Tina Zonars, Deputy Chairman, Americas & Co-Chairman, Asian Art , joined Christie’s in 1983. She was a key figure in several record-breaking sales held at Christie’s, including The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth in 2015 and Important Chinese Art from the Fujita Museum in March 2017, which was the most successful auction of Asian art to date and realized a staggering $262,839,500. Prior to joining Christie’s, Ms. Zonars was awarded a studentship at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Boston University and a master’s degree in Chinese art and archaeology at Columbia University.
Michael Bass joined Christie’s in July 2000 and has since worked closely on the sales of the Falk Collection, The Evelyn Annenberg Hall Collection, The J & J Collection of Important Chinese Snuff Bottles, and The Arthur M. Sackler Collections, among others. Mr. Bass is currently a Vice President and Co-Head of the Chinese Works of Art Department in New York. In this role he has overseen sales such as The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection and Magnificent Qing Monochrome Porcelains and Earlier Works of Art from the Gordon Collection, which achieved a world-record price for a Qing monochrome porcelain at US$7.9 million. Prior to joining Christie’s, Mr. Bass worked in the Department of Asian Art at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art, Harvard University. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in the History of Art from the University of Florida and a Master’s Degree in Asian Art from the University of Kansas.
Vicki Paloympis has been with Christie’s for ten years, and was instrumental in her work on landmark sales of Chinese Art including The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, The Fujita Museum Collection, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. At Christie’s, she travels globally to gain consignments for sale, researches and writes for auction catalogues, and appraises private collections. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Art from New York University and a Master’s Degree in the History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia with distinction from the School of Oriental and African Studies. She also holds a post-graduate diploma in Chinese Studies from The Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, and is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and Greek.
Rufus Chen is an Associate Vice President and Head of Sale at Christie’s New York. Since joining in January 2016, Mr. Chen has been instrumental in the department’s success, leading the establishment of the E-commerce channel and overseeing Chinese works of art online sales from 2017 to 2021, driving significant growth in digital transactions. He spearheaded the groundbreaking sale Contemporary Clay: Yixing Pottery from the Irving Collection in 2019, the first of its kind by an international auction house. He is also responsible for researching and cataloging the Yixing pottery from the Collection of Eileen and I. M. Pei, which was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2019. During his tenure at Christie’s, Mr. Chen has worked on prestigious private and institutional collections such as the Fujita Museum Collection, the Virata Collection of Asian Art, the Junkunc Collection, the Winston and C. Z. Guest Collection of Chinese art, as well as Chinese Porcelain from the Collection of Professor and Mrs. Yu Chunming. Prior to Christie’s, Mr. Chen held positions at Sotheby’s, artnet, and iGavel auctions. He received a B.A. in Art History from Wheaton College and furthered his education in Asian art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and English, his multicultural background and linguistic abilities enable him to navigate seamlessly in the global art market, fostering connections and facilitating transactions across diverse cultural landscapes.
Michelle Cheng joined Christie’s based in New York in 2011 and specializes in Classical Chinese Furniture. She has lead several landmark sales including the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, the Collection of Florence and Herbert Irving, and Masterpieces of Early Chinese Gold and Silver. She was a key member in landing several important Classical Chinese Furniture collections, including The Flacks Family Collection, The Marie Theresa Virata Collection, and the Raymond Hung Collection. Prior to joining Christies, she served as the gallery manager of the Chinese Porcelain Company for three years.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Los Angeles and Master’s degree in Art History from the Institute of Fine Art, New York University.
Ms. Gristina joined Christie’s in 2012 and has since worked closely on the sales of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17th-Century Chinese Porcelains from the Collection of Julia and John Curtis, Early Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Daniel Shapiro Collection, The Collection of Pierre Durand and J. J. Lally & Co., amongst others. Prior to joining Christie’s she served as the Director of The Chinese Porcelain Company in New York for over ten years. While there she developed her expertise in Chinese porcelain and export art, ceramics and works of art, with a focus on objects of the 17th and 18th centuries. She was responsible for exhibition development and overall gallery management, and authored over twenty fully-researched exhibition catalogues. In 2007 Ms. Gristina followed other pursuits as a private consultant and writer, including co-authoring four volumes on Chinese export porcelain entitled, Portugal in Porcelain from China; 500 Years of Trade (2008-2011, Art Books Ltd., London). She served on the board of The National Antique and Art Dealers of America from 2001-2005 and the board of Asia Week New York from 2014-2016. She currently serves as the Chair of the Asia Week New York Planning Committee.
Lucy Yan joined Christie’s in September 2021. Prior to joining the company, she held curatorial and collections management positions in arts institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, and Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University. She is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese, with working proficiency in Italian and German.
Laraine Dong joined Christie’s New York in July 2023. Prior to joining Christie's, she gained experience working in museums and galleries in both the United States and China. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Mount Holyoke College and a Master’s degree in Art History and Curatorial Practices from the University of Chicago.