FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (MAY 2012. Singapore)In a packed room of more than 250 people at The Gallery, Grand Hyatt Singapore, 33 Auction’s sale of its modern and contemporary Asian art auction on Sunday, 6 May 2012 managed to move more than 60% of the lots on offer. When the auction closes at around 5.30pm, about S $2 million worth of artworks had changed hands.

The top lot sold was a sculpture by Zhu Wei, titled China China No.2, which fetched S $138,000. The sculpture features two of his blockish, big-headed figure, which he used as a way of breaking away from the ultra-realistic human figures rendered by Chinese painters in the 1980s. The two faceless, rotund men with their big heads look towards the sky in a nod to Communist portraits of soldiers, peasants and students.

Commenting on the auction, David Fu, specialist of 33 Auction says “We had a great response with a large turnout and are pleased with some of the prices achieved. We saw an increase in many new clients as well especially those based in Singapore and the strong participation in bidding for Singaporean artists is encouraging. Strong pieces from Ronald Ventura and Antonio Blanco sold well above the high estimates and achieved good prices.”

One of the top lots included Ronald Ventura’s oil on canvas entitled Commodity, which mocks consumerism by showing a defaced female nude surrounded by cartoon-like forms and barcodes. It had an estimate of S $38,000-48,000 and was eventually hammered off for S $ 75,000. Indonesian artist Srihadi Soedarsono’s vibrant oil on canvas, Oleg Tambulilingan (The Story of Love) depicting two dancers against a bright reddish background, sold for S $86,000, within its estimate of S $70,000 – 90,000.This time several artists which are new to the Singapore auction market fetched good prices. Among them are Myanmar artist U Lin Gywe, Indonesian Bazuki Prahoro, and Malaysian artist, Ch’ng Huck Theng. After several rounds of intense bidding in the room and through the phone, Ch’ng Huck Theng’s work Anak Malaysia finally fetches S $ 24,150 against the pre-sale estimate of S $12,000-20,000. The work depicts three sculptures that showcase a true representation of the multi-racial and multi-cultural society people that make up Malaysia.The next 33 Auction will be held in coming October again at the Grand Hyatt Singapore.