Masterworks of Modern and Contemporary Asian Art at UAA Spring 2012 Auction

Thursday, 10 May 2012, 14:00 HKT/SGT

Passion for Asian Art Sparks New Investment Market

HONG KONG, May 10, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - The United Asian Auctioneers (UAA), consisting of auction houses around Asia, will be holding a Spring 2012 sale in Hong Kong, the world's third largest auction market. The auction will offer a strong selection of outstanding works from Korean, Japanese, and Southeast Asian artists, as well as some exceptional pieces by European artists. A preview of the UAA Spring event will be held from 17 May to 19 May, with the actual sale occurring on the evening of the 19th at the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel's Mezzanine floor. This is the first UAA evening sale since the company's inception in 2008.

Masterworks of Modern and Contemporary Asian Art At UAA Spring 2012 Auction

The auction, with artworks full of unique Asian style, will present a selection mostly dating from the 1950s to the current century. Highlighted works consist of mainly Asian pieces such as Affandi's Me and My Cigar, an early example of his expressionistic painting. 67 lots will be offered at the auction, with sales estimated to achieve HK$ 25 million in total.

The UAA's Spring Auction features works from both well-known artists and others that are new to global audiences. Art lovers will note the rise of Eastern and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, best represented in this auction.

Stunning works from Asia's leading fine-artists

One of the auction's leading pieces, expected to fetch a high price of HK$ 2 to 3 million, is from Affandi, an Indonesia born painter who began his expressionistic work in the 1950s. He is said to have accidently come across the new technique used in Me and My Cigar of 'squeezing the tube' by literally squeezing his paint colours directly onto the drawing board and using his hand instead of a paint brush. This piece is one of the earliest to demonstrate that technique.

Korean born Kang Hyung Koo came to painting late in life. But since launching himself as a painter twenty years ago, he has put out a prodigious amount of large-scale portraits. His subjects, quite often artists and celebrities, fix their gaze upon the viewer to encourage a visual exchange with audiences that questions the normal relationship between viewer and subject. Kang tries to keep his subjects as expressionless as possible, with the intent of giving audiences a clear path into the subject's inner-selves. In W.A.R.H.O.L (oil on canvas, 2007), Kang creates an illusory promise of reality that exploits the paradoxical principle behind hyperrealism. The piece's silver blue palette also gives it a mysterious and appealing magnetism. The work is expected to earn an estimated HK$ half million.

Carlos V. 'Botong' Fransisco was an iconic muralist hailing from the Philippines. Born in 1912, he was posthumously recognized as a Philippine National Artist by the government in 1973. Botong's Nose Flute (oil on canvas, 1955) is expected to fetch well over HK$ 5 million.

Two works by the talented Japanese painter, Tetsuya Ishida, whose paintings are often noted for their dark portrayal of Japanese life, will be available. Both Prisoner (c. 1999) and Criminal Abortion (produced in 2004) are expected to fetch an estimated HK$2.5 million at least. The characters in Ishida's paintings often appear unhappy, with their bodies juxtaposed into impossible places and positions, or involved as part of some machine or unexpected object. All of the artist's works convey ideas of isolation, anxiety, loss of identity, scepticism, and solitude, themes illustrated by young men, school boys and business men who are reluctantly integrated with everyday household objects in both physical and emotional space. The artist died in 2005 after being unexpectedly hit by a train, leaving behind around 180 works produced during his 10-year art career. At the UAA Spring Auction, Ishida's Prisoner will be Asian Art Auction Alliance's (AAAA) top lot.

Kim Tschang Yeul, born in 1929, is a Korean born painter who has spent the majority of his artistic career focusing on water drops. His work P.A 87071 (Oil on hemp cloth, 1987) is one of such paintings. According to the artist's philosophy, he thinks that water droplets represent the act of everything melting and returning to 'nothing'. In this way, his artwork offers a sense of peace and tranquillity to audiences. His work is estimated to earn around HKD $485,000 to $700,000 at the auction.

Asian art with a global vision

UAA's selection of work for their Spring 2012 Auction features these previously mentioned works and other incredible masterworks. In addition to the paintings from Asian artists from China, Vietnam, and Malaysia, the event will feature sculptures from Yi Hwan Kwon and a piece from French modern master Pierre-August Renoir. The auction will be catered toward art lovers as well as collectors, with pieces ranging in price from expensive investments to other, more affordable selections. Regardless of price, every piece auctioned represents the high-quality work of the contemporary Korean, Japanese, and Southern Asia art-world.

UAA consists of the Asian Art Auction Alliance (AAAA) from Japan, K Auction from Korea and One East Larasati from Singapore. UAA was established to develop art appreciation on a global scale and in particular to vitalize the Asian market. The first UAA auction in Hong Kong occurred in November 2010. UAA originally started out its Hong Kong sales as Asian Auction Week (AAW) in November 2008.

All media and art connoisseurs are welcome to attend this upcoming event.


UAA 2012 Spring Auction Event Details:
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Preview   17 May 2012 (Thursday)-18 May 2012(Friday)                            
Date      19 May 2012(Saturday)
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Time      10:00-20:00(Thursday-Friday)
          10:00-17:00(Saturday)      
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Auction   19 May 2012(Saturday)
Date
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Time      19:00 
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Venue     Mezzanine floor, Renaissance Harbour View Hotel
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Kemp Fong
Tel: (852) 2114 4996 / 9486 8623
Fax: (852) 2114 0880
Email: kemp.fong@sprg.com.hk

David Bates
Tel: (852) 2114 4322
Fax: (852) 2114 0880
Email: david.bates@sprg.com.hk

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