Sotheby’s first auction of 2025 coincides with Singapore Art Week, showcasing global and regional masterpieces, including rare works by Van Gogh and Chagall.
SINGAPORE, 13 January 2025 – Sotheby’s is set to launch its 2025 auction calendar in Asia with a Modern and Contemporary Art sale on 18 January at 5 Jiak Kim Street, Singapore. Public viewings will be held from 14 to 18 January, offering art enthusiasts a rare opportunity to explore highlights from the sale. For the first time, the event coincides with Singapore Art Week (SAW), a week-long celebration of artistic excellence.
A notable feature of the auction is the unveiling of a Vincent van Gogh masterpiece, on loan from an Important Private Asian Collection, marking its first appearance in the region. The auction, titled Landscapes: as far as the heart can see, reflects Singapore’s diverse cultural identity and the growing interest in art across Southeast Asia.
Jasmine Prasetio, Sotheby’s Managing Director for Southeast Asia, expressed her enthusiasm: “We are delighted to align this auction with Singapore Art Week, creating a platform to engage collectors and art enthusiasts. This curated collection, featuring artists from Raden Saleh to Marc Chagall, demonstrates our dedication to the vibrant Southeast Asian art scene.”
The sale includes over 50 works spanning regional and international artists, from Singaporean pioneers such as Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng to contemporary global icons like Takashi Murakami. Headlining the auction is La danse autour de la corbeille by Marc Chagall, a vibrant celebration of love painted in 1975. Rare landscapes by Raden Saleh, Indonesia’s 19th-century nationalist artist, will also be featured, offering glimpses into Java’s captivating beauty through Romanticism.
The auction highlights Sotheby’s commitment to the Southeast Asian market, following a successful return to Singapore in 2022. With a 22% rise in new bidders from the region last year, the company aims to deepen its engagement with collectors and broaden its global art offerings.
Presented alongside Raden Saleh’s paintings, The Indestructible Desert by S. Sudjojono, known as the founding father of Indonesian modern art who depicted the landscape as an allegory for the people, representing their strength and integrity. Rich with personal relevance and symbolic parallels to the artist’s life, the work portrays an apocalyptic landscape with familiar motifs from the artist’s oeuvre, such as the Kapok tree and the red ball. As a nationalist artist, S. Sudjojono remained committed to producing works that reflected the country’s social reality, using his art to help develop Indonesia’s modern art scene.
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