Inside Singapore’s Modern & Contemporary Auction: 21 Standout Works to Watch

Painted in 1922 before his life-changing move to Southeast Asia, Walter Spies’ Die Schlittschuhläufer (The Ice Skaters) (1922) captures the Moscow-born modernist at a moment of luminous transition. A rare, autobiographical work from his early European period, the painting unfolds as a dreamlike nocturne: skaters drift across a moonlit rink in a near-monochrome blue world, their elongated, frontal figures hovering between innocence and unease. Here, the artist’s formative influences converge – the tilted planes and compressed space of German Expressionism, Cubist-Futurist diagonals, and a notion of primitivism shaped by his wartime internment among Bashkir and Tartar nomads, reflecting his affinity for Roussea and Chagall. Spies’ softly layered, almost cinematic surface lends the scene an uncanny stillness, foreshadowing the magical realism that would later define his Balinese masterpieces. First exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum in 1923 and held in a private collection for nearly 15 years, Die Schlittschuhläufer stands today as a beguiling, museum-quality testament to an artist whose tragically brief career left an indelible mark on cross-cultural modernism.

Raden Syarif Bustaman Saleh’s The Eruption of Mt Merapi, by Day (1865) stands as a blazing testament to the father of modern Indonesian painting and one of the great pioneers of 19th century Asian art. Trained in Europe yet profoundly rooted in Java, Saleh forged a new visual language that fused Western Romantic-naturalism with the spiritual and physical drama of his homeland, and nowhere is this synthesis more electrifying than in his volcanic landscapes. Among fewer than 40 known examples, these works are the most coveted in his oeuvre, and this commanding view of Merapi captures the artist’s mature mastery after his return to Java in 1852: crisp contours, panoramic sweep and a near-cinematic sense of awe. As ash and fire rise from the sacred peak, the painting evokes both the terror and reverence with which Javanese culture regards its volcanoes, anticipating the celebrated series Saleh would undertake in 1865 to chronicle Merapi’s eruptions. In its union of scientific observation and Romantic sublime, The Eruption of Mt Merapi, by Day crystallises Saleh’s enduring legacy as a bridge between East and West and a defining voice of Southeast Asian modernity.

Adrien‑Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès’ Weavers (c. 1953) stands as a vivid testament to the Belgian artist’s deep engagement with Balinese life and Impressionist sensibility, bringing to life the serene rhythms of communal craft under the tropical sun. Painted in the later years of his celebrated Balinese period, this oil on canvas depicts women at their traditional looms, their quiet concentration and flowing sarongs nestled within lush greenery that frames the composition with a sense of pastoral harmony. Le Mayeur’s deft handling of light and colour imbues the scene with a warm, evocative glow that reflects both the tropical landscape and the everyday beauty of local culture. Far from mere genre painting, Weavers captures an intimate moment of cultural continuity and feminine grace, echoing the artist’s lifelong ode to Bali’s people and environment.

Created in 2004 at a pivotal moment of international acclaim, Zao Wou-Ki’s Sans titre captures the artist in the final chapter of his extraordinary career. Following his election to the Académie des Beaux-Arts and a landmark retrospective at the Galerie nationale de Jeu de Paume in France, Zao’s late works took on a new sense of airiness and tranquility, and here a translucent field of soft blondes and golden yellows is animated by flowing emerald and blue-green strokes that seem to breathe across the canvas. The palette, displaying influences from the Impressionists, glows with pastel and fluorescent warmth, while the composition is anchored by the Chinese ink principle of liubai – the eloquent use of emptiness to suggest depth, light and spiritual resonance. As Zao moved ever closer to the aesthetics of ink in oil, space opens and closes with meditative rhythm, evoking the sublime expanses of traditional landscape painting refracted through abstraction. With oil paintings ceasing just a few years later in 2008, works such as this have become especially prized, and the strong recent auction performance of Zao’s post-2000s paintings only underscores the enduring magnetism of this serene yet radiant late style.

Takashi Murakami’s Untitled (2017) is a dazzling tribute to Yves Klein, whose monochromatic blue paintings have resonated in Murakami’s practice since the early 1990s. While evoking Klein’s iconic Blue Monochrome of 1961 through its elegant blue palette, the work transforms the singular surface into a kaleidoscope of smiling flowers, rendered in countless shades of blue. First conceived in 1995, Murakami’s smiling flower has become a globally recognised motif, occupying the intersection of contemporary art, fashion, and culture, while carrying a deeper resonance: each flower, in the artist’s own words, conveys emotion and unease, reflecting the collective trauma of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and evoking the tension of a crowd in motion. Executed in Murakami’s signature Superflat style, the work blends the classical techniques of Nihonga painting with a flattened, pop-infused aesthetic that merges anime, otaku culture, and fine art. Living and working in Tokyo, Murakami continues to redefine the boundaries of contemporary Japanese art, with recent collaborations – including the 2025 Louis Vuitton collection – cementing his influence across global luxury and art spheres. Untitled offers collectors a rare opportunity to acquire a large-scale work from this celebrated series, whose previous auction record exceeded HK$10 million in 2023.

