Massive piece sold in Hong Kong sets record Asian art price
Last Updated: Saturday, May 24, 2008 | 4:00 PM ET
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'Mask Series 1996 No.6,' painted in 1996 by Zeng Fanzhi, is displayed at a Hong Kong hotel on Thursday prior to a Saturday auction in which it sold for a record price of $9.5 million US. (Vincent Yu/Associated Press)A new auction record has been set for Asian contemporary art after Zeng Fanzhi's Mask Series 1996 No. 6 sold at a Hong Kong auction for $9.5 million US.
The massive 2-by-3.6-metre work sold for almost triple its pre-sale estimate at the Christie's event on Saturday.
The sale is proof that the Asian art market is still going strong despite world economic jitters and the weak American economy.
Asian collectors in suits and evening dresses were served champagne and a few bites before bidding in a packed auction hall.
Zeng's diptych of eight masked youths with red scarves linking arms is a nod to Mao Ze-dong's "Little Red Guards" who ruled China during its Cultural Revolution.
The work is part of Zeng's Mask series of ambiguous Chinese figures which deal with life under communist party rule.
Zeng, who graduated from the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts in 1991, is based out of Beijing.
The previous record for an Asian contemporary artwork was for a set last November when 14 "gunpowder" drawings by Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang sold for the equivalent of about $9.4 million US last November.
Cai, who now lives in the U.S., created 14 paintings done in gunpowder and ink.
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