Art Basel Hong Kong sees off fears of art market slump, to relief of galleries

Deals in first two days of Asia’s biggest contemporary art fair dispelled exhibitors’ worst fears about buyers’ appetite, with gallerist David Zwirner’s comment, ‘Things don’t look too bad’, perhaps summing up the mood

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Detail from Sirtaki, 2016, by Michael Borremans, Oil on wood, 22.5 x 32.4cm was bought by an Asian collector at Art Basel in Hong Kong. Photos: Courtesy of Michael Borremans and David Zwirner, New York/London

Published: 11:30am, 24 Mar 2016Updated: 3:16pm, 24 Mar 2016

The mood at Art Basel Hong Kong wasn’t exactly euphoric on Wednesday evening, but it was one of quiet relief. Galleries had generally sold enough to dispel the worst fears about the primary art market two days into Asia’s biggest contemporary art fair.

By the time the vernissage was over at 9pm, galleries had a good idea of how well they’d done this year, as most serious collectors would have visited before the gates opened to the public on Thursday.

Most booths said there were obviously fewer people visiting the fair compared with 2015 and offers came more in a trickle than a flood. But they were definitely selling.

Untitled 7 3 1963 by Zao Wou-ki, shown at Art Basel Hong Kong by the de Sarthe Gallery.

The de Sarthe Gallery (Beijing, Hong Kong) brought a very diverse range of artwork to the show this year, from Gerhard Richter to Jiro Yoshihara. Pascal de Sarthe, the gallery’s co-founder, said buyers had bought works by younger artists as well as paintings by blue-chip names such as Zao Wou-ki and Chu Teh-chun.

“The first piece we sold was Ma Sibo’s A Day Within A Day. Today we sold two works by Lin Jingjing. These are less expensive works, around US$10,000-US$20,000. But we’ve also sold a Zao Wou-ki to a Taiwanese collector.”