Hong Kong — This March, Bonhams brings together two defining voices of post-war abstraction: Yayoi Kusama and Hsiao Chin. The season features the live auction 'MORE THAN RED: A Single Owner Collection of Exceptional Works by Yayoi Kusama' (28 March), alongside the selling exhibition 'Hsiao Chin: Great Ego in Infinity' (18 March – 9 April). Taken together, they highlight the two Asian pioneers who reshaped the trajectory of post-war abstraction through highly individualistic visual languages, using abstraction to explore the self and the infinite.
Marcello Kwan, Bonhams' Head of Modern and Contemporary Art, Asia, commented, "The collector base for Kusama and Hsiao Chin is truly global—spanning major international museums and established private collectors. In recent years, their abstract works have seen strong market momentum. By pairing exhibition and auction, we invite collectors to look beyond market value and recognise how this generation of Asian masters shaped the course of 20th-century art through distinct languages of abstraction."
MORE THAN RED: A SINGLE OWNER COLLECTION OF EXCEPTIONAL WORKS BY YAYOI KUSAMA
Live Auction: 28 March 2026
Preview: 18 – 28 March 2026
The auction presents six works from a Japanese private collection, all fresh to the market. Leading the group is a deeply evocative red Pumpkin (2000) (estimate HK$15,000,000-25,000,000), joined by additional works on canvas, sculptures and prints in different colours. While the classic yellow pumpkins are more familiar, red examples are considerably rarer.
When Kusama rose to prominence in 1960s New York, she had already established colour as an independent visual language. For the artist, colour—particularly red—is a direct manifestation of her internal landscape, rooted in childhood hallucinations and her earliest experiences of self obliteration. These visual experiences—especially the endlessly proliferating polka dots and net structures—became the primal driving force in her art.
The pumpkin is Kusama's most recognisable motif. More than a still-life subject, it serves as the artist's spiritual symbol and alter ego, connecting her childhood memories to the infinite universe. Each pumpkin is a distinct individual, varying in form and presence, reflecting the artist's state of mind at the moment of creation.
HSIAO CHIN : GREAT EGO IN INFINITY
Selling Exhibition: 18 March – 9 April 2026
Great Ego in Infinity celebrates the seven-decade career of Hsiao Chin, a leading figure of post-war abstraction and a pioneer of modern Chinese art on the global stage. Rooted in Eastern philosophy yet fluent in Western avant-garde languages, he forged a distinctive visual language that resonated across Europe and beyond.
The exhibition features more than 20 significant works spanning the artist's career. The title Great Ego in Infinity refers to the interweaving of personal identity with the vast universe through his iconic symbols, most notably the concept of Punto (Italian for "point").
"Hsiao Chin played a vital role in shaping post-war abstract art and earning recognition in both Eastern and Western art worlds. Over the past decade, my collaboration with Hsiao Chin has been deeply inspiring. His lifelong exploration of 'light,' from the 1960s to his passing in 2023, reflects a sacred quest for harmony, unity, and an eternal bond with the universe." -- Calvin Hui, Curator. Co-Founder, 3812 Gallery
From Spain to Milan — The Birth of the Punto Movement
The exhibition begins with Hsiao Chin's arrival in Madrid in the 1950s, a period when he began fusing Western abstraction with Eastern philosophical roots. His relocation to Milan in the 1960s marked a turning point. There, he delved into Daoist and Zen Buddhist thought and co-founded the Punto International Art Movement in 1961. During this prolific period, he explored major series—including "Sun," "Cosmic Energy," and "Light"—dedicated to the grandeur of universal energy. Notable works include Dancing Lights, where fluid calligraphic strokes intersect with geometric forms to evoke the interplay of energy and stillness.
New York and the Hard-Edge Influence
In 1967, Hsiao moved to New York, where he experimented with the emerging Hard-Edge style. He infused this Western aesthetic with spiritual depth, evident in Great Ego in Infinity.
Renewal and Transcendence
The exhibition also explores Hsiao's later years, including works from the 1990s shaped by the passing of his daughter, Samantha. Seeking solace in Buddhist teachings on eternal life, Hsiao created the "Eternal Garden" series to explore themes of renewal. This spiritual exploration continued into the 2000s with a return to cosmic themes, charting a career-long quest for transcendence and universal energy.
About Hsiao Chin (1935 – 2023)
Born in Shanghai, Hsiao Chin moved to Taiwan in the late 1940s. He began studying art in 1952 and, in 1956, co-founded the Ton Fan Group, the first post-war Chinese modern art collective that blended Eastern traditions with Western modernism while promoting Chinese art internationally.
In 1956, he moved to Madrid and later settled in Milan. For more than half a century, he lived and worked across Europe and the United States. In 1961, he co-founded the Punto International Art Movement, the first international avant-garde movement initiated by an Asian artist, centred on the philosophy of "calm contemplation". His practice was defined by a lifelong synthesis of Zen and Daoist thought with Western aesthetics, as well as a fascination with space science. Today, his works are held in the permanent collections of major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musée Guimet, and M+.