The first light installation by James Turrell to be auctioned in Asia made US$135,897 at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong. Magnetron Series: Pancho, 2000, a television installed within an wall with an installation manual, was snapped up by an Asian buyer. Turrell is an internationally known US artist with strong connections to Ireland. His favoured medium is light.
Western contemporary works made up six of the top ten lots sold at Sotheby’s Boundless auction which brought in US$3.5 million. Western artists attracted strong interest from across Asia. The top lot was Zeng Fanzhi’s Portrait, No. 1 from 2004 which made US$266,667. The western artists in the top ten were Marc Quinn, Georges Matthieu, Allora and Calzadilla, James Turrell, Robert Indiana and Damian Hirst.