David Hockney’s The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 13 January (2011) is a seminal work from the artist’s first fully unified iPad series, commercially released in 2014, which marked a turning point in digital fine art and firmly established the iPad as a serious tool for printmaking. Executed en plein air during Hockney’s return to Yorkshire, the drawing captures the subtle transformation of the landscape from winter toward spring, reflecting the artist’s fascination with seasonal change after two decades in sun-soaked Southern California. This work is part of a rare edition – one of only 25 standard prints worldwide – and chronicles a single day in the unfolding cycle of nature, its title indicating the exact date of creation. Debuting at the Royal Academy of Arts in January 2012 as part of David Hockney: A Bigger Picture, the series was later shown at the Guggenheim Bilbao, Museum Ludwig in Cologne, and the de Young Museum in San Francisco, reinforcing its international acclaim. With annual auction turnover reaching US$ 4.1 million in 2025 – nearly three times the previous peak in 2023 – the market for these iPad drawings has never been stronger, and only one other edition of this January 13 work has appeared at auction, making it a highly desirable acquisition for collectors.

Lee Ufan’s Correspondence (2000) is a masterful example of the Korean-born artist’s meditative practice within his signature series created between 1991 and 2006. A pioneer of the Japanese Mono-ha movement, Lee transforms the brushstroke into a quiet dialogue between matter and emptiness, reducing gesture to its essential form while emphasising both materiality and the passage of time. In this work, the brushstrokes are denser and more compact than in his earlier From Line and With Winds series, their nearly rectangular forms asserting themselves against the deliberately untouched ground. The interplay between mark and void creates a contemplative tension: the visible strokes and the surrounding negative space define and activate one another, inviting the viewer to engage with absence as much as presence. Lee’s works are held in the permanent collections of major museums around the world including M+, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Mori Art Museum, to name a few.

Executed at the height of his international acclaim, Yue Minjun’s Between Men and Animal (2005) is a striking example of the artist’s signature Cynical Realism. That same year Yue participated in the 51st Venice Biennale, successfully cementing his global reputation. Featuring eight hybrid human-animal figures frozen in raucous laughter beneath a vivid blue sky, the composition satirises Red Guard fanaticism while reflecting modern China’s uneasy blend of historical amnesia and commercial frenzy. The figures’ grotesque grins and eyes squeezed shut transform humour into a subtle act of resistance, conveying both vulnerability and survival in the face of societal and historical pressures. Originally exhibited at "Art in Motion" (The Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, 2006) alongside works by Liu Ye, Zeng Fanzhi, and Zhang Xiaogang, this work demonstrates Yue’s mastery of narrative, political critique, and visual repetition. Held in a distinguished private collection for over a decade, Between Men and Animal offers a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire a pivotal work from one of China’s most important contemporary artists, whose pieces reside in leading institutions including M+, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the National Art Museum of China.

Lê Phổ’s Mère et enfant, fond fleurs exemplifies the artist’s lyrical mastery of ink and silk, a medium through which he seamlessly melded Eastern sensibility with Western painterly tradition. At its heart is the tender intimacy of motherhood: the áo dài-clad mother cradling her child radiates serenity and quiet strength, evoking the universal purity of the maternal bond. Painted during Lê Phổ’s Romanet period, the composition recalls the Madonna and Child of Giotto and Raphael, yet it remains distinctly Vietnamese in its poise and warmth, capturing enduring love across cultures. His refined technique – layering diluted ink and tempera over silk – produces ethereal transitions and luminous tonal gradations, while symbolic motifs, from protective hair tufts to peonies, enrich the work’s spiritual depth. The flowing scarf, a signature motif, bridges East and West, harmonising the elegance of the áo dài with the chromatic sensibilities of Post-Impressionist and Symbolist masters. Created after his relocation to Paris, the painting exudes nostalgia, transforming memory and longing for his homeland into a vision of poetic grace.

