Luxurious auction house Christie’s opens new Asia headquarters in Hong Kong

HONG KONG: Popular auction house Christie’s opened at The Henderson in Central Hong Kong. The new headquarters for the Asia Pacific spans 50,000 square feet over three floors.

Christie’s CEO Guillaume Ceruti said, “The opening of Christie’s new Asia Pacific headquarters is a milestone moment in our 250-year history and reflects the integral and influential position the region holds in the global art and luxury market.

At this new home, Christie’s will drive the future of collecting in Asia and advance how we bridge East and West for our clients worldwide.”

Christie’s Asia president Francis Belin said the opening of the new site was a “major step to support our growth across the region in both art and luxury.

With one integrated hub at The Henderson, we have the long-needed flexibility to hold sales and activities in-house throughout the year and expand our scope for creative exhibitions, innovation, and educational programmes, enabling us to make significant progress towards our sustainability goals.”

The auction house’s lower two floors feature electronically movable walls, adjustable lighting systems and windows that block out 100% of ultraviolet lights, according to a South China Morning post report.

The space will hold year-round sales and exhibitions in-house instead of holding them at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre as it did previously.

In a South China Morning report, the architect for the project, Betty Ng from Hong Kong’s Collective Studio, said she took a minimalist approach with the galleries to avoid detracting from the art on display.

Unlike its rival, Sotheby’s, which has launched a retail space with more affordable items at the Landmark Chater building in Hong Kong, Christie’s is focusing on prestige and will not be offering such items.

Berlin added that the focus would still be on “prestige” and offering the “best of the best”.

On the eighth floor of the new venue, there will be a “clients’ hub” where customers can be pampered and enjoy the opportunity to inspect artwork in private.

The auction house also features a collection of 1,200 rare art books donated by famous art dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi. Christie’s inaugural sales at The Henderson will start on Sept 26.