Zao Wou-Ki 'Juin-Octobre 1985' sets three auction records at US$65 million
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Wednesday, September 24, 2025


Zao Wou-Ki 'Juin-Octobre 1985' sets three auction records at US$65 million
Zao Wou-Ki, Juin-Octobre 1985, oil on canvas (triptych), 280 x 1000 cm, 1985. Measuring 10 metres long and 2.8 metres in height, Juin-Octobre 1985 was commissioned by celebrated architect I.M. Pei for the Raffles City in Singapore. Courtesy Sotheby's.



HONG KONG.- Today, at Sotheby’s Modern Art Evening Sale in Hong Kong, Juin-Octobre 1985 by Zao Wou-Ki commanded the extraordinary price of HK$510,371,000 (US$65,245,829), establishing a world auction record for an oil painting by an Asian artist1 and doubling Zao Wou-Ki’s previous record of HK$203 million (US$26 million). With this result, the work is the most valuable painting sold by any auction house in Hong Kong.

Juin-Octobre 1985
Measuring 10 metres long and 2.8 metres in height, Juin-Octobre 1985 was commissioned by celebrated architect I.M. Pei for the Raffles City in Singapore. The monumental and exceedingly rare triptych represents the stylistic hallmark of Zao Wou-Ki’s ‘Infinite Period’, exemplified by an open composition symbolising the artist’s liberated transcendence of mind and self.

Zao Wou-Ki
Zao-Wou-Ki is one of the very few Chinese Modern artists whose recognition has ascended to a global level. According to Artprice’s Annual Report on the Global Art Market in 2017, he is the tenth most heavily traded artist in the world, with a total turnover of US$156 million. Among the top ten artists, he is one of four Chinese artists, including Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian and Fu Baoshi, and the only Chinese Modern and Contemporary artist.

In the past few decades, works by Zao Wou-Ki have been widely collected by institutions in Europe, America and Asia, and exhibited in retrospectives around the world. The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris is currently presenting the first major exhibition devoted to the Franco-Chinese artist in Paris for fifteen years. Bringing together the East and the West in his work, Zao was influenced by Zhang Daqian, the great master of Chinese ink painting, and Claude Monet, particularly by the French artist’s waterlily paintings. In using a triptych format for Juin-Octobre 1985, Zao directly references the religious triptychs of the Renaissance.


1Previous record for an Asian oil painting: Wu Guanzhong’s The Zhou Village achieved HK$236 million / US$30.4 million in 2016.










Today's News

October 1, 2018

Zao Wou-Ki 'Juin-Octobre 1985' sets three auction records at US$65 million

'Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America' premieres at the Milwaukee Art Museum

One of a kind gold Ferrari set to dazzle in Sotheby's first ever auction dedicated entierly to gold

Recently discovered tapestry commissioned by Henry VIII goes on display in London for the first time

Groundbreaking exhibition explores human impact on the planet through large-scale photographs by Edward Burtynsky

Sotheby's unveils its third dedicated sale of modern & contemporary African art in London

Moderna Museet Malmo opens a comprehensive presentation of Rosemarie Trockel's work

Crow Museum of Art celebrates 20th year with new name, multi-million-dollar expansion

Exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern draws on unlimited resources inside the structures and stories of art

Fine Paintings Auction at Doyle on October 10

Chicago blues pioneer Otis Rush dead, wife says

LABIOMISTA announces midway point and completion of Mario Botta-designed studio building

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opens its first ever large screen 3D theater

Tomasso Brothers unveils a new Renaissance bronze discovery

Parcours des Mondes 2018: Closing report

Arlene Shechet creates public art installation at Madison Square Park

Paris names its first street after a fashion designer

Art Sonje Center presents Francis Alÿs' first solo exhibition in Korea

Exhibition spotlights master of Korean modern architecture

Exhibition includes a new body of photographic works by Melanie Manchot

Ludwig Muzeum celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia

Contemporary Arts Center welcomes new Curatorial Fellow of lens-based arts

Exhibition of Robert Neffson's recent paintings on view at Louis K. Meisel Gallery

Independent Curators International announces Amanda Parmer as Director of Programs




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 




Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)


Editor: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful