Signalling an expansion into the Asian market, where recent speculation has been of a cooling off, Phillips announced on 16 March that it has appointed Jonathan Crockett as its head of 20th-century and contemporary art and deputy chairman, Asia. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Bonhams’ surprise cull in Hong Kong, which saw eight people fired, including the firm’s deputy chairman, Asia, Magnus Renfrew.
Crockett, who starts his job on 9 May, will be based in Hong Kong and has the job of growing the company’s 20th-century and contemporary art department in the region. He was previously Sotheby’s director in Asia and a senior specialist of contemporary Asian art in London; he also owned his own art advisory business in Hong Kong.
Phillips first launched in Hong Kong with a successful watch sale in December. A spokesman said no date has been confirmed for the auction house’s first contemporary art sale in Hong Kong.
Countering any suspicions of a slowdown, Edward Dolman, the chairman and chief executive of Phillips, said that the “collecting of contemporary art in Asia has been growing at a spectacular rate”. He added: “The importance of Asia to our 20th-century and contemporary art sales internationally and to our overall growth strategy cannot be overstated.”
Phillips also appointed Charlotte Raybaud as a specialist in the 20th-century and contemporary art department in Hong Kong, and is expected to add to the team in the coming months.