Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night) (1984) will headline Christie’s upcoming 20th/21st century evening sale in Hong Kong. Scheduled for March 28th, the sale will coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong for the first time. The frenetic painting, filled with hot pinks and blood reds, is estimated at HK$95 million–HK$125 million (US$13 million–US$16 million).
This period of Basquiat’s career was defined by his collaboration with Andy Warhol, during which he produced more than 150 paintings. Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night) was created the same year as Basquiat’s first solo museum exhibition, “Jean-Michel Basquiat: Paintings 1981–1984,” which opened at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh and later traveled to prestigious venues such as the ICA London and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night), measuring 6.5 feet by 7.5 feet, features dark red areas on top of deep green sections. It’s further distinguished by its silkscreen elements—a nod to his collaborations with Warhol, according to Christie’s. The work is packed with traditional Basquiat symbols, including two “Griot” figures, alongside sketches of animals and minimalist female nudes.
Asian collectors have shown solid interest in Basquiat works in recent years. Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night) was featured in the notable “Heads On: Basquiat & Warhol” exhibition during Seoul Art Week in September 2023. Additionally, in 2021, Christie’s Hong Kong set a record with the sale of Basquiat’s Warrior (1982), achieving HK$323.6 million (US$41.85 million), the highest price for a Western artwork in the region.
Last year, Phillips sold Native Carrying Some Guns, Bibles, Amorites on Safari (1982) for HK$99 million ($12.66 million) in its modern and contemporary art evening sale in Hong Kong. That result was the highest result for an artwork sold in Hong Kong in the first half of 2024. Indeed, Asian collector Yusaku Maezawa holds the record for purchasing the most expensive Basquiat canvas at auction when he acquired Untitled (1982) at Sotheby’s in New York for $110.48 million.
“Christie’s has been cultivating the Asian market for Basquiat for many years,” said Ada Tsui, Christie’s Asia Pacific’s head of evening sales and 20th/21st century art. “His powerful work transcends borders and speaks to collectors all over the world, and this sale in Hong Kong is a testament to the demand we see in the region for Western masterpieces of this calibre.”
Other highlights at Christie’s 20th/21st century evening sale include:
- René Magritte’s La Clairvoyance (1962), estimated at HK$15 million–HK$25 million ($1.92 million–$3.21 million)
- Zhang Enli’s Intimacy (2002), estimated at HK$18 million–HK$28 million ($2.31 million–$3.6 million).
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s La Promenade au bord de la mer (Le Bois de la Chaise Noirmoutier) (ca.1892), estimated at HK$18 million–HK$28 million ($2.31 million–$3.6 million).
