$575,000 AVERY SINGER PAINTING LEADS SALES AT FOG DESIGN+ART 2025
With the VIP preview day opening on 23 January, Hauser & Wirth currently lead the reported sales at FOG Design+Art Fair 2025 in San Francisco with a $575,000 Avery Singer painting titled, Poker Players (study)(2024). The fair presented 59 galleries from across the world, showcasing an array of mediums, from sculpture and design objects to installation and paintings. During the preview day, Hauser & Wirth also reported sales of pieces by prominent names such as Firelei Báez and Rashid Johnson. Other major galleries such as Lehmann Maupin reported sales of McArthur Binion’s DNA: Green (2024) for $250,000 and a work by Todd Gray. Alongside the main galleries, the fair also held FOG Focus, an initiative that showcases local tastemakers such as Jonathan Carver Moore and Municipal Bonds. Other top sales of the fair include a Pacita Abad for $200,000 - $ 300,000 by Tina Kim Gallery and Clare Roja’s Just Take It All for $90,000 by Jessica Silverman.
McArthur Binion (b. 1946), DNA: Green, 2024
ARTIST MARKS 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF AUSCHWITZ LIBERATION BY DONATING WORKS TO UNESCO
Shelomo Selinger, 96, has donated works titled Desire for freedom (1995) and Shoah (Holocaust) (1975) to Unesco to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland. Desire for freedom is a charcoal drawing and Shoah (Holocaust) is an Indian ink piece, with the restoration of the works overseen by Unesco’s Works of Art Department. Selinger was born in Szczakowa in southern Poland and was deported in 1942, going through nine concentration camps. His mother and one of his sisters were taken to Auschwitz in 1943, but Selinger was found by a Russian doctor at the Theresienstadt border and suffered amnesia for seven years before moving to France to pursue art. He then studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under the mentorship of sculptor Marcel Gimond. Around 50 former inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau are expected to attend the commemoration ceremony. The director general of Unesco, Audrey Azoulay, shared in a statement that, “these two artworks will contribute to Unesco's efforts to ensure the memory of the Holocaust reaches as many people as possible, and will initially be on loan to the Musée de la Shoah in Drancy for an exhibition.”
Shelomo Selinger (b. 1928), Desire for freedom, 1995
THE MET VENTURES ONTO THE BLOCKCHAIN WITH ITS FIRST WEB3 GAME
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has launched an online game called Art Links that allows users to identify connections between over 140 works selected by Destinee Filmore, assistant curator in the department of modern and contemporary art, within the museum collection. The game utilizes Web3-based technology, teaming with tech platform TRLab to bring the concept to life; co-founder of TRLab Audrey Ou has shared that “partnering with the Met on its first Web3 experience reflects our belief that deepening connections between creators, collectors, and fans is the future of art.” Alongside the game, users will also be given the chance to collect in-game NFT badges and win both in-person and digital rewards through making successful connections between the pieces in the collection. During this process, players are able to learn more about the collection which in turn helps with making the relevant connections. There are four types of connections: highlights, showcasing key works, artists or movements; material, focusing on how works are made; emojis, highlighting signs, symbols, and visual culture; and Web3, showing how artists across time have engaged with concepts underpinning the blockchain. Max Hollein, Director of the Met, has called Art Links “groundbreaking,” and “an exciting first for the Met and a singular experience in the museum field at large.”
ART FAIR PH ORGANIZERS ON MOVE TO AYALA TRIANGLE: ‘TIME TO EMBRACE SOMETHING NEW’
Art Fair Philippines has been confirmed to move to Ayala Triangle for its 12th edition, opening from February 21 to 23. One of the marquee events in the art calendar in the Philippines, it will relocate this year to the two-hectare landscaped urban park in order to accommodate the growing number of attendees. Dindin Araneta, a cofounder of the event, added that “it’s also the idea of moving to the centre of the community… and, of course, we also wanted to find a venue that can also transform the experience of being in an art fair. This was the opportunity that came our way after trying to do it for so many years.” Alongside the fair there will be film screenings and art talks that highlight the diversity of the local art scene, as well as a learning program to push for a further educational component. One of the highlights of this year’s fair is ArtFairPH/Projects, a collection of curated exhibitions that places the spotlight on artists, who are all at different points in their careers. This year’s collection will be showcasing artists including Manny Garibay, Manuel Ocampo, Goldie Póblador, Ryan Rubio, and Jezzel Wee. In addition, there will be outdoor sculptures by Briccio Santos in Legazpi Park and works by Neal Oshima and Fotomoto will turn Legazpi Underpass and Greenbelt 3 Sunken Park into exhibition spaces.
Motion graphic artist/engineer Isaiah Cacnio’s Prismatic Embrace mounted last year at the Green Wall of Tower 2, Ayala Triangle Gardens, as part of the 10 Days of Art initiative.
SOTHEBY’S TO ACCEPT CRYPTOCURRENCY PAYMENTS IN UPCOMING SAUDI ARABIA AUCTION
Next month Sotheby’s will be holding their first auction in Saudi Arabia, a two-day sale titled “Origins.” The auction will include 119 lots, including works by both regional and international artists, there will also be luxury goods and sports memorabilia available. Sotheby’s have released a statement that cryptocurrency will be accepted across the sale through a payment processor that supports cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ether. The decision stems from a renewed interest in cryptocurrencies within the art market, particularly with the recent sale of Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) at the New York marquee November sales. An increase in cryptocurrency is also on the cards due to blockchain based currencies gaining more mainstream and governmental recognition.
BLACKSTONE’S SCHWARZMAN STIRS LONDON ART MARKET WITH RECORD PURCHASES
Steve Schwarzman, a US private equity executive, has just paid record prices for paintings by Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, both leading 18th century society portrait artists. He acquired Reynold’s Portrait of Lady Worsley (1779) for £25 million and Gainsborough’s Lady Bate-Dudley (1787), a painting that has been on loan to the Tate in London. Schwarzman is currently restoring Conholt Park, a 17th century 2,500-acre estate in Wiltshire; having bought the property for £80 million in 2022, he is currently acquiring pieces to build a collection of works. Aside from £50 million paid by the National Portrait Gallery and the J Paul Getty Museum for Portrait of Omai (c. 1776), this is a record price for Reynolds. Currently the price for the Gainsborough has not been disclosed, but it is thought to be significantly over the artist’s auction record of £8.2 million in 2019. Schwarzman is also the owner of Miramar, a Gilded Age mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, that he has restored and filled with art.
Thomas Gainsborough (b. 1727), Lady Bate-Dudley, 1787
Jordan Tan holds an MA in History of Art from the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art. With a passion for fine art and the art market, Jordan plays a key role at Art Works by researching and interpreting trends across the primary and secondary markets, delivering valuable insights and business intelligence for the fine art department.
