[VISUAL ARTS TODAY] artnet Auctions Presents: Almost Famous: Emerging Asian Art

artnet Auctions is proud to present Almost Famous: Emerging Asian Art, a live auction of over 45 works by a selection of emerging Contemporary Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian artists. This sale features a dynamic range of paintings, works on paper, and sculptures, with estimates ranging from US$1,500 to 45,000.

Paintings and works on paper are a major facet of the sale. SeHan Kim’s (Korean, b.1981) “neo-pointillist” painting, Dot City Lights (2008), depicts a futuristic city, at the center of which a luminous billboard fills the night sky. It is a grandiose image that references the work of Pop artist Keith Haring (American, 1985-1990) and Takashi Murakami (Japanese, b.1962). Created from miniscule dots of paint which have been applied painstakingly by hand, this is one of the most exciting paintings by the artist to come to market and is estimated at US$8,000-10,000. The sale also includes paintings by Attasit Pokpong (Thai, b.1977), Han Yajuan (Chinese, b.1980), Hyun-Jin Lee (Korean, b.1979), Kenichi Yokono (Japanese, b.1972), Kim Jongsook (Korean, b.1968), Liu Qinghe (Chinese, b.1961), Lu Peng (Chinese, b.1967), Maki Hosokawa (Japanese, b.1980), Wang Qiang (Chinese, b.1971), Yin Jun (Chinese, b.1974), Zhang Haiying (Chinese, b.1972), amongst others.

A diverse selection of photographs is also featured in the sale. Three stunning color photographs by rising star, Japanese wildlife photographer Maekawa (Japanese, b.1969), are of particular note. The artist won the grand prize in the first Nikkei National Geographic Photo Award in 2013, and held a critically acclaimed solo exhibition in June 2013 at Steven Kasher Gallery in New York, NY. One of the artist’s most iconic archival pigment prints, Japanese Monkey, Jigokudani Japan November 2003 (2003), is an indelibly poignant image of monkeys relaxing in the regional famous hot springs, estimated at US$5,000-7,000. Also featured in the sale are Contemporary photographs by Gade (Tibetan, b.1971), Henji Koentjoro (Indonesian, b.1963), Koo Bochang (Korean, b.1953), Koo Seong Youn (Korean, b.1969), Lee Jeonglok (Korean, b.1971), Li Kejun (Chinese, b.1963), Maleonn (Chinese, b.1972), Noriko Yamaguchi (Japanese, b.1972), and Zu Do Yang (Korean, b.1976).

The auction also includes sculpture, led by the beautiful, Translated Vase (2008) by Korean artist Yee Sookyung (Korean, b.1963), which is estimated at US$20,000-30,000. Made of ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, Yee created this sculpture by taking pieces of smashed pottery deemed imperfect and gluing them together to create a beautifully surreal, anthropomorphic form. Two stunning ceramic, gold leaf, and colored yarn figurative sculptures by Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch (Thai, b.1971) are major highlights of the sale. Supanichvoraparch is one of the two artists representing Thailand this year at the 2013 Venice Biennale. His Poperomia (2012) sculpture, included in this sale, is presently installed in the Thai Pavilion.