The New York Observer looks at the market for Anselm Kiefer that saw plenty of action this Spring:
Over the last two and a half years, his popularity has ramped up, with a dozen shows in New York, London and in Europe at galleries like White Cube, Yvon Lambert and Gagosian. The latest Kiefer show—consisting of 20 of the artist’s signature canvases exploring the theme of alchemy—opens this week at Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, in Salzburg.
But even given all of these gallery exhibitions, and some solid results in recent auctions—Christie’s set a new worldwide record of $3.6 million for the artist this May in New York and sales in London in late June saw Kiefers sell well above presale estimates—his performance on the resale market (that is, the trade in older works) has been more leaden than golden. When a leading auction house specialist who has sold some significant Kiefers was informed that almost $14 million in Mr. Kiefer’s art had publicly traded in the first half of 2011 the expert raised an eyebrow, and replied, “Really? I had no idea.”
That’s because $14 million is an impressive number in the Kiefer market. When the market for contemporary art last peaked, in 2007, Mr. Kiefer’s full-year sales shot up to $8.3 million. In 2008, they spiked to $12.3 million.
Kiefer Fever (New York Observer)
