HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art Spring Sale 2016 will take place on 3-4 April at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. More than 250 lots estimated in excess of HK$97 million / US$12.4 million* will be offered in the Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale (3 April) and Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art Day Sale (4 April). Leading the sales is a remarkable compendium of 24 modern and contemporary Indonesian paintings from the collection of the late Mr. Ali Sadikin, including four fresh-to-the-market, museum-quality works by Hendra Gunawan. The day sale will also feature an outstanding array of contemporary art alongside some new names at auction, offering variety and expanding the collecting horizon for both established and new collectors alike.

Mok Kim Chuan, Sotheby’s Head of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, says, ‘This season, we are honoured to present the distinguished collection of the late Mr. Ali Sadikin, one of the most respected political figures in the history of Jakarta and a passionate art veteran. It is our privilege to bring to market for the very first time a generous selection of rare, superb-quality works of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian Art. Also new to the auction market are several artists making their Sotheby’s debut in the Day Sale, bringing with them an opportunity for collectors to diversify their collections and expand their horizons – and making this a sales series with something for everyone.’

MODERN MASTERPIECES
Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale | 3 April
Sotheby’s will offer an exceptional group of 24 works of Indonesian art from the collection of the late Mr. Ali Sadikin, a man celebrated as the most legendary governor of Jakarta and a dedicated patron of the arts. The distinguished collection features rare and fresh-to-the-market works by such Indonesian modern masters as Hendra Gunawan, Affandi and S. Sudjojono, with the most prominent work being Ali Sadikin Pada Masa Perang Kemerdekaan (Ali Sadikin during the Independence Struggle), a striking painting by Hendra Gunawan. While Hendra was imprisoned for thirteen years for political reasons, Mr. Sadikin bestowed upon the painter supplies of canvases and art materials. The present work portrayed Mr. Sadikin in a scene from an earlier era: the historical struggle for Indonesian independence. The painting also divulges Hendra’s immense admiration for Mr. Sadikin, revealing his everlasting appreciation for the leader’s sincere kindness and patronage.

Another piece by Gunawan from the collection, Kuda Lumping reveals the raw authenticity of village life that was often ignored in European paintings that favoured idealised portrayals of Indonesia and the country’s inhabitants. Kuda Lumping refers to a traditional Javanese dance performance that has animistic and political undertones. The present painting, among a few versions produced throughout Gunawan’s career, is one of the most elaborate and detailed renditions of the Kuda Lumping by the artist.

Romualdo Frederico Locatelli (1905 – 1943), The Little Sister Oil on canvas, 127 x 77 cm Est. HK$1.6 – 2.8 million / US$205,000 – 359,000
Romualdo Frederico Locatelli was an Italian painter who voyaged to Bandung, Batavia (present day Jakarta) and Bali with his wife in 1938. The Little Sister, debuting at auction this spring, is an endearing image of a Balinese youth by the artist. With plump cheeks and a docile expression on her face, the young girl exudes an unadulterated beauty that enchanted the artist and inspired him to immortalise her.

Chen Wen Hsi (1906 – 1992) Eight Gibbons Frolicking in the Woods Circa 1990 Ink and colour on paper 121.5 x 243.5 cm Est. HK$3.2 – 5.5 million / US$410,000 – 705,000
Ringing in the year of the monkey, Sotheby’s is proud to present a remarkable masterpiece by modern Singaporean artist Chen Wen Hsi illustrating his most iconic subject: gibbons. Eight Gibbons Frolicking in the Woods, undoubtedly the largest Chen Wen Hsi ink painting of this subject to ever appear at auction, is a splendid horizontal composition depicting eight stately gibbons frolicking along the branches of towering treetops. This Nanyang School artist particularly cherished this late-period work during the last few years of his life, as it truly encapsulates his penchant for detail – a precision he cultivated by mastering traditional Chinese ink brushwork prior to moving to Singapore in 1948.

Cheong Soo Pieng (1917 – 1983), Chattering 1981, oil on canvas, 113 x 88 cm Est. HK$2 – 3 million / US$256,000 – 385,000
Chattering was created late in Cheong Soo Pieng’s life. It represents the culmination of favoured motifs and aesthetics that connected all of the paintings in the pioneering Nanyang artist’s oeuvre over several decades. The scene shown in Chattering is a classic narrative in the artist’s Balinese inspired paintings. The artist’s appreciation for the subjects’ feminine, maternal beauty resonates, as does his appreciation for the hardships of remote village life.

Vicente Manansala (1910 – 1981), Flight (Whirr Series) 1975, oil on canvas, 83.5 x 72 cm Est. HK$1.8 – 2.8 million / US$231,000 – 359,000
Created during the height of his career, when the ‘Transparent Cubism’ technique was reaching maturity and solidifying his talent as a Cubist artist, Modern Filipino artist Vicente Manansala’s Flight (Whirr Series) is part of the ‘Whirr Series’ depicting the animal in various states of flight. The dichotomy of the white birds against the orange, red, and blue background makes them all the more dynamic – as if they might soon take flight from the canvas itself.

CONTEMPORARY VOICES
Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale | 3 April
Ronald Ventura (b. 1973), Forest 2015, oil on canvas, 243.5 x 365.5 cm Est. HK$1.2 – 1.8 million / US$154,000 – 231,000
Ronald Ventura’s body of work provides a visual guide into his identity as a Filipino artist. His frequent use of pop culture iconography creates a fresh dialogue between old and new world imagery. The current large-scale work, Forest, shows the artist straying slightly away from his usual bedlam of cartoonish characters, and turning his painterly eye towards the psyche to reveal the creatures that run freely in the human unconscious. Together with the linear graphics that zigzag cross the canvas, the piece is grounded in a certain degree of realism – revealing a new progression in Ventura’s paintings.

Jane Lee (b. 1963), Fetish Beige 2013, acrylic paint and heavy gel on canvas, 180 x 180 cm Est. HK$450,000 – 680,000 / US$58,000 – 87,000
Singaporean artist Jane Lee has forged a role for herself as a pioneering female artist in the contemporary Southeast Asian art scene. Like so many of her peers in the region, Lee challenges existing norms and offers her own innovative take on how paintings should look. Fetish Beige perfectly exemplifies her bold creative ideology. The two-dimensional canvas play with sculptural elements, thereby creating a brand new piece of art that hovers between twodimensional and three-dimensional forms – a play on the concept of a sculpture fixed onto a canvas.

Modern And Contemporary Southeast Asian Art Day Sale | 4 April
The Day Sale on 4 April will offer a meticulously-curated selection of works which creates variety for both established and new collectors alike. Among the standouts are the auction debut of Malaysian artists Hamir Soib with The Stitches and Rafiee Ghani with The Original Sin. Other highlights include the exceptionally rare early painting Balinese Weaver by Lee Man Fong; Cheong Soo Pieng’s early abstract piece, Untitled, which will appear at auction for the first time; as well as a majestic eight-panel Vietnamese lacquer screen, Spring Scene in the Forest with Deer, Pheasants and Birds.