Hong Kong

Oliver Stone: Why I am selling my Chinese art

Caught film director Oliver Stone for a video in Hong Kong ahead of this weekend Christie’s auction in which some of his Chinese paintings will be sold.

UPDATE: Sale went well. Stone grossed about US$4.4 million (not including Christie’s 15 percent commission), according to Frederik Balfour at Businessweek. The pieces sold include cynical realist painter Liu Wei’s “Swimmers ’94,” painted in 1994 (US$593,000) and a Zhang Xiaogang entitled “Bloodline: Big Family, No. 2” (US$3.4 million) as well as another Liu Wei that sold for US$375,000.

Stone was fortunate to do so well, Balfour added:

To get a sense of how slack the Asian art market has gone in the past six months, consider this: Stone’s haul accounted for more than half the $8.4 million sold during the first half of the evening devoted to Asian Contemporary Art in which only 56% of the lots sold. The second evening sale devoted to 20th Century Chinese Art fared even worse, with less than half the works selling.

On the video below Stone talks about:

Why Stone collected Chinese art
The pieces he purchased in the 1990s have a great revolutionary feel. He also said he really is not a collector. He just buys what he likes.

Why he is now selling his Chinese art
You need to keep light on your feet and keep moving. Stone has had the pieces for 15 years, including one of them - a portrait of two parents and a child - that was in his dining room looking at all guests. The other, a nude of a woman swimming that recalls Chairman Mao’s adoration for swimming, had to be covered by a bamboo screen when his children visited his home (His ex-wife insisted it was too sexual.)

How is film different from pictures?
There are many differences, but also similarities. He spoke in greater detail off camera. Among the differences are production: Film uses many more people and resources. Film is a much more narrative medium than pictures, but that said, Stone said he can get lost in the narrative of a Caravaggio.

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