Art Basel Hong Kong—the largest art fair in Asia—opened its 13th edition to VIPs at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday, March 25. Galleries reported a steady wave of early transactions from the preview day across price points, geographies, and media, led by BASTIAN’s sale of Pablo Picasso’s Le peintre et son modèle (1964) for “approximately” €3.5 million ($4.05 million).
Exhibitors reported robust attendance from collectors, curators, and institutional leaders across Asia, Europe, and the United States. By midday, galleries noted activity spanning blue-chip, postwar, and contemporary sectors, alongside clear demand for artists from across Asia-Pacific and continued interest in cross-media practices, including textile, installation, and digital work.
“I’m thrilled with the opening day at the fair,” said Nick Simunovic, senior director in Asia at Gagosian. “We’ve reconnected with existing clients and started relationships with new ones. The response to our presentation in the booth and the show in the gallery has surpassed all expectations.”
Here, we round up some of the leading initial sales reported by galleries at Art Basel Hong Kong. Check back next week for a full sales report from the fair.
- David Zwirner led sales with a 2006 painting by Liu Ye for $3.8 million and a 2002 painting by Marlene Dumas for $3.5 million.
- Hauser & Wirth’s sales were led by Louise Bourgeois’s À Baudelaire (#1) (2008) for $2.95 million and George Condo’s Prismatic Head (2021) for $2.3 million.
- Waddington Custot reported placements of works by Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-Chun for asking prices of $2.8 million and $1.3 million, respectively.
- White Cube’s sales were led by Tracey Emin’s Take me to Heaven (2024) for £1.2 million ($1.6 million) and Antony Gormley’s Plane (2025) for £500,000 ($668,000).
- Perrotin reported sales of an undisclosed number of works by Takashi Murakami in the $600,000 to $800,000 range.
- Thaddaeus Ropac placed Martha Jungwirth’s Ohne Titel (2021) for €460,000 ($532,438) with a Chinese institution.
- Sprüth Magers sold Anne Imhof’s Poppy Runner III (2025) for €220,000 ($254,644) to an Asian institution.
- Jessica Silverman sold Judy Chicago’s Vicky’s Center (2023) for $165,000.
- MASSIMODECARLO sold a painting by Yan Pei-Ming for a price in the range of €250,000–€350,000 ($289,368–$405,116) and a work by Danh Vō for a price in the range of €200,000–€300,000 ($231,494–$347,242).
- Sullivan + Strumpf placed an undisclosed number of works by Dawn Ng for $55,000 apiece and Gemma Smith for $22,000 apiece.
