Phillips to Auction Rare Yoshitomo Nara Painting in Hong Kong

Following a record-breaking $25 million USD sale at Sotheby’s last October, Yoshitomo Nara’s works continue to attract collectors with Phillips set to auction one of the artist’s most rare pieces. Titled Hot House Doll, in the White Room III, the 1995 work portrays Nara’s signature child-like subject which he developed in Germany during the early stages of his career. That very same year when the painting was created, Nara gained international prominence as he helmed his first exhibition with Blum & Poe Gallery and followed up with a show at Tokyo’s SCAI the Bathhouse institution.

“The painting features a full-body portrait of a little girl with a broody, mischievous sulk, along with the artist’s signature wide-open almond-shaped eyes, highlighting Nara’s fixation with the darker side of childhood innocence,” said Isaure de Viel Castel, Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Phillips Hong Kong, in a statement. “The blue baby doll dress depicted in the present work is rare in the artist’s oeuvre, a motif that is only scattered sporadically throughout the 1990s.”

The work was held in a private collection for the past 12 years and Phillips expects the work to sell between $5 million to $25 million — Nara’s lowest and highest auction records to date. Moreover, the painting is the leading lot in Phillip’s Hong Kong contemporary evening sale organized in collaboration with the China-based Poly Auction House which is set to launch on November 29.

Head to Phillips’ website for more details.

Elsewhere in art, Christie’s will auction a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton next month.
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