Art Industry News: Why Gen-Z and Millennial Buyers Could Soon Dominate Hong Kong’s Auction Market + Other Stories

NEED-TO-READ

Young Hong Kongers Are Driving the City’s Market – Auction houses have seen a jump in the number of Millennial and Gen-Z buyers this year. A third of the bidders for contemporary art at Sotheby’s Hong Kong are under 30, while a third of the auction house’s buyers in Asia are under 40. Globally, they account for only a quarter of buyers. (Bloomberg)

David Smith Faces Scrutiny – In his new biography author Michael Brenson noted that the artist had a tendency to “speak of women like meat.” It was part of a broader “coarseness” that “contributed to an aura of defiance and authenticity,” he wrote. (ARTnews)

How the Met Got Hip to Contemporary Art – The Met is ramping up its embrace of contemporary art. Director Max Hollein has been on a commissioning spree, bringing in works by Ragnar Kjartansson, Kent Monkman, Alex Da Corte, and Lauren Halsey. (Vanity Fair)

The U.K. Government and the Robot Artist – The artificial-intelligence artist known as Ai-Da will become the first robot to speak at the House of Lords, on October 11. Ironically, she will speak about how creativity is under attack from technology and artificial intelligence. ()

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Collector Peter Hort Dies at 51 – The lawyer, who caught the art-collecting bug early from his parents, Susan and Michael Hort, amassed an impressive trove of works by emerging artists. In 2016, he founded RISBE, a business to help ensure artists received payments from galleries. (ARTnews)

New Curators at Kanal–Centre Pompidou – Devrim Bayar will leave her post at Wiels Brussels to become senior curator of exhibitions and research at the recently opened Kanal-Centre Pompidou. Other appointees include Bas Hendrikx, curator of participation and engagement, and Sandrine Colard, who joins as curator-at-large. ()

British Art Magazine to Fold – The digital publication Elephant is set to fold at the end of this month after its publisher, Colart International Holdings Ltd., pulled its funding. Founded in 2009, the magazine was named after the “elephant in the room” that is the contemporary art world. (TAN)

Fred Rouse Center Names Director – A former KKK meeting space in Forth Worth, Texas, is being transformed into the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing, an arts space for LGBTQ youth. Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime has been named executive director. (TAN)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Lewis Hamilton Collaborates with Murakami – The Formula One champion’s new creative lab, +44, is teaming up with the contemporary artist for a new capsule collection inspired by Hamilton’s “world in warp-speed.” Short and long-sleeve t-shirts, hoodies, and jackets will feature artwork that alludes to Hamilton as the embodiment of Murakami’s “Psychedelic Speed Demon” persona. (Hypebeast)