Ravenel Spring Auction 2015 Taipei “Modern and Contemporary Asian Art”, held at the Fubon International Conference Center on June 7, attracted a large gathering of prominent collectors and art dealers, marking the highpoint of grand art events this spring. The conference center was full even before the auction began, and many collectors engaged in heated bidding over numerous lots, setting many new personal records for artists after dozens of bids. With a total revenue of US$ 17,793,050, 118% sold by value, and 81.4% sold by lot, the auction results provided the perfect backdrop for the conclusion of this year’s Ravenel Spring Auction.

The long-awaited “Miss World” (estimate: US$699,700 - 1,017,800), regarded as one of Walasse Ting’s most premier masterpieces, is the largest acrylic on canvas (222 x 396 cm) ever shown at the auction house. Many discerning collectors sought to bid away this lot from its base price of US$583,468, raising their placards one after another. After nearly 20 bids — and with everyone waiting with bated breath — “Miss World” was finally sold for an impressive US$1,825,608, a value of nearly twice its original estimate, reflecting the discerning taste of Taiwanese collectors. Apart from the size of the work that had set the record as the largest piece ever sold at an auction in Taiwan and overseas in the past two decades, the sale price was also listed among the top three prices of this auction and once again broke the artist’s personal world record, making it no doubt the talk of the art scene. In addition, the sale of “Miss World” also set a remarkable new record for Ravenel International Art Group, cementing its status in modern and contemporary Asian art.

Among the three brilliant classic works completed in three different periods by the internationally renowned art master Zao Wou-ki, “19.12.66” and “16.9.91” both realized US$2,624,311, thus ranking them as the top two lots sold at the auction. As a diptych abstract piece brimming with the charm of ink and wash, “23.9.76” achieved a sale of US$1,011,345, the fifth highest lot sold. Meanwhile, the piece “Matiere Dominee” by Chu Teh-chun — who is part of the same French School as Zao — revealed magnificent momentum and sold for US$933,548. “Wild Chrysanthemum in a Jar” by Pan Yu-liang, another female artist who also studied in France in her early years, realized US$311,183, representing a remarkable achievement for Chinese female artists.

Works by contemporary Taiwanese artist Yeh Tzu-chi also generated numerous streaks of competitive bidding. All of his works were extremely sought-after and sold higher than the estimates. Among them, “Mist, Lao River, Hualien” sold for US$466,775 — nearly three times higher than the estimate — ranking it the eighth highest lot sold at the auction and setting a new auction record for the artist. The handscroll “Landscape of Desire—2” by Yu Peng, a celebrated Taiwanese artist who recently passed away, realized US$132,253, which also broke the artist’s personal record. These results stand as a testament to Ravenel’s hard work cultivating contemporary Taiwanese art.

In contrast to the weak performance of contemporary Chinese art in other venues, this year’s Ravenel Spring Auction Taipei delivered particularly brilliant and impressive results. “We Series: Mao Zedong” (estimate: US$827,000 - 1,145,000) by Zeng Fanzhi sold higher than the estimate, realizing US$1,166,937. Meanwhile, “Red Mountain Rock Series—Nude” by Zhou Chunya, with its rich texture and scarlet hue, was sold for a notable sum of US$186,710, and the expressionist piece “Summer Rain” by Xu Jiang sold for US$108,914. These outstanding results bear witness to Ravenel’s prescient vision for the future of contemporary Chinese art and keen acumen in the auction market.

Among the most popular contemporary Japanese artwork, “Swimming to a Dawn” (estimate: US$17,500 - 31,800) by Tomoya Tsukamoto quickly climbed up to US$97,245 from its humble starting bid of US$16,207. After a brief pause, collectors continued the competitive bidding, and “Swimming to a Dawn” eventually sold for an astounding US$287,844—16 times higher than the estimate. In addition to breaking the artist’s auction record in Hong Kong last week, it also set the artist’s personal auction record with a relatively smaller sized canvas, highlighting the artist’s great potential. “Field End” (estimate: US$120,900 - 152,700) by contemporary Japanese art giant Yayoi Kusama, was sold three times higher than the estimate, realizing US$318,963, a remarkable result for contemporary Japanese art.

As Ms. Flora Fu, President of Ravenel’s Art Department in Taipei, explains, “I’m pleased with the revenue of this year’s spring auction. We help set a new world record for Walasse Ting in addition to numerous personal auction records for other artists, underscoring Ravenel’s status in the Asian art market and showing how Ravenel has established a strong foothold in Taiwan while reaching out to the world. In addition to our long tradition of reaching out to Taiwanese collectors, we are continually making progress with the incorporation of world-class artwork and remain committed to breaking more records in the future. In addition to continuing to seek out world-class artwork with Asian perspectives and serving aficionados with a deep passion for art, it is our hope to continue making history.”