Sotheby’s will open a newly-constructed state-of-the art gallery space in Hong Kong on May 19. Comprising the entire 5th Floor of One Pacific Place – over 15,000 square feet – the facility will allow Sotheby’s to significantly expand its business in Asia beyond its traditional twice-annual series of auctions in April and October. This expansion is a response to the exponential growth in the Asian art market over the past few years. Last year, Sotheby’s business in Asia reached $1 billion.
The unique, flexible space will afford Sotheby’s the opportunity to regularly host auctions, exhibitions, lectures, special events and other cultural programmes throughout the year. The new gallery will also incorporate a permanent Salon for SOTHEBY’S DIAMONDS, a unique partnership between Sotheby’s and the Steinmet Diamond Group, allowing clients to purchase from the collection throughout the year. The project architects for this new gallery are Richards Basmajian whose numerous achievements include the recent Hong Kong Club refurbishment, The Maritime Museum and many Louis Vuitton Stores in Hong Kong.
“The expansion of our Hong Kong premises is the first of many developments Sotheby’s is planning in the region, and particularly in China, to respond to the needs of our ever-expanding client base in this exciting market. This transformative space will increase the level of activity and the range of objects we will offer to clients in Asia on a regular basis,” said Bill Ruprecht, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby’s.
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Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts; copyright of YAYOI KUSAMA
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The new gallery will open with two important selling exhibitions to Asia, namely YAYOI KUSAMA – Hong Kong Blooms in My Mind, wiht about 30 important works, and Modern Masters: Corot to Monet – French Landscape Painting In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries, with some Gustave Courbet, Camille Pissarro, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot and Claude Monet