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The auctioneer’s first live auction of modern and contemporary art here in 15 years takes place on August 28 at Regent Singapore
Auction house Sotheby’s has long established a footprint in Singapore since its first sale of Southeast Asian paintings here in 1996, which subsequently took place biyearly until 2007. Since then, it has continued to stage exhibitions here, with the latest being the WWF Tiger Trail, where proceeds went towards tiger conservation work.
But now, for the first time in 15 years, Sotheby’s marks its first live auction of modern and contemporary art in Singapore, which takes place on August 28, at Regent Singapore. This is good news for Singapore in its global ambition to become a vibrant hub with a thriving arts scene.
The auction features 50 modern and contemporary works by Asian masters, with a majority from Southeast Asia, alongside the works of established and emerging international artists. Leading the sale is Singaporean modern art pioneer Georgette Chen’s Boats and Shophouses, an oil on canvas painting depicting the Singapore riverbanks in the 1960s, and Chinese-French abstract artist Zao Wou-Ki’s Sans Titre, Entre Août Et Décembre 1958, from his celebrated Oracle Bone series, which marked his transition to abstract art.
Read also: Georgette Chen: 5 Things to Know About the Life and Art of the Singapore Pioneer Artist
There are also works by Vietnamese artist Le Pho, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and Indonesian artist Hendra Gunawan, alongside artists who are making waves across the art world today, including Luxembourgish artist Michel Majerus and Spanish artist Rafa Macarrón.
Carrying an overall estimate of SG$18 million, the auction will be also livestreamed via sothebys.com on August 28. Previews are currently ongoing until August 27, at Regent Singapore.
Check out some of the auction highlights below.
1. “Boats and Shophouses” (c 1960) by Georgette Chen
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One of the most celebrated modern artists of Singapore, Georgette Chen’s body of paintings feature in many a museum collection. Among her portrait and still life canvases, only a handful depict Singapore’s riverbanks, making this work strikingly rare. Chen captures a very detailed view of the river, boats and shophouses with her signature bold brushwork and a colour palette of warm pigments to evoke the sun-drenched setting of equatorial Singapore.
2. “Tierfabel (Animal Fable)” (1928) by Walter Spies
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The oil paintings of German artist Walter Spies are some of the rarest to appear on the secondary market—and only 20 have appeared at auction in over three decades. This mystical, almost surrealist painting, a love letter to Spies’ adopted country of Indonesia, portrays a scene of the Balinese countryside featuring native flora and fauna, and exuberant light and shadows cast over the canvas.
3. “Vietnamese Lady” (c 1938) by Le Pho
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Few artists have the technical mastery in handling silk as a medium than Vietnamese master Le Pho. The artist deftly captures the beauty of a female figure, who stares outwardly back at the viewer. She sits on a Chinese-inspired and historic chair, signifying a scholarly background, unlike what was commonly portrayed at the time of women in domestic roles.
4. “Sans Titre, Entre Août Et Décembre 1958” (1958) by Zao Wou-Ki
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This oil on canvas is an exquisite and rare example of Chinese-French abstract artist Zao Wou-Ki’s Oracle Bone series, created in the mid- to late-1950s, marking his transition from representational to abstract art. After years in Paris, Zao sought inspiration from Chinese oracle bone scripts, incorporating a string of crisscrossing abstract shapes, resembling characters and words.
5. “Seme la Lumiere (Spreads Light)” (1998) by Chu Teh-Chun
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In an ode to the lyrical abstraction movement, Chinese-French abstract artist Chu Teh Chun combines a palette of ochres, olive, green and golden yellow pigments, with an intense black on his gestural canvas.
6. “Red Nets” (1966) by Yayoi Kusama
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This early example of Yayoi Kusama’s largest and acclaimed Infinity Nets series, was painted in 1966, while the artist was living in New York City. Characterised by a rippling arrangement of swirling arcs in the colour pink, the work showcases Kusama’s mastery of spatial and conceptual abstraction.
7. “o.T. (collaboration Nr. 8)” (1999) by Michel Majerus
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The reference to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s visual vocabulary is unmistakable with the signature anatomical figure of a king as the focal point, set against what appears to be Andy Warhol’s riff of the blue-and-white General Electric logo. Michel Majerus’ contribution? A painterly strip of a startling cyan blue. This is an example of the Luxembourgish artist’s—who died in a plane crash in 2002, aged only 35—mishmash of art historical precedents and pop culture elements.
As Senior Editor of Tatler Singapore, Hashirin champions and refines the storytelling across platforms—curating and crafting compelling profiles, cover stories and features that spotlight visionaries shaping culture, business and impact. Driven by curiosity, she draws inspiration from the artists, changemakers and trailblazers she encounters through her work. Beyond the pages of Tatler, she is an avid supporter of local theatre and delights in seeking out art in every city she visits.
