A Top Night for Sotheby’s #TTTOP Sale With Multiple Auction Records

The Sotheby’s guest-curated sale “#TTTOP” by K-pop superstar T.O.P (aka Choi Seung-hyun) was not only a sensation in the auction room, but also on Instagram.

In a bid to lure a younger generation into art and art collecting, Sotheby’s joined forces with singer T.O.P from the South Korean boy band BIGBANG. Sure enough, the saleroom attracted many bidders, including a flock of young girls with backpacks who were permitted to watch the auction minutes before it began, probably hoping for a glimpse of the celebrity. Alas, T.O.P had already left Hong Kong, according to sources.

The success of the sale and its attendance was all thanks to T.O.P’s continuous posting on his Instagram account, which boasts 5.8 million followers – well, that and his good looks. His photographs of the works offered, including one of him in bed with the Murakami pillow on Instagram, attracted many comments from his South Korean fan base.
“Through video, social media, the web, and exhibitions in both Korea and Hong Kong, we introduced millions of young enthusiasts to T.O.P’s passion for art, and to the work of this special group of contemporary artists,” said Yuki Terase, Specialist at Sotheby’s Contemporary Asian Art Department, who worked with the singer on the sale.

Whether or not these young fans participated in the auction, the sale yielded an impressive HK$ 136 million (US$ 17 million), exceeding its presale estimate of HK$ 90 million. A generous portion of the sale’s total will benefit the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) to aid the work of emerging Asian artists.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s large yellow-graffitied canvas “Infantry” led the auction, selling for HK$ 46.7 million (US$ 5,984,625) to an anonymous buyer. Other lots by Western artists performed well, either selling beyond or within their estimates. However, three pieces surprisingly failed to find buyers, including Andy Warhol’s glittery “Diamond Dust Shoes,” and paintings by George Condo and Sigmar Polke. Despite these, this was “the highest-value sale of Western Contemporary art ever held during a major auction series in Hong Kong,” according to the auction house.

The stars of the show were commissioned pieces created specially for the auction by Japanese artists Takashi Murakami, Nawa Kohei, Tomita Naoki, and Kaneuji Teppei. All the commissioned lots found buyers, surpassing their high estimates; most notably the first lot of the auction, “PixCell – T.O.P (DOOM DADA),” which sold for HK$ 562,500 – more than seven times its high estimate.

Apart from exceeding estimates, the sale also broke new auction records for four artists: He Xiangyu, Kaneuji Teppei, Park Jina, and Gokita Tomoo. New auction records were also set for Lee Ufan’s “With Winds,” which achieved HK$ 10.9 million (US$ 1.4 million), as well as for Keith Haring’s works on paper, consisting of 23 pieces, which sold for HK$ 8.2 million (US$ 1.1 million).

All prices include Buyer’s Premium unless otherwise specified.

Source: Blouinartinfo