The Vietnamese section at Christie’s in Hong Kong, September 26 and 27, 2024: a sip of green tea

12 works (out of 12) sold for a total of HKD 27,880,000 (€3,213,000, USD 3,576,000) at Christie’s in Hong Kong’s flamboyant new Henderson Tower on 26th and 27th September.

• 2 in the “Evening Sale”, 10 in the “Day Sale”, multiplying their initial estimate by 2.5.
• 5 artists: Alix Aymé, Nguyen Tuong Lan, Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam and Mai Thu.
• 1 woman, 4 men.
• 2 works painted in Vietnam – Alix Aymé’s large lacquer and Nguyen Tuong Lan’s -, 10 in France.
• Between 1933 and 1980.
• 2 lacquers, 6 silks, 3 oils on canvas.

What might appear to be a mere ‘Prévert’s inventory’ is a more accurate reflection of the diversity of Vietnamese painting in terms of techniques and places of execution.

We have described 4 of these works in detail (Le Pho, Alix Aymé, Nguyen Tuong Lan, Mai Thu).

These included a world record for Alix Aymé (lot 18, HK$3,780,000), shattering the previous record, and a fine price for silk by Le Pho (lot 17, HK$8,190,000). The lacquer expressed the artist’s breathtaking talent. Contemplating it face to face, playing with the effects of light and shadow, was a rare pleasure.

The art world, unfortunately (and also…) historically misogynistic, is beginning to pay tribute to Alix Aymé’s immense talent. A small lacquer (lot 137) by the same artist, but executed later in France, doubled its estimate at HKD 226,800.

The Nguyen Tuong Lan (lot 129), a silk of great austere beauty, found its audience, quadrupling its estimate to HKD 3,150,000. A rare artist, Nguyen Tuong Lan (like Nguyen Cat Tuong) was assassinated by the Viet Minh in 1946.

Mai Thu’s two silks from 1955 and 1943 fetched high prices (lot 128, HK$630,000 and lot 130, HK$2,772,000). However, the painter’s price has been weakening for some time, due to a careless oversupply and a certain monotony in execution, which our two works were able to overcome.

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A subtle Vu Cao Dam (lot 131) – a 1949 silk executed in Béziers – sold for HKD 1,134,000. The two large oil paintings by Vu Cao Dam reproduced above were also well received, tripling their estimates (lot 134, HK$1,764,000 and lot 135, HK$2,016,000). Their bracing freshness and diffuse energy reflect the artist’s ambition to conquer America, following his contract (signed in 1963) with Wally Findlay.

Le Pho also held up well, tripling its estimate (lots 132, HK$1,008,000 and 133, HK$2,142,000) for two classic oils on canvas from his Findlay period and for a pivotal early 1960s work on silk (lot 136, HK$1,008,000). As with Vu Cao Dam, the imposing size and bold colour of the works appeared essential to some collectors, particularly Vietnamese.

A successful sale.

Tasty and soothing, like a sip of green tea.

Jean-François Hubert