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.”

12:00 P.M. Decamps to Christie’s headquarters in Alexandra House, where Sue Tsao, an L.A.-based jewelry collector from Taiwan, is looking at a green diamond with Vickie Sek, the director of jewelry and jadeite in Asia. “Ken is so spoiled,” Sek teases. “He always demands the best food, the best art.” Yeh points out that a lot is at stake: His clients “will pay $5 million to $10 million for a work on my recommendation.”

1:05 P.M. Navigates a labyrinth of footbridges to take Tsao to lunch at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. They perch on stools at the gleaming black-marble-topped bar. “I prefer to sit up here so I can watch the cooking,” he says.

2:45 P.M. Back in the Mercedes, phones a customer in Taipei to remind him about the previews on Saturday. “My clients are very busy people,” he says. “Even if they plan to attend, I always follow up the day before or on the day to encourage them to come and take a look.”

2:55 P.M. His BlackBerry beeps. “Oh dear, they want me to give a talk in Shanghai next month.” He punches out a reply.

3:03 P.M. Richard Ho, a local businessman who’s a longtime friend and client, ushers him into a boardroom overlooking the Wanchai harbor front. Although Ho collects mainly antique Chinese arts and crafts, Yeh is “cultivating” him in more modern Chinese works. “I want you to find me the next Yue Minjun,” quips the dapper Ho, referring to the record-breaking Chinese artist.

4:03 P.M. Back in the car, squeezes in two phone calls before returning to Christie’s, where he sits down at the desk in his medium-size corner office, which is decked out in traditional Chinese wood furniture. Gulps down a glass of water and checks his e-mail.

4:32 P.M. The office phone rings, heralding his appointment with Jonathan Stone, who works with Yeh, handling the day-to-day business of Christie’s Asian art department internationally. Stone updates Yeh on Christie’s planned expansion of its auction space at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Everyone is happy, but Yeh notes that “the budget needs to be controlled.” Stone promises to follow up.

5:00 P.M. Eric Chang, head of 20th-century Chinese and Asian contemporary art, knocks on the door to discuss progress on this May’s Hong Kong sale.

6:30 P.M. Breezes into an in-house cocktail party and warmly greets participants in Christie’s yearlong Leadership Programme, designed to train staff members from around the world to be the firm’s future leaders.

7:04 P.M. Dashes out of the office. As he is on his way to the elevator lobby, a colleague pops her head out of the door and shouts after him in Mandarin. She wants to make sure he has enough business cards for tonight. Checks his pockets; there are plenty. “Thanks,” he calls back.

7:14 P.M. At the entrance of Kee, double-checks the guest list—a mix of VIP and prospective clients and A-list society names—before accepting a flute of Perrier-Jouët Champagne. Spends most of the evening talking to potential customers. “A lot of people feel Impressionism’s for older collectors, but it’s not true,” he says. “If there are collectors in their 30s in Europe, Taiwan and mainland China, why not in Hong Kong?”

8:30 P.M. With the party in full swing, engages in conversation with the ceo of a European luxury-goods company who is particularly interested in Miró’s La caresse des étoiles, 1938, estimated at $16 million. Yeh grows animated. “Would you believe this was first sold in exchange for a coat?” he asks, relating how the artist’s dealer gave the picture away after the liberation of Paris, in 1944. Exchanges business cards with the CEO and invites him to preview the other highlights at the Grand Hyatt over the weekend. “I’ll call him on Friday and ask him to pay a visit,” Yeh says. “Hopefully something will catch his eye.”

10:45 P.M. Guests drift away from the exhibited works on Kee’s first level, lured to the upstairs dining area by caviar-topped baby blini and other dainty nibbles. Yeh stays downstairs with his colleagues and the Kee Club’s owners, Maria and Christian Rhomberg, who order a late supper of fried rice noodles, roast duck and roast goose from Yung Kee, the renowned Cantonese restaurant next door. Yeh eats the food gratefully.

11:20 P.M. The shipping team arrives to transport the paintings to the Hyatt for tomorrow’s previews. Yeh finally leaves the same way he began his day’s travels: on his own two feet. 

"A Day in the Life" originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2008 Table of Contents.