that is the most rewarding aspect of what we do.”
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
