Sotheby's is pleased to announce the appointment ofLin Jiaru appointed Chair of Modern and Contemporary Art, AsiaFor over 25 years, Evelyn Lin has shaped the Asian art market with her insight and leadership, continuously promoting the development of both established and emerging artists. She will be based in Hong Kong and will officially take up her new role on November 3, 2025. That same month, she will travel to New York to participate in the inaugural auction at Sotheby's new global headquarters, the Breuer Building.

Throughout her career, Lin Jiaru has achieved numerous milestones in the Asian auction market. In 2013, she orchestrated the sale of Zeng Fanzhi's "The Last Supper," which sold for a staggering $23 million, setting a new record for Asian contemporary art at the time. She also introduced international art movements such as Gutai and Dansaekhwa to the Asian auction market and successfully fostered the market development of numerous artists, including Sanyu, Kim Whanki, Yayoi Kusama, and Zhang Xiaogang, whose works have consistently achieved record prices. Furthermore, committed to promoting diverse narratives in art history, she was the first curator to bring works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Gerhard Richter to the Asian auction market.

Lin Jiaru has a long history with Sotheby's. She joined the company in 1998 and founded Sotheby's Chinese Contemporary Art department in 2004, establishing Asia as a key player in the global contemporary art market. She subsequently served as Vice Chairman of Christie's Asia Pacific and Co-Head of 20th & 21st Century Art, before becoming President of Pace Gallery Greater China, where she focused on driving art sales, exhibitions, and artist collaborations across the region.

Upon her return to Sotheby’s, she will join the senior leadership team in Asia, including Masumi Shinohara, Nicolas Chow, Wendy Lin, Jen Hua and Jasmine Prasetio, and work alongside the industry’s most experienced team of global Modern and contemporary art experts.

Lin Wanxian, Chairman of Sotheby's Asia

We are delighted and excited to welcome Lin Jiaru back to Sotheby’s. Her vision, passion, and deep relationships with artists and collectors have left a lasting mark on the art market. She will play a key role in our continued growth in Asia.

Sotheby's Asia Chairman Chow Kwok-shih

Lin Jiaru joins Sotheby's Asia at a very exciting time. Our two exhibitions this year, "Corpus: Body, Object, Three Thousand Years" and "EROS/THANATOS," have received enthusiastic responses. Her expertise will further enhance the public experience at Sotheby's flagship galleries and broaden our cultural horizons and collector base in Asia.

Alex Branczik, Chairman of Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary Art Department for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia

I have worked closely with Lin Jiaru over the years, and I look forward to working with her again. Her leadership and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to expand into the Asian market.

Lin Jiaru said:

Returning to Sotheby's, where I've worked for over 20 years, feels like coming home. My recent experience in the primary market has given me new insights into the dynamics of artist-collector interaction. I look forward to bringing new perspectives to our auction business and helping shape the future of the Asian art market.

Lin's arrival coincides with the anniversary celebrations of Sotheby's flagship gallery, located in the heart of Hong Kong's iconic Landmark Chater. The gallery, blending cutting-edge immersive experiences with museum-quality exhibition space, and bespoke spaces dedicated to retail treasures and Sotheby's signature auction exhibitions, provides an ideal platform for exploring and nurturing new collecting interests and habits. To date, the Sotheby's Asia team has hosted two groundbreaking themed private exhibitions there—"Corpus—Body, Object, Three Thousand Years" and "EROS/THANATOS." These exhibitions, through artistic dialogues across time and space, revealed unexpected resonances and further solidified Sotheby's position as a hub for cultural exchange.

At the same time, with the upgrade of Sotheby's flagship gallery activities, private sales and retail performance have increased by an average of about 10% per month this year, of which art accounts for 70%.

Sotheby’s Hong Kong’s latest exhibition, “EROS/THANATOS”, attracted over 15,000 visitors, a 35% increase over the previous exhibition.

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