A $9 million Willem de Kooning painting is among the sales on the first day of Art Basel Hong Kong. Hauser & Wirth sold the painting, which also sold Philip Guston’s the desire (1978) for $8.5 million and by Mark Bradford May the Lord be the first in the car… and the last to leave. (2023) for $3.5 million.
On Tuesday morning, the fair kicked off the first of its two VIP days at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This edition will see the fair return to its pre-pandemic size, with more than 240 galleries, a 37% increase in exhibitors from 2023.
The most notable six- and seven-figure sales reported by galleries since the opening day of Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 are:
- Thaddaeus Ropac sold it to Tony Cragg Single incident (2023) €725,000 ($785,000) and by Martha Jungwirth Without a title (2023) €450,000 ($487,000).
- Lehmann Maupin sold Lee Bul’s Lost CXCIV (2024) $190,000. The gallery’s other top sales are by Marylin Minter Red White and Blue (2022–23) $175,000 and David Salle’s Tree of Life, Split (2024) $120,000 to $130,000.
- David Kordansky Gallery sold a Shara Hughes painting for $340,000 to $390,000, a Joel Mesler work for $185,000, a Hilary Pecis painting for $165,000 and a Martha Diamond painting for $140,000 to $190,000.
Stay tuned for our full sales report on Monday.