Mai Trung Thu’s Coquetterie (1966) is a notable example of the artist’s refined silk painting, executed in ink and gouache at the height of his mature style. Painted during a period when Mai Thu had fully embraced the subtle and poetic language of silk – developed over decades since his move to Paris – the composition captures a moment of playful, elegant intimacy with a delicacy that defines his oeuvre. The fluid interplay of ink and colour on silk reveals his profound command of line and form, evoking both Eastern sensibilities and a modern, lyrical expressiveness that elevates everyday scenes into timeless reflections on beauty and grace. Set against a serene, quietly articulated background, the figures and motifs unfold with an effortless harmony that resonates with the artist’s lifelong exploration of femininity, memory, and cultural identity. Coquetterie remains one of Mai Thu’s most sought‑after works on silk, firmly rooted in the rich tradition of Vietnamese modern art while speaking with a universal, evocative voice.

Pacita Abad’s Assaulting the Eye with Ecstasy (1984) exemplifies the artist’s daring and innovative approach to abstraction, bringing together her vibrant palette, experimental materials, and signature trapunto technique. Created during her pivotal Oriental Abstractions series, the work transforms motifs of rice stalks – studied during her 1983 visit to Seoul – into fully abstract compositions, their lyrical energy amplified by Abad’s layered stitching, embedded mirrors, and buttons that animate the surface with a luminous presence. Abad’s global perspective, shaped by her extensive travels across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, informs a visual language that bridges cultures while asserting a distinctly contemporary voice. Fresh to market with strong provenance from a Hong Kong exhibition, this richly textured, and historically significant trapunto work offers collectors a rare opportunity to engage with one of Abad’s most celebrated achievements, a testament to her enduring international recognition and the sustained vitality of her practice.

Jane Lee’s Painting Is – 3 Phases (2022) continues the artist’s enduring exploration of painting at the intersection of sculpture and materiality, a practice that has defined her since Raw Canvas at the 2008 Singapore Biennale. Presented at Sundaram Tagore Gallery in Singapore, the triptych probes the limits of what painting can be, transforming surface into space and gesture into form. Rendered primarily in blue and white, the works reveal subtle undercurrents of pink, red, and green beneath thick impasto layers, while the interplay between wooden, acrylic, and mixed-media supports generates a tension between fragility and solidity. Lee’s hands-on approach – eschewing brushes entirely – excavates pigment to expose chromatic fissures, inviting viewers into an intimate, tactile dialogue with color, texture, and perception. The triptych’s dynamic, seemingly precarious surfaces challenge conventional expectations of weight and form, reaffirming Lee’s position as a vital voice in the canon of Southeast Asian contemporary art.

I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih’s Buah Kesukaanku (1996) emerges from a formative moment in the Balinese artist’s career when she was forging a singular visual language that defied convention and confronted deeply personal themes with striking candour. Painted in acrylic on canvas during the mid‑1990s – a period when Murniasih was gaining recognition for her bold, candid depictions of female identity, desire, and lived experience – the work’s title, “My Favourite Fruit,” suggests an intimate interplay between object and psyche that resonates with her broader exploration of the body, sensation, and symbolic imagery. Murniasih’s trademark use of vivid colour and simplified, almost naïve figuration transforms quotidian subject matter into a psychologically charged scene, one that reflects her defiance of societal norms and her commitment to visualising a self‑determined female subjectivity. Rooted in her experience training in and then subverting the traditional Pengosekan style, Buah Kesukaanku stands as a testament to her bold, imaginative vision – one that continues to garner posthumous interest in exhibitions and collections globally.

Marc Chagall’s Couple et mimosas (1960) radiates the dreamlike lyricism and tender optimism that define the artist’s late works. In this gouach and pastel work on paper, a pair of lovers embrace beneath a bouquet of blooming mimosas – symbols of sensitivity, resilience, and joy – while a basket of ripening fruit and a nocturnal cityscape evoke prosperity, nostalgia, and the sweetness of memory. The composition is a heartfelt homage to Chagall’s beloved wife Bella, whose bridal presence underscores the work’s celebration of enduring love. Inspired by the brilliant sunlight and lush landscapes of Southern France, the gouache and pastel work on paper blends his signature surrealism with Mediterranean vibrancy.

