🔥 Hong Kong Ghosted + Cece Philips

Sign Up | Sell Your Art | Advertise | Community

HEY Y’ALL!

Thanks for all the great feedback on the Tom Wesselmann piece I shared last day!

🔥 ICYMI – Catchs from the Last Week:

1. Tom Wesselmann, Sunset Nude #1, 2002 - priced at £650,000

2. Laust Højgaard, Olympic, 2022 - priced at £5,750

3. Pablo Benzo, A Place Where I Like To Walking, 2021 - priced at at £4,000

Today we have Cece Philips with cinematic intrigue—priced just right before institutions bite. Plus, Klimt’s €15M surprise shakes TEFAF.

But first…

Invest Smarter. Collect Better.

Ready to spot high-value opportunities and build an art collection that actually pays off?

I've partnered with Artscapy, the #1 art-investment platform trusted by 8,000+ art collectors, to offer you a FREE 1-on-1 session to pinpoint exactly which artworks to buy next.

🎁 Bonus: I'm also gifting you 60 days of FREE Artscapy Club membership ($120 value). Think early private deals, premium insights, and exclusive VIP perks.

Here’s what a collector shared with me this week:

Limited spots available—book yours now.

-Today’s Catch-

Cece Philips

💭 My 2 Cents: Cece Philips is carving her own lane without the hysterical price frenzy of some figurative peers. "Cheek to Cheek" gives you exactly what you'd expect from her: cinematic ambiance, introspection, and characters that seem straight out of a Kubrick dream sequence. At £12,500, it’s not cheap for an emerging artist, but you're essentially betting that Philips maintains her momentum—without succumbing to the market's short-sighted speculative flipping.

🔑 Key Numbers: After her auction debut at Christie’s blew past estimates (£21,420 against a £7k high), primary market availability has tightened. Philips’ solos routinely sell out pre-opening, from Berlin to Seoul. Collectors are clearly lining up—her trajectory echoes artists like Jadé Fadojutimi and Sahara Longe, albeit without their seven-figure inflation.

🧠 Why It’s a Smart Pick: Philips currently occupies that sweet spot: internationally shown, critically endorsed, yet not quite mainstream enough to attract the Instagram-flipper circus. Her cinematic "nocturnal intimacy" formula has substance; institutional nods are likely just around the corner, which is usually when pricing takes a leap. Getting in before the inevitable museum show means catching her pre-inflection point.

-In a Minute-

🔥 Words I Like: lowkey, bougie, extra

Hong Kong Ghosted

Art Basel Hong Kong kicked off again this week, but honestly, the vibe is pretty awkward. The place used to feel like that friend with rich parents and unlimited champagne; but lately, it’s more like the kid who ghosted the group chat after saying something cringe. Dealers are whispering cautiously about China's economy slowing down and new American tariffs threatening to rain on the parade. Auction sales tanked by nearly 30% last year, making the free-flowing cash of previous years feel like a distant memory.

Meanwhile, the looming National Security Law has turned Hong Kong’s art scene into a polite dinner party where everyone's afraid to offend the sensitive uncle at the head of the table. Galleries swear everything's “fine," but you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to spot the self-censorship, politically charged artists quietly slipping out the back door, replaced by safer, more market-friendly choices. Yet surprisingly, smaller and quirkier art spaces like Eunice Tsang’s Current Plans and the PHD Group are stepping up, bringing in fresh, socially aware exhibitions that feel authentically local.

Younger Asian collectors are emerging from unexpected places like Suzhou and the Greater Bay Area, ready to flex new money from tech companies and crypto startups. And they're not just scrolling and bidding behind screens anymore. This new generation is showing up in person, drawn by digital collaborations and interactive exhibits. Avant Arte's latest report confirms this trend: younger patrons want art that's not just cool but meaningful, actively funding institutions through slickly marketed limited editions and transparent impact-driven stories.

On the other side of the globe at TEFAF Maastricht, a long-lost Klimt painting resurfaced out of nowhere, instantly becoming the talk of the fair. A portrait of an African prince exhibited in a grotesque colonial-era "human zoo," it's both historically charged and visually mesmerizing. At a cool €15 million, the painting had top-tier museums lining up to get their hands on this controversial yet compelling work, proof that, despite economic jitters, collectors remain obsessed with prestige pieces that carry a powerful story.

-Whenever You Are Ready-

Here are 3 ways I can help you:​

1. Serious about collecting? Join Frame&Flame Circle, my exclusive WhatsApp group for top-tier art connections. Apply now!

2. Get in front of my audience - With more than 10,000+ newsletter subscribers and 200k+ Instagram followers, my team and I work with dozens of partners in unique ways to help them grow. Interested in a partnership, tap here.

3. Don’t gamble on your art investments. Get a free advisory consult and 60-day membership at Artscapy—no guesswork, just expert guidance.

See you soon!

-Alvaro (@theartmarketguy)

Find Me On Instagram
Find Me On LinkedIn

P.S. I'd love your feedback. Tap the poll below or reply to this email.

Disclaimer

Not financial advice. Frame&Flame is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions.