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Sales were steady at the world's most important art fair as collectors bought not only blue-chip modern and contemporary works but also large conceptual installations. We reveal what sold, who bought and for how much.
There was a sense of urgency about the VIP opening of the 42nd edition of Art Basel on Tuesday June 14, a day before the fair opened to the general public. In advance of the 11am start, such was the crowd of collectors, advisors and museum directors that a stampede took place as security guards were forced to move to one side. Italian entrepreneur Jean Pigozzi reportedly led the throng, running to his favourite galleries. Within minutes he had purchased a painting by Japanese artist Satoko Nachi at Tomio Koyama for $70,000. Nearby, in the Art Unlimited section of the fair dedicated to oversized works, Dasha Zhukova made an early purchase of Jason Rhoades’ “Untitled” neon installation for about $1m at Gallery David Zwirner.
While there are no central sales figures gathered over the course of Art Basel, many of the more than 300 galleries from 35 countries reported that the record 65,000 visitors were buying as they had done in the day before the world financial markets fell into trouble. “We have sold works across the board and are almost sold out. There are lots of people here to buy and it feels like it is back to 2007,” said New York dealer Barbara Gladstone of her strong start. “By the end of the first day there were only five works left unsold on the stand,” commented Alex Logsdail of London’s Lisson Gallery. The thirst for artworks continued until the fair’s close on Sunday June 19. Logsdail surmised: “People seem to have enormous confidence in the future of both established and emerging artists, which is highly encouraging. Over all, another great year in Basel.”
What sold? Who bought? And for how much? Discover some of the fair’s highlights in our virtual tour.
More than 20 pieces sold at Parisian dealer Thaddaeus Ropac, including Baselitz’s Luise, Lilo, Franz und Johannes, 2010, for €430,000; Not Vital’s Moon No. 2, 2011, for €260,000; Georg Baselitz’s Un giorno particolare, 2009, at €375,000; Alex Katz’s Christy, 2010, for €450,000; Antony Gormley’s Fuse, 2011, for £275,000; and Robert Longo’s Untitled (Butterfly), 2011, for $300,000.
Dasha Zhukova purchased Jason Rhoades’ “Untitled” neon installation for for about $1m at Gallery David Zwirner. The piece was part of the Art Unlimited section, which shows oversized works.
'Collector confidence was definitely back this year, and there was a lot of positive energy all around. In addition to seeing our dedicated clients from Europe, we were excited to see that a number of the new collectors we met during recent travels to Asia also made their way to Basel. And we were especially grateful that our presentations at Art Unlimited for Jason Rhoades and Fred Sandback were so enthusiastically received.'
- David Zwirner, Gallery David Zwirner, New York
Hauser & Wirth sold all of Paul McCarthy’s White Snow Dwarf 7, 2010/2011 series (edition of three), for $2.8m each to European and American collectors.
“This year has been exceptional, with a tremendous response to the works on show, especially Paul McCarthy, leading up to our major show in both the London and New York galleries this November. The buying has been intelligent, vibrant and inspired. This may well be our best Art Basel ever.'
- Iwan Wirth of Hauser & Wirth, Zürich, London, New York
Cheim & Read sold Louise Bourgeois’ Eye, 2001, for just under $2m to a European and two of her fabric pieces for $300,000 and $200,000.
A Fernand Léger oil-painting, La Charmeuse d’Oiseaux, 1942, sold for $2.8m to a French buyer at Helly Nahmad.
“We sold all five editions of a Douglas Gordon video, Spiral, 2010, at $75,000 each, and even I was surprised, as video is generally not so easy to sell,” said Olivier Bélot of Yvon Lambert.
San Francisco's Anthony Meier Gallery sold Gerhard Richter's "Kleine Strasse", 1987, a photo-based image of an empty country road framed by trees and grassland, for over $5 million.
“It’s to a new client and we sent the picture to a neutral place for condition viewing. I’m very pleased.”
- Anthony Meier of Anthony Meier Gallery
Anthony Meier Gallery also sold two small paintings by Robert Ryman in the $500,000 range and an untitled 1989 Donald Judd wall piece in pulver on aluminum for over $500,000.
"Five hundred thousand dollars seems to be a comfortable landing point for both resale and primary works."
- Anthony Meier of Anthony Meier Gallery
Zürich's Galerie Gmurzynska sold Yves Klein's "IKB 162", 1958, in monochrome blue pigment and synthetic resin on linen for approximately $3.5 million
Galerie Gmurzynska also sold David Smith's burnished steel sculpture, "Vertical Pistol Structure",1952, for around its $6 million asking price.
London's Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert gallery sold Bridget Riley’s "Streak 2" from 1979 in the region of its £1.85 million ($3 million) asking price.
“This fair has been fantastic for obvious reasons. It certainly has paid off, especially compared to some of the other fairs I’ve done in the past. This is another league.”
- James Holland-Hibbert of Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert, London
Sadie Coles sold the four-part Urs Fischer ensemble of mirrored cube pieces, "Pineapple/Melon", 2010, for $600,000
Andy Warhol’s screen-printed canvas One Hundred and Fifty Black/White/Grey Marilyns, was the highest priced artwork at the fair, offered for $80 million at Bischofberger Gallery. Bloomberg reports that minutes after the fair opened, the iconic painting was put on reserve by a European collector. After seeing the quick interest in the work, the seller’s family changed their mind, decided not to sell the painting after all, and officially withdrew it from the fair.
Highlights of the sales at gallery Sprüth Magers, Berlin and London, included: John Baldessari’s Marilyn Monroe (Avedon): Partially Erased (5/8" Relief), 2007, which sold for $250,000 to an American collector; Barbara Kruger’s How Much?, 2011, which sold for $135,000 to an American collector; Sterling Ruby’s SP166, 2011, which sold for $145,000 to a European collector; and Louise Lawler’s Light and Dark, 2010/201, which sold for $30,000 to an American collector.
“We had some significant collectors who had to wait 45 minutes while we were talking to other people. The quantity of people doesn’t matter, you need the right people to be here.”
- Andreas Gegner of Sprüth Magers, Berlin and London
At Stockholm’s Elastic Gallery, a new work by Runo Lagomarsino, Trans Atlantic 2010-2011 (32 Sun Drawings,17 Unrelaized Sun Drawings) sold for €40,000 to a private collector in the UK. The artist arranged for a set of newsprint papers to travel across the Atlantic Ocean with a solo sailor. During the journey the paper was exposed to the sun and thereby burned by it. In this way the sheets transformed from ‘unmarked’ surfaces into ‘unique‘ pieces of narration.
“Taking the step from Liste and selling out the booth in the first hour of the preview – then recieving positive feedback from the most prominent museums, collectors and curators is what Art Basel can deliver like no other fair.”
- Ola Gustafsson, Elastic Gallery, Stockholm
IMAGE CREDIT: Courtesy of Elastic Gallery and the artist
More verdicts from gallerists on Art Basel 2011:
“We are thrilled about the show and recorded a strong demand for works by Otto Dix, George Grosz, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Lyonel Feininger from Europe and the United States. If the quality is right, the exchange rate doesn't matter.”
- Jörg Maass, Kunsthandel Maass, Berlin
“We sold about 80 percent of the works to new collectors from Lebanon and China. The fair is surprisingly strong and there's a lot of demand for emerging artists."
- Roberto Moiraghi of Massimo De Carlo, London and Milan