See Paul Klee at Fondation Beyeler on Vernissage TV: Fondation Beyeler is showing 100 works from all periods of Paul Klee’s career, including rarely exhibited works, with an emphasis on his abstract works. The show at Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland is on view until January 21, 2018. …>
Snapchat is launching a collaboration with Jeff Koons: Apparently the new augmented reality project leaked before today’s announcement. You can see the page here when it is live. …
Never Too Early to Look Forward to the Next Fair: Edward Tyler Nahem announces its FIAC show (Grand Palais, Paris, Oct 19-22nd) “an exhibition of important paintings, works on paper, and sculpture from artists of the Pop Art era, including Alex Katz, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselmann at FIAC’s 2017 edition. …
Frieze from Instagram: Michael Rosenfeld has a booth full of African American artists to coincide with the Tate’s Soul of a Nation show, including this Alma Thomas … Gallery Hyundai has a solo show of Lee Kun-Yong at Frieze Masters … Lee Bul is featured at Lehmann Maupin … Metro Pictures has Gary Simmons … Hank Willis Thomas is at Ben Brown Fine Arts. …
Bonhams Images of Devotion Sale in Hong Kong makes $9m: The standing 11th century Crowned Kurkihar Buddha, a canonical image in Buddhist art, from Collection FKH, USA, reached the highest auction price at HK$21,900,000 (US$2,329,600) The sale made more than HK$72,235,000 (US$9,102,080).…
Sotheby’s has released some early numbers from their Autumn 2017 sales cycle. The total is $404 m against a low estimate of $309m and an 86% sell-through rate on lots. That represents a 42% increase over th previous year’s sales.
This being Sotheby’s, we’re also treated to the mostly irrelevant “online” sales stats:
- 25% Increase in Online Bidders With 12% of All Lots Sold to Online Buyer
Some of the highlights selected by Sotheby’s press team include the Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild (679-2), 1988 (above) which sold for $6.3 million among a number of other Western artists who sold well in Hong Kong further demonstrating the growth of a few ‘global’ artists.
Among the items that stood out during the sales were:
- Li Keran’s Magnificent Mountains with Gushy Cascades, 1978 Sold for $15.6 million
- Yun Gee’s Wheels: Industrial New York, 1932 Sold for $13.5 million
- Fu Baoshi, Trekking over Mountains in Moonlight Sold for $11.9 million
- Very Rare and Impressive Ruby and Diamond Ring, Designed and Mounted by BHAGAT Sold for $10.5 million
- A Rare and Important Imperial White Jade and Cloisonné Enamel Ram-Head Teapot & Cover Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period Sold for $9.7 million
- An Extremely Fine and Rare Blue and White ‘Bajixiang’ Bowl and Cover Marks and Period of Xuande Sold for $6.6 million
- An Exceptional Blue and White ‘Makara’ Jar Mark and Period of Xuande Sold for $4.5 million
- An Outstanding and Extremely Rare Gilt-Bronze Dancing Figure of Tara Pitti Uddiyana Incised Mark and Period of Xuande Sold for $3.8 million
- A Fine, Superb and Rare Blue and White ‘Fruit’ Meiping Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period Sold for $3.5 million
- A Sapphire Tonneau-Form Skeletonized Tourbillon Wristwatch RM56-02 by Richard Mille Sold for $1.9 million