Inside Hong Kong’s sudden hunger for art and culture in 2023: from record auction sales to TeamLab’s first installation in the city and those lovable giant rubber ducks

Jun 23 , 2023

Hongkongers’ public imagination was awakened by the emergence of two giant rubber ducks, anchored at Victoria Harbour as the art installation Double Ducks by Florentijn Hofman. Photo: Sam Tsang

The arrival of Florentijn Hofman’s Insta-spiring Double Ducks in Victoria Harbour ignited Hongkongers’ lust for culture – and the TeamLab Future Park landing at Kowloon Bay’s MegaBox is turning up the heat

There’s money to be made, too – Sotheby’s Hong Kong sold a record US$1.1 billion of art and luxury in 2022, and Art Basel enjoyed stronger-than-expected sales on its full physical return

After a long and drawn-out pandemic period, talk of Hong Kong’s resurgence has ballooned into a full-fledged choral celebration, with upbeat voices echoing across several of the city’s business sectors.

And they could not come soon enough: the city’s economy contracted by 6.1 per cent in 2020, according to a report by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

But better forecasts are finally on the horizon, and the International Monetary Foundation predicts GDP growth of up to 3. 5 per cent for 2023-24. In few industries has this bounce back been more evident than in the art world.

Yoshitomo Nara’s In the Milky Lane achieved HK$100.6 million (US$13 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2023 Spring marquee sale. Photo: Sotheby’s

In 2022, Sotheby’s Hong Kong sold US$1.1 billion of art and luxury across all categories – matching a surprise pandemic-era record set a year earlier.

“So that gives you a pretty clear record of the market overall,” said Alex Branczik, the auction house’s senior director and chairman of modern and contemporary art for Asia. “Despite Covid – and maybe even in some ways because of the pandemic – 2022 was a record year for the company Given that the first half of that year the borders were closed, and the first quarter in particular was very difficult, I think it shows a real resilience in our market.”

Zhang Xiaogang’s Bloodline – The Big Family No.1 1997, a rare work by the artist to come to auction, eclipsed its estimate to sell for HK$12.3 million (US$1.6 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in autumn 2021. Photo: Sotheby’s

This year marks Sotheby’s 50th in operation in Asia, and with it a pivot to a more global landscape.

“If you look back 10 years to 2013 at the make-up of our 40th anniversary sale, there wasn’t a single Western artist. It was all Asian modern and Asian contemporary – both Chinese modern and the big name Chinese contemporary artists of the 20th century,” added Branczik. “We sold Zeng Fanzhi’s Last Supper for over US$20 million.”

But there has been a shift in the last decade, he continued, pointing towards an increasing number of Asian collectors following more global trends.

Angelle Siyang Le, the recently appointed director of Art Basel Hong Kong. Photo: Handout