Records tumble at Sotheby’s auction

visionsart — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:49:00 +0000

KOLKATA: Anish Kapoor has stolen the show among Indian artists at the Sotheby’s Evening sale of Contemporary Art in London. In the feverish bidding that took place, an untitled sculpture from 2003 by Kapoor sold for £1.945 million (about $4 million) after being hotly contested by three bidders. This price represents a new auction record for the Mumbai-born artist.

The ‘stunning’ piece, which soared above its pre-sale estimate of £1-1.5 million, “embodies the pioneering manipulation of space and material that characterises the very best output of this world-renowned sculptor.” The untitled sculpture is one of Kapoor’s largest alabaster works and the first double-concave piece to come to auction.

Among other Indian works, Subodh Gupta’s untitled work, created in 2005, catapulted above its pre-sale estimate of £2,00,000-3,00,000, selling for £6,01,250. The untitled canvas, depicting a vessel stall glistening in the pink dawn of sunrise, is one of Gupta’s most important and powerful photo-realist paintings to ever come to the market.

Bharti Kher made her debut appearance at the Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Contemporary Art. Her sculpture, ‘Misdemeanours’, executed in fibreglass, wood and fur, saw bidding from six bidders and finally realised £75,650, against an estimate of £40,000-60,000.

The sale, overall, achieved a phenomenal sum of £94.702 million ($188.854 million) against a pre-sale estimate of £67.4-96.6 million making it the most successful summer sale of contemporary art in Europe. The sale had numerous high points, with records achieved by 11 different artists.

Cheyenne Westphal, chairman of contemporary art, Sotheby’s Europe and Oliver Barker, senior international specialist, Sotheby’s contemporary art department, told ET in an email from London: “We are elated with the results of the sale, the highest ever Summer sale of contemporary art in Europe. We saw 11 records tumble, including ones for Antony Gormley, Bridget Riley, Richard Prince and Anish Kapoor, in front of a hugely energetic and packed saleroom.”

“The top lot of the sale was Francis Bacon’s exquisite small-scale study for head of George Dyer, which sold for £13.7 million. We are also extremely happy with the result achieved for the group of twelve works from the Lauffs Collection, which achieved a total of £18.9 million, almost triple the pre-sale low estimate of £6.4 million. Once again, we are witnesses to a market that is driven by art lovers. Buyers have confidence in the artworks they are competing for, and have shown unprecedented determination to win the lots which they desire.”

Incidentally, the portrait of John McEnroe and Tatum O’Neal by Andy Warhol, depicting McEnroe and O’Neal in their mid-1980s prime, sold for £241,250. Gifted by McEnroe himself, the proceeds will be donated by the tennis star for the benefit of habitat for humanity, which provides not-for-profit housing through the help of volunteers.

The post Records tumble at Sotheby’s auction first appeared on Indian Art News.

Is Bacon in more demand than Picasso?

visionsart — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:45:00 +0000

AS Sotheby’s and Christie’s gear up for their famously extravagant summer contemporary art sales, the mood is mixed.
Last October’s evening sales at Christie’s saw earnings of £34.87m for the auction house and the art world was paddling about in a Frieze-Week sea of champagne; last June the credit crunch was a distant rumour and the sales at Sotheby’s made £72.43m.
Now, despite the credit crunch, experts at the two auction houses maintain that the market is stronger than ever — indeed, the February 2008 Contemporary Evening sale made Sotheby’s a whopping £95m. The sales are strongly blue-chip (roughly 90 per cent), with work by Britons Gilbert & George, Tracey Emin and Anthony Gormley, and Americans Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol, among others.
Both houses have got their hands on paintings by Francis Bacon, the most sought-after artist on the market at the moment. Christie’s has Three Studies For A Self-Portrait, the first time the work has been seen at auction. Sotheby’s has been trumpeting its Study For Head Of George Dyer for weeks — so hot is this haunting, enigmatic portrait set against a solid green background, that the catalogue says the price estimate is only available on request. Figure Turning from 1962 should go for between £10m and £15m at Sotheby’s.
Of the Baconian frenzy, Oliver Barker, head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, says: “In many people’s minds, Bacon is now surpassing Picasso. A Bacon is a very strong blue chip.”
Other dynamite lots are Jeff Koons’s Balloon Flower (Magenta), at Christie’s, an enormous sculpture based on a balloon twisted into the shape of a purple-pink wide open bloom which has been on view in St James’s Square.It’s estimated to go for in the region of £12m.
At Sotheby’s is Richard Prince’s Overseas Nurse, from his sexy, grimy Nurses series (estimated at £4m to 6m And Chant 2, the first pure colour painting by British artist Bridget Riley to come to market, is estimated at £2m to £3m.
German post-war artists are well represented. Frank Auerbach, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke and sculptor Bruce Nauman are all for sale at high prices — estimates for Richter go up to £3m at Christie’s for his sombre, abstract Kleine Strasse. But despite the dizzying figures, it’s worth remembering that, as yet, nobody has paid them.
The positive spin churned out by the big houses at sales time should be taken with a very large pinch of salt; for example, results from the recent Russian sales were mixed at best, despite glowing tributes from Sotheby’s and Christie’s. As the record-breaking February figures show, it does seem that contemporary art operates independently of economic cycles.
It may seem contrary to the spirit of the times, but collectors are seizing the opportunity to sell to a keen market. Barker adds: “The mood is very good. Yes, there’s a credit crunch, but there’s also a lot of wealth in the world.”
And he says supply has never been better in contemporary art: “There is a steady flow of fresh works coming to the market and great opportunities for collectors putting together superb portfolios.”
One reason is the increasing globalisation of the art world — artists from hitherto less-known areas are being noticed, too. “Indian and Iranian art has become more collectible,” Barker says. “This is the first time we’re selling it so prominently — there’s a growing demand in terms of interest and collectors.”
The highlight at Christie’s is La Terre, 1973, by Syed Haider Raza (estimate: £1m-£1.5m), one of India’s leading modern artists and a member of the revolutionary Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group.
Sotheby’s has an untitled paining of kettles and drums with Pop Art pinks and black-edged greys by Subodh Gupta. Although it doesn’t immediately betray Gupta’s origins, he has portrayed the shining steel objects traditionally found in the trousseaux of newly married Indian women. It is expected to sell for between £200,000 and £300,000.
Unlike recent contemporary sales, there are scant Chinese works for sale — the run on the market for 1990s Chinese art has drastically diminished supply. Sotheby’s has just one; a Zhang Xiaogang portrait called Brother And Sister (£400,000-£600,000).
Christie’s has a similar but more expensive Zhang: Father And Daughter, estimated at £900,000 to £1,500,000. For now, it looks like the contemporary art market has evaded the economic storms.
But there is a hint of uncertainty: “We’re not leaving any stones unturned in looking for potential buyers,” Barker admits. “Even if we get to our low estimate, we’ll be happy; these are very high low estimates.”
Whatever happens, the contemporary art circus is coming to town next week, and it’s bound to be colourful.

The post Is Bacon in more demand than Picasso? first appeared on Indian Art News.

Oliver Barker - Indian Art News

Records tumble at Sotheby’s auction

Is Bacon in more demand than Picasso?