What does the art of our time look like? Art Basel’s first standalone online viewing room, which presented works made exclusively in 2020, offered a timely snapshot of how artists are processing current events.

Titled “OVR:2020,” the viewing room featured 100 galleries from 28 countries—a slimmer affair than previous viewing rooms that served as substitutes for IRL fairs. The online event, which ran from September 23 through 26, was also the first for which Art Basel charged galleries a fee to participate. The next iteration, called OVR:20c, will be held at the end of October and focus on work from the 20th century.

This event yielded considerably fewer reported sales than previous iterations, though it’s not quite clear whether that’s because viewing-room fatigue has set in; collectors are opting to transact off the Basel platform; or galleries are simply keeping their cards close to the vest. Still, some collectors do seem to be warming up to the idea of perusing art from the comfort of home. Single-artist presentations were successful for galleries including François Ghebaly, which sold out its entire selection of works by portrait painter Ludovic Nkoth, and Jack Shainman, which found eager buyers for Paul Anthony Smith’s mixed-media photography.

Below, we’ve rounded up a selection of reported sales. Keep in mind that while transparency has improved with online viewing rooms, which encourage the posting of prices, some dealers occasionally offer inflated figures, while others prefer to report ranges or “asking prices.” As always, take it with a grain of salt.

PAINTINGS

Katherine Bradford, Mother’s Lap (2020). Courtesy of the artist and CANADA.

$360,000: Pat Steir’s Untitled X 2020 (Taipei) (2020) at Lévy Gorvy

$120,000: Angel Otero, Painter’s Bath (2020) at Lehmann Maupin

$60,000–90,000 each: Six new paintings by Katherine Bernhardt at Xavier Hufkens

$50,000–100,000: Mandy El Sayegh, Net-Grid (strike) (2020) at Lehmann Maupin

$45,000: Katherine Bradford’s Mothers Lap at CANADA

$38,000: Xylor Jane, Snowglobe (2020) at CANADA

$25,000–50,000: Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Dance in Heat II (2020) at Morán Morán

SCULPTURES, MIXED MEDIA, & INSTALLATIONS

Leonardo Drew, Number 245 (2020). Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Lelong & Co.

$95,000: Leonardo Drew, Number 245 (2020) at Galerie Lelong & Co.

$24,000: Samuel Levi Jones, Skewed (2020) at Galerie Lelong & Co.

$12,000 each: Camille Blatrix’s wood marquetry Dogs and Wolves (2020) and You have the Moon (2020) at Balice Hertling, Paris

$8,500: Rachel Eulena Williams, Mars Black (2020) at CANADA

PHOTOGRAPHS, PRINTS, & WORKS ON PAPER

Ludovic Nkoth, Blood on the Leaves (2020). Courtesy François Ghebaly.

$180,000 each: Paintings on washi paper by Sam Gilliam at David Kordansky

$125,000: Mickalene Thomas, Jet Blue #14 (2020) at Lévy Gorvy

$10,000–50,000: Paul Anthony Smith, Magnificent Fields (2020) at Jack Shainman

$9,000: Ludovic Nkoth’s Blood on the Leaves at François Ghebaly

$5,000–10,000 each: Three works on paper by Tunji Adeniyi-Jones at Morán Morán

$2,500–10,000 each: Works on transparency and a video installation by Jibade-Khalil Huffman at Anat Ebgi