Auction veteran and Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s Asia founder Rebecca Wei is launching Wei and Associates, a Hong Kong-based advisory firm. Specializing in high-value 20th- and 21st-century art, it will offer advisory services, private dealing, and collection management.

Formerly president and chairman of Christie’s Asia and a partner of Lévy Gorvy Dayan, Wei said that a high-end art advisory service that covers a wide spectrum of areas is much needed among well-traveled and sophisticated Asian clients.

“The macroeconomy has been challenging in 2024 but collectors have been active, and they need help from experts,” Wei said in a phone interview. The shift in the auction calendar, with houses now hosting year-round sales at their own premises in Hong Kong instead of seasonal week-long events, means clients often need local professionals to assist them if they do not reside in the city.

In addition to advisory services, Wei and Associates will also be involved in private dealing and lifecycle management of art collections.

Over a decade after Asian collectors began acquiring Western art, introduced by Hong Kong auction houses showcasing blue-chip names like Picasso and Monet, many are now reassessing their collections.

“Now they call me up and say, Rebecca, this [work] no longer fits my collection,” Wei said. Seasoned buyers who have been collecting for more than three decades, or those who are in their 70s or 80s, are also look for opportunities to sell, she added.

Additionally, private and institutional Asian collectors, who are not just based in Asia but also in Europe and North America, are actively looking for high-end works, according to Wei, who added that these buyers have become more sophisticated and specific about what they look for. She has been receiving requests for top Asian names such as Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara, and Zao Wou-Ki from Western clients, too.

Lookin’ for a Treasure (1995) by Yoshitomo Nara, the second highest-priced artist at auction in the contemporary art category, according to the Artnet Price Database. Courtesy of Phillips.

Collectors who also appreciate fine things in life constantly seek local intelligence ranging from not just best art to see but also restaurant recommendations as they travel, she added.

The announcement came after the recent news of the closure of Lévy Gorvy Dayan and Wei in Hong Kong. Wei and Associates will continue to collaborate with Lévy Gorvy Dayan, Wei noted.

Before entering the art world, Wei spent over a decade at the global consulting firm McKinsey and Company, becoming Greater China’s first female partner. She joined Christie’s Asia in 2012, rising to President in 2016 and Chairwoman in 2018. Under her leadership, Asian buyers accounted for 25 percent of Christie’s global sales in 2018.

Wei has brought on a wealth of talent to her new firm, which has an office at New World Tower in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central district. Multi-lingual advisors based across Asia and Europe include former Christie’s executives such as the Tokyo-based Chie Ishizaka, former managing director of Christie’s Japan, and the London-based Liberté Nuti, a former senior director at both Christie’s and Hauser and Wirth. Yuyun Chiang, previously the director and Taiwan representative of Lévy Gorvy Dayan and Wei, based in Taipei, is also part of the team.

She is not the first former auction house rainmaker in Asia who has ventured into art advisory. Former Sotheby’s chairman Patti Wong and Yuki Terase, former head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, have both launched  their own businesses or partnerships in recent years.

Wei said she is optimistic about the market going into the new year. While art sales have contracted over the last two years, she noted that Art Basel Paris, the recent New York auctions, and Art Basel Miami have shown positive signs of life on the business front. While auctions in Asia have been down, she said the reality is “not as bad as it seems” as unsold lots get post-sale offers.

“I feel that the confidence [in] spending is gradually coming back,” Wei said. “I am cautiously optimistic about 2025.”