Hong Kong, a city whose skyline constantly shifts its shape, is a perfect setting for the dynamic Ken Yeh, the deputy chairman of Christie’s Asia. Directing the house’s entire Asian division, he travels in and out of the metropolis, meeting with clients, soliciting consignments and giving lectures around the globe on behalf of the Impressionist and modern and postwar and contemporary departments; he also handles marketing for New York and London sales to Asian clients worldwide and personally takes phone bids in the New York, London and Hong Kong auctions.  

No stranger to change, Yeh originally hails from Taipei, on Taiwan, where he studied French literature at the Fu-Jen Catholic University. Since then, he has been a student at the Sorbonne, in Paris; trained in the kitchen of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Jacques Cagna, also in Paris; established and run the Eastlake Gallery, in Manhattan, specializing in Impressionist and contemporary art; and received an MBA from Columbia. His diverse experience serves him well to this day: Fluent in English, French, Mandarin and Taiwanese and a true cultural omnivore—he adores opera, ballet, film and fine cuisine—he embraces both the hands-on and the ambassadorial aspects of his job.

Christie’s, Yeh’s home since 1997, has been a key player in contemporary Chinese art. Last year the house realized sales of $473 million in Hong Kong, helped by the record prices for this category fetched by such works as Cai Guo-Qiang’s Set of 14 Drawings for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, 2002, which sold last November for $9.6 million.

Yeh’s goal is to develop Christie’s presence in Asia by bringing Western works to China and by shepherding more international collectors into the Asian-art market. In April, highlights from the two big May evening sales in New York traveled to Hong Kong for a preview at the Grand Hyatt. The house organized an exhibition on April 2—the night before the Grand Hyatt preview—at the opulent private Kee Club, in the heart of Central, Hong Kong’s bustling business and entertainment hub.

6:00 A.M. Wakes up in his apartment, located in Central, and immediately switches on his BlackBerry. “It’s terrible, but it’s the first thing I do every day,” he admits.

6:30 A.M. Phones Christie’s in New York, which is 12 hours behind. Answers e-mail.

8:55 A.M. Dressed in a crisp white shirt and an impeccably tailored gray suit, picks up his “briefcase”—a ruby red Christie’s bag—and sets off on the 10-minute walk, his preferred mode of traveling, to Kee Club.

9:14 A.M. Now at Kee, he and a Christie’s colleague, Guy Bennett, in from New York, supervise the installation of the show, which features a Miró, a Matisse, a Bacon, a Warhol and Monet’s Le pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil, 1873, estimated at $40 million. “The Monet is my favorite,” Yeh says, stepping back to admire the painter’s handling of light. Under his direction, the Monet’s illumination is tweaked, the Matisse is shielded with protective glass, and the Bacon moves to the entranceway. ”This wall is too thin to handle such a heavy frame,” Yeh says, gauging its weight with his palm.

10:48 A.M. Phones for the company car—“It looks like it’s going to rain”—but not before rubbing away a faint smudge on the Miró’s frame with a handkerchief.

10:55 A.M. Outside on Wellington Street, spots Christie’s silver chauffeur-driven Mercedes. Then gracefully weaves his way through jostling passersby, slides into the backseat and directs the driver to Kwai Fung Hin Gallery, on Ice House Street.

11:04 A.M. Sits down in the bright, spacious gallery with owner Catherine Kwai, who shows mainly contemporary Chinese paintings and sculpture. For two years, Kwai has been interested in branching out into modern and Impressionist works from the West, and Yeh encourages her to attend tonight’s event. She expresses concern about the recent financial turmoil in the U.S. and its effect on the art market. Yeh reassures her with facts and figures. At the recent contemporary Asian sales at Christie’s in New York, he tells her, “every single category broke records. The money is there—it’s just not in the stock market.”