Sotheby’s version of its Contemporary Curated sale, an event designed to attract new buyers and a broader base of clientele has had mixed results in London and New York where the sales were simply mid-season events with minor celebrities attached as publicity magnets.

Here in Hong Kong, the same strategy but with more significant works by Western painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Tauba Auerbach, Keith Haring, Gerhard Richter, Jonas Wood and Rudolf Stingel, along with emerging names from Korea, seems to have yielded strong sales as well as giving the market a taste of new works and ideas.

The $17.4m total with premium conceals the hammer prices which were a solid 17% above the low estimates. The sell-through was stronger at 89.3%.