In May, the pace of art-market events in New York is unrelenting and unforgiving. One art fair alights after another, while galleries all over town open new exhibitions, vying for attention. All the while, the season’s marquee auctions of modern and contemporary art loom in the near distance.
Frieze New York kicked off the action last week, descending again on the venue that everyone loves to hate—the Shed—68 exhibitors strong. Despite plenty of evidence of a softening in the market for contemporary art, collectors were out in force, checkbooks in hand. Many dealers reported strong sales. Hauser and Wirth and White Cube moved a number of pictures in the high six figures, as is their wont, while plenty of more modest operations notched sales across a slightly lower end of the price spectrum.
Artnet News Pro once again has an expansive list of what sold, below. But let us first offer a few necessary disclaimers. Most prices were reported in U.S. dollars, though some works were priced in other currencies; those were converted into the world’s principal reserve currency and rounded. Where do these figures come from? Dealers, the fair, and sundry publicists. Their reports are by no means exhaustive (some gallerists still prefer a measure of discretion), and they contain only as much information as those sources were willing to share, so you will see some listings with price ranges rather than exact figures. Still, as limited as they may be, these figures offer a rare glimpse of business in the primary market.
Did collectors buy wisely? Artnet columnist Katya Kazakina has some intriguing context on the Sterling Rubys that Gagosian sold. But history is the ultimate judge of all buyers. (Bookmark this page, and return in a few years to compare prices.)
The art crowd is headed this week to the Independent and TEFAF art fairs in New York. Then, hopefully, they get a brief rest. Next week, sales (or failures) at three Manhattan venues will dominate headlines: Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s.
Kaveri Raina’s solo display at Casey Kaplan’s Frieze New York booth. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of Frieze and CKA.
PAINTINGS
$850,000: Ed Clark painting at Hauser and Wirth
$800,000: Ed Clark, Ying and Yang at White Cube
$750,000: Henry Taylor painting at Hauser and Wirth
$700,000: Glenn Ligon “canvas artwork” at Hauser and Wirth
$550,000: Each of four Sterling Ruby paintings at Gagosian
$453,000: Daniel Richter painting at Thaddaeus Ropac
$375,000: A painting by Lynne Drexler at White Cube
$350,000–$450,000: Robert Mangold paintings at Pace
$350,000: Nicolas Party triptych at Hauser and Wirth
$210,000: Pieces from Charles Gaines’s “Charleston” series at Hauser and Wirth
$175,000: Rodney Graham painting at 303 Gallery
$150,000: Nicole Eisenmann painting at Hauser and Wirth
$130,000: Joan Snyder painting at Thaddaeus Ropac
$125,000: Alex Katz oil on board at Thaddaeus Ropac
$100,000: A Lynne Drexler painting at White Cube
$100,000: Angel Otero painting at Hauser and Wirth
$80,000: Each of two paintings by Rob Pruitt at 303 Gallery
$65,000–$377,000: Martha Jungwirth paintings at Thaddaeus Ropac
$31,000: Megan Rooney at Thaddaeus Ropac
$15,000–$20,000: Hasani Sahlehe at Tif Sigrids
$10,000–$42,000: Kaveri Raina paintings at Casey Kaplan
Works by Seung-Taek Lee at Gallery Hyundai’s booth at Frieze New York. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of Frieze and CKA.
SCULPTURES
$1 million: Doris Salcedo, Disremembered XIV at White Cube
$781,000: Tony Cragg sculpture at Thaddaeus Ropac
$629,000: Antony Gormley, Retreat: Retreat at White Cube
$400,000: Jenny Holzer bench at Hauser and Wirth
$100,000: Tiona Nekkia McClodden piece at White Cube
$92,000: Each of two Jeppe Hein pieces at 303 Gallery
$90,000–$120,000: Arlene Shechet sculptures at Pace
$35,000–$100,000: More than 10 Seung-Taek Lee pieces at Gallery Hyundai
$32,000: Editions of a Thomas J. Price bronze and wood work at Hauser and Wirth
$8,200–$18,900: Holly Hendry wall-based works at Stephen Friedman Gallery
Haegue Yang’s solo display at Kukje Gallery’s Frieze New York booth. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of Frieze and CKA.
PRINTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, WORKS ON PAPER, AND OTHER PIECES
$150,000: Each of two lightboxes by Doug Aitken at 303 Gallery
$90,000: Robert Longo work at Thaddaeus Ropac
$70,000: Each of two Sylvie Fleury multimedia works at Sprüth Magers and Karma International
$50,000: Lorna Simpson collage at Hauser and Wirth
$29,000–$45,000: Haegue Yang paper collages at Kukje Gallery
$27,000: Sylvie Fleury print at Sprüth Magers and Karma International
$8,500: Each of 12 Stanley Stellar photographs at Kapp Kapp