[2026 Spring Auction Summary] China Guardian Hong Kong's Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art achieved a total of RMB 52.25 million, with an overall sell-through rate of 82%.
At 10:00 AM on April 8, 2026, China Guardian's "Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art" auction was held in Hong Kong as scheduled.This auction featured 112 lots, achieving a total sales amount of HK$52,252,800 and a sell-through rate of 82%.Of the lots, 42% sold above their estimated price and 39% sold within their estimated price.
One item sold for tens of millions of yuan.Zao Wou-Ki's "09.04.92-07.06.93" sold for HK$11.85 million, becoming the top-selling item of the auction.
New record:
Yu Ji, Zeng Yang (tying personal auction record), Yi Ming and many other artists broke their personal auction records;
Ye Youhuo, Yun Yongye, and several other artists set new records for the second-highest prices ever paid for an artist's work;
A total of 8 million-dollar lots were sold.Among them, Wu Dayu's "Pu Yun (Untitled 62)" sold for HK$9.51 million, Shirafa Kazuo's "Bamboo" sold for HK$1.92 million, Ding Yanyong's "Summer Song" sold for HK$1.92 million, Yayoi Kusama's "Six Girls" sold for HK$1.56 million, Xie Jinglan's "Untitled" sold for HK$1.44 million, Yoshitomo Nara's "Untitled" sold for HK$1.32 million, and Zao Wou-Ki's "Untitled (A Set of Five)" sold for HK$1.14 million.
Top-selling item in this session:
Zao Wou-Ki's "09.04.92-07.06.93" sold for HK$10 million at hammer price, reaching HK$11.85 million including commission.
This auction features "09.04.92-07.06.93," a piece that took a year and two months to complete and represents an important chapter in this period. The work has a well-documented provenance, having been included in as many as ten art books and exhibited in several major international retrospectives of Zao Wou-Ki's work, spanning France, Spain, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong. This demonstrates the work's iconic and representative nature, and reflects Zao Wou-Ki's then-dominant artistic status.
"Zao Wou-Ki's works are actually closely connected to his life experiences, acting like a seismograph, faithfully recording the important events of his life, his reactions to the outside world, his joy, his sorrow, his hatred, and his longing for peace."
—Cheng Baoyi
Top 2 in sales this session:
Wu Dayu's "Pu Yun (Untitled 62)" was hammered down at HK$8 million, and sold for HK$9.51 million including commission.
Several artists broke auction records
Other items sold at auction:
Besides the top three most expensive lots, the auction also includes many excellent works by Chinese and Western artists, such as Kazuo Shiraga, Ding Yanyong, Yayoi Kusama, Xie Jinglan, Yoshitomo Nara, Zao Wou-Ki, and Li Zhen.
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For more details on the auction items, please click to view the special session.