LONDON.- Bonhams announced the appointment of two key members to its Modern & Contemporary Art team.

Ingrid Dudek joins as Department Director of Bonhams’ Modern & Contemporary Art, Asia and will be based in Madison Avenue in New York from February 2016. Ms. Dudek will be responsible for building the consignment and buyer base in the US for the Hong Kong sales of Modern & Contemporary Art. Equally, she will have responsibility for growing the consignment and buyer base in Asia for the Post-War & Contemporary Art sales in New York.

Ingrid joins Bonhams from Christie’s where she was Vice President and International Senior Specialist in Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art from 2006-2015. Here Dudek was instrumental in creating a strategic, global-minded platform for the then-emerging Asian market. Dudek has strong connections within the contemporary Asian art community that have been built during a career which has taken her from the International Center of Photography (ICP) to the management of a private Chinese art collection in New York.

Magnus Renfrew, Deputy Chairman Asia and Director of Fine Arts, Asia, comments, “We are delighted to welcome Ingrid Dudek to the team. Ingrid is recognised as a leader in the field of Contemporary Art from Asia. Her intelligence, experience and network will be invaluable as we build our activities in this area over the coming years.”

Ms. Dudek holds a BA in Art History from the University of California at Berkeley and an MA in Anthropology from New York University. She spent several years in Beijing as both a Fulbright fellow and as manager of the CourtYard Gallery, the renowned contemporary Chinese art gallery.

Ryo Wakabayashi further strengthens the team by joining as Senior Specialist – Modern & Contemporary Art, Asia. Mr. Wakabayashi will be based in Bonhams’ Tokyo office with immediate effect. He will be responsible for working with consignors and buyers in Japan and Korea for the Hong Kong sales of Modern & Contemporary Art as well as for our sales of Post-War & Contemporary Art and Impressionist & Modern Art globally.

Mr. Wakabayashi joins Bonhams from the leading Japanese contemporary art gallery, Mizuma Art Gallery, where he has held senior positions since 2001. He was appointed CEO in 2007 and played a major role in establishing the Singapore branch of the gallery from 2013. Mr. Wakabayashi has been a consultant for several international Asian auction houses. Ryo was born in Brazil in 1964 and attended the Architecture and Urbanism College of University of Sao Paulo.

Magnus Renfrew welcomed Ryo Wakabayashi’s appointment and said that Wakabayashi’s “deep understanding of the art scene in Japan and his considerable experience and contacts will play a defining role in expanding Bonhams activities in Asia."