“The world is turning east,” says Phillips’ chief executive Stephen Brooks. “We have a great belief in Asia long-term and we want to be part of that and are already part of that.” The auction house, which focuses on 20th- and 21st-century art and design, watches and jewellery, has just signed a deal to create a massive saleroom and offices in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District Tower, just across from the Herzog & de Meuron-designed M+ museum, which opened in November.
Phillips will move into its new premises towards the end of 2022. The location boasts 48,000 sq ft, including a triple-height showroom overlooking Victoria Harbour. The company will significantly increase the number of sales it holds in the territory, says Brooks, bringing in other categories besides art.
Buying by Asian collectors and institutions in Phillips’ sales grew from US$150m last year — a low base because of Covid — to US$270m this year, with Asian buyers underbidding (offering the second-highest bid) 60 per cent of its lots. “In 2021 so far, Asia-based clients represent over US$1bn if you include buying, selling and underbidding,” says Brooks, pointing out that half of the top 10 lots auctioned by Phillips this year went to Asian buyers. These included Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Crab’s Claw Ginger Hawaii” (1939), which sold for US$7.7m in New York in November, going to the Long Museum in Shanghai.