Otto Piene and Lovis Corinth Lead Art Karlsruhe Sales

With Old Masters and Impressionist lovers swooning away at TEFAF, 220 galleries gathered in the southern Germany last week for the 11th edition of Art Karlsruhe to take in a wealth of classical modern and post-war painting. Sales followed the conservative pace but relatively high volume for which the country’s south is known—the most expensive work to grab collector interest, a 1954 Francis Bacon on offer for €12.5 million (US$17.4 million) at Berlin’s Michael Schultz wasn’t put on reserve until the fair’s very last minutes.

Zero Group artists continued to draw heavy collector interest. Dusseldorf’s Klaus Schwarzer reported selling a work by Otto Piene for an undisclosed sum in the six figures. A handful of pieces by Günther Uecker also found takers at the gallery’s stand. Munich’s Galerie Maulberger also sold a Piene for a sum “in the high five-figures.”

In the post-war sector, the Maulberger also sold Max Ackermann’s Inseln IV (1957) for €51,000 (US$71,000) and an untitled canvas by Herbert Zang from 1953 for €38,000 (US$53,000). Galerie Haas sold two sculptures by Hans Uhlmann for €38,000 each. They were from 1954 and 1958. Galerie Ludorff found a taker for a painting by K.O. Goetz—a hot commodity following his recent outing at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie—for an undisclosed sum.

Classical modern works drew keen collector interest as per usual at Art Karsruhe. At Galerie Rudolf’s booth, Lovis Corinth’s Lachenden Mädchen (1883) grabbed over €100,000, according to the FAZ. However, contemporary art was also on tap from Berliners like Galerie Kornfeld and street art specialists Circle Culture Gallery. The latter saw great interest in works by Stefan Strumbel, selling a piece on the second day of the fair for €17,000 (US$24,000).

artnet News