SOTHEBY’S SUCCESSFUL MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY EVENING SALE IN LONDON NETS $78.6M., SHOWS GREEN SHOOTS FOR ART MARKET
On Tuesday 4th March, Sotheby’s held its Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale in London, yielding £62.5 million (including fees). Highlights of the auction include Yoshitomo Nara’s Cosmic Eyes (in the Milky Lake) (2005) and Lisa Brice’s After Embah (2018). In addition, Banksy’s Crude Oil (Vettriano) (2005), consigned by blink-182 vocalist and bassist Mark Hoppus, was included as the only lot that was eligible for crypto-currency and sold to a private British collector for £4.3 million. The sale started positively with Max Ernst’s Moonmad (1944), which reached a hammer price of £2.1 million, surpassing its estimate of £800,000. Following this, Lisa Brice’s painting sold for £5.4 million after a 10-minute, six-way bidding battle, soaring past its high estimate of £1.5 million. Nara’s Cosmic Eyes (in the Milky Lake) then proceeded to fetch £9 million, above its high estimate of £8 million. Another lot that surpassed its estimate included a bronze sculpture titled Éternel printemps, premier état, taille originale, variante type A (1883) by Auguste Rodin. Overall, there was a positive buzz surrounding the auction despite the market still feeling low.
Lisa Brice (b. 1968), After Embah, 2018
CHRISTIE’S POST-WAR TO PRESENT SPRING AUCTION YIELDS $21.3M., LED BY $2.1M. HELEN FRANKENTHALER
Christie’s Post-War to Present auction was held on February 27 in New York, yielding $21.3M. With top sales of works by Helen Frankenthaler, Ed Ruscha, Richard Estes, and Diane Arbus, the auction achieved a sell-through rate of 72.8%. Frankenthaler’s Concerto (1982) sold for $2.1 million, surpassing its estimate of $500,000 - $700,000. Ed Ruscha’s Pressures (1967) fetched just under $2 million, also surpassing its estimate of $1 million – $1.5 million. Overall, the auction reached a higher overall yield and sell-through rate than last year’s Post-War to Present auction in March. Other prominent lots from the auction included Richard Diebenkorn’s Untitled (Ocean Park) which fetched $781,200, surpassing the high estimate of $600,000. Jennifer Guidi’s Body, Mountain, Mind (Painted White Sand SF #2SF, White Yellow and Pink) also reached a hammer price of $233,100 above its high estimate of $150,000. However, it is also important to note that a number of lots by blue-chip artists were bought in, including works by Josef Albers, Carl Andrew, Ai Wei Wei and a collaborative piece by Takashi Murakami and Virgil Abloh.
Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), Concerto, 1982
MÁRET ÁNNE SARA TO CREATE THE NEXT HYUNDAI COMMISSION FOR TATE MODERN’S TURBINE HALL
Máret Ánne Sara has been announced as the 10th annual Hyundai Commision artist to be featured in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London this October. The installation will run from October 14 2025 to April 6 2026. Sara works and lives in Guovdageaidnu, Norway, where she was born in 1983. Often exploring global and ecological issues within her practice, Sara delves into the impact of colonialism on the Sámi people of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Sara rose to prominence when she presented Ale suova sielu sáiget (2022) at the 2022 Venice Biennale, as part of the Sámi Pavilion. The sculpture consisted of cured red reindeer calves and dried plants from the tundra and addressed the impact of climate change. Karin Hinsbo, Director of the Tate Modern has shared, “Máret Ánne Sara is among a prolific group of Sámi artists who have received widespread international attention in recent years for making visible the issues facing Sápmi and Sámi people. By addressing the major social, ecological, and political concerns of her community, Sara hopes not only to increase interest and awareness but also to effect real change.”
Máret Ánne Sara (b. 1983), Ale suova sielu sáiget, 2022
CHRISTIE’S ALL-A.I. SALE SURPASSES EXPECTATIONS WITH A HAUL OF MORE THAN $700,000.
Christie’s held its first all-A.I. sale on the 5th of March, bringing in $728.784 and with a number of lots surpassing their heigh estimates. Artists featured in the auction included prominent names within the digital art sphere, from Alexander Reben and Refik Anadol to Botto and the duo of Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst. A number of mediums were also included, such as painting, sculpture, digital art, and interactive experiences. The top lot of the sale was Refik Anadol’s Machine Hallucinations – ISS Dreams – A, a painting that algorithmically reimagines data from the International Space Station and satellites. The work fetched $277,200, surpassing its estimate of $150,000 - $200,000. During the sale, the audience were able to witness the live creation of one of the lots, Alexander Reben’s Untitled Robot Painting, with the robot creating more and more of the painting with each new bid submitted. The sale also brought in a new collector demographic - 37% of bidders were new to the auction house and almost half were Millennials and Gen Z. However, the auction was not without controversy, with a group of artists sending a letter to Christie’s, urging the auction house to cancel the sale as some of the A.I. models used are “known to be trained on copyright without a license.” Nicole Sales Giles, Christie’s VP and Director of Digital Art Sales, shared, “With this project, our goal was to spotlight the brilliant creative voices pushing the boundaries of technology and art. We also hoped collectors and the wider community would recognize their influence and significance in today’s artistic landscape. The results of this sale confirmed that they did.”
Refik Anadol (b. 1985), Machine Hallucinations – ISS Dreams – A
ONVIEW: TOGETHERNESS, PALAIS POPULAIRE
OnView, a new series at the Palais Populaire, will showcase films by international artists each spring and fall, based on a specific theme. The first edition is presenting six films surrounding the title of Togetherness. Trisha Brown, Cao Fei, Cinthia Marcelle, Rene Matić, Marco Perego, and Koki Tanaka, have created films that explore narratives that delve into community, belonging, family, social bonds, and trust. Which roles can the individual fulfil within the community and what fundamentally holds communities together and enables them to function? These questions are addressed throughout the films, for example social relationships are analysed in Cao Fei’s Asia One (2018), which follows two people working at a logistics centre. The film delves into the intricacies of human interaction in a digitalized world, with the couple feeling closer to the machinery around them than to each other initially.
A still from Asia One (2018), Cao Fei
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.
