(Drivebycuriosity) - Last week´ s auctions in New York showed the status quo of the art market (
artnews ). The auctions for
post war & contemporary art @
Sotheby`s, Christie`s & Phillips (my reports
phillips christie`s sotheby`s ames ) brought together $816,8 million, about 20% less than in Fall 2015 ($933.6 million
artnews ).
The numbers are not really comparable. They depend partly on the demand from collectors & speculators, who are betting on higher prices, but they are also influenced by the quantity & quality of the art works the auction houses got in their hands. Observers talked about a healthy market and referred to the fact that a high percentage of the offered works found buyers (
nytimes).
King Of Contemporary Art
The auctions showed that the German artist
Gerhard Richter is still the king of contemporary art. There were
18 "Richters" on sale (
artnews)! "A 7-foot-tall Gerhard Richter canvas, “A B, Still” from 1986, intricately layered with crimson, yellow and blue, fetched $34 million against a presale estimate of $20 million to $30 million" @ Sotheby` s, reports Bloomberg (
bloomberg). Above this paragraph you can see my favorite "Richter", his "Düsenjäger", which sold for $25.6 million @ Phillips.
The auctions had some positive surprises like
Andy Warhol`s Lenin which "fetched $8.1 million, above the $6 million high estimate" (
bloomberg). But this result got outgunned by
Amy Sillman` s "P". The abstract was estimated for just $70,000 — $100,000, but sold for $504,500
. Wow.
There were some rising stars including
Adrian Ghenie (born 1977
nytimes). I really love the artist`s humor, his
surprising ideas & powerful compositions: Flight
into Egypt", Estimate $800,000 - $ 1,200,000 realized $1,387,500 followed by "The Bridge" Estimate $ 1,500,000 - $ 2,500,000 realized $3,943,500 & "Pie Fight Study" Estimate $ 500,000 - $ 700,000. Congrats!
Nice 'n
Easy
The auctions also brought a new record for
John Currin (artnet). The New York based artist is famous for his satirical
and funny portraits. Above "Nice 'n
Easy" which realized $ 12 million.
Below I show some of my favorites from the auctions, as usual a very subjective selection:
"Nurse Elsa" by
Richard Prince followed by
Peter Doig`s, "Olin MK IV Part 2";
Francis Bacon`s "Portrait of a Man Walking";
"White Shadow" by
Makoto Saito;
Clyfford Still`s "Untitled" &
Kazuo Shiraga´s "T40".
The auction houses looked like huge museums and together they over-trumped any major museum exhibition of contemporary art I know including New
York´s MoMa, Los Angeles`"Broad" and Chicago`s Art Institute. And admission was free, taking pictures allowed - price less.
Enjoy!