Pablo Picasso’s Grande tête de femme au chapeau orné (1964) exemplifies the artist’s late‑career fascination with the female visage and his playful yet disciplined approach to form. Realised in red earthenware at the Madoura pottery in Vallauris as part of a numbered edition, the work presents a monumental head crowned with an ornate hat, its stylised features at once expressive and sculptural. The subtle relief and textural contrasts reveal Picasso’s synthesis of ceramic technique with the dynamics of his graphic and painterly practice, while the figure’s psychological presence evokes Jacqueline Roque, his muse and wife. Marked on the reverse with the Madoura Plein Feu and Empreinte Originale de Picasso stamps, the plaque demonstrates the artist’s capacity to transform everyday materials into works of enduring artistic and emotional resonance, offering collectors a distinctive example of his inventive late-period portraiture.

Oswaldo Vigas’ Untitled (1969) captures a pivotal moment in the Venezuelan artist’s richly evolving visual language, one that synthesises Latin American identity with the bold experimentation of post‑war modernism. Executed in oil on canvas and signed and dated on the reverse, the work belongs to a period when Vigas was consolidating his mature idiom following his return from Paris, where he had absorbed the avant‑garde currents of Informalism and European abstraction before integrating them with deeply rooted symbolic and cultural motifs from his homeland. In Untitled, expressive gestural forms and contrasting hues coalesce into a composition that blurs the boundary between figuration and abstraction, reflecting Vigas’s enduring interest in the metaphysical interplay of form, emotion, and ancestral resonance. With a provenance tracing back to a private Miami collection dating from circa 1970, the painting testifies to the artist’s international reach and his role as a central figure in the modernist reimagining of Latin American art in the 20th century.

Chu Teh-Chun’s Le 3 Mars 1974 (1974) exemplifies the artist’s mastery of Lyrical Abstraction in the 1970s, when he melded Eastern sensibilities with Western techniques to forge a distinctive visual language. Inspired by a 1969 Rembrandt retrospective, Chu employed dramatic contrasts of light and shadow reminiscent of chiaroscuro, setting luminous yellows and highlights against a dark, almost meditative background – a dialogue of Yin and Yang that pervades his work of this period. Moving beyond the objective depiction of nature, Chu drew upon his ‘inner images,’ allowing fluid, calligraphic brushstrokes to define space and form. The result is an evocative synthesis of Chinese calligraphic tradition and modern abstraction, where lyrical motion, light, and contemplative depth converge.

Chu Teh-Chun, Sans titre, 1978
Painted in the same decade as the aforementioned Le 3 Mars 1974, Chu Teh-Chun’s Sans titre (1978) captures a pivotal moment in the artist’s exploration of a hybrid visual language, merging the philosophical and aesthetic traditions of China with the expressive potential of Western abstraction. Drawing inspiration from Song dynasty ink landscapes, the composition evokes the grandeur of mountains and rivers through flowing, calligraphic brushstrokes that mimic the meditative elegance of classical literati painting. A predominantly monochromatic palette establishes a serene, contemplative atmosphere, while punctuations of green, red, yellow, and white animate the canvas with dynamic contrast – a hallmark of Chu’s 1970s style. Through the delicate interplay of ink-like textures and oil’s vibrancy, Sans titre embodies a sophisticated dialogue between East and West, abstraction and tradition.

A work born from both personal reflection and international acclaim, Chu Teh-Chun’s Demeure des songes (1998) demonstrates the artist’s mature synthesis of Eastern and Western aesthetics. Following his 1983 return to China, Chu revisited the landscapes of his youth, infusing traditional Chinese landscape aesthetics with the principles of Lyrical Abstraction. Painted during a period of global recognition – shortly after his election to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris – the work demonstrates his signature interplay of light and shadow, a dialogue of Yin and Yang informed by Taoist philosophy and classical chiaroscuro. Layered brushstrokes of sapphire, indigo, and sea blue ripple across the canvas, while accents of vermilion, gold, and jade green shimmer like sunlight dancing on water, creating a luminous, meditative vision. Exhibited at Galerie Patrice Trigano in 1998 and later in 2004 in Chu Teh-Chun and His Universe at the University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong (organised by Alisan Fine Art), Demeure des songes is a testament to the artist’s lyrical mastery and enduring global influence.

Lalan’s Untitled (1960‑1964) captures a formative moment in the artist’s evolution, when she was translating the rhythm and dynamism of her training in dance, music, and calligraphy into a personal abstract language. The canvas is alive with gestural brushstrokes and layered tones, where color, form, and texture interact in a fluid choreography that conveys both movement and introspection. Created during a decade of experimentation in Paris, the work demonstrates Lalan’s engagement with Lyrical Abstraction, balancing spontaneity with structural harmony and reflecting a profound sensitivity to space, rhythm, and the body’s expressive potential. This early oil stands as a prescient example of the poetic sensibility and compositional inventiveness that would define her mature oeuvre.