Loic Gouzer says he doesn’t like hyperbole. He also says on Instagram this morning that he will be selling a Kazimir Malevich composition from 1916 with an $70m estimate (Christie’s .
This work bought by David Nahmad at Sotheby’s in November of 2008 for $60m just as the global financial crisis was gathering momentum is now coming back to the market at Christie’s. Loic Gouzer posted the image on Instagram with an $80m estimate. The work was sold in 2008 after being restituted to Malevich’s heirs.
It is not entirely clear whether the Nahmads are the consignors of the work at Christie’s. Nor is the $60m price from a decade ago a reasonable benchmark considering the gloaming conditions for global liquidity in November 2008. It is significant that the Nahmad family were able to purchase the work as something of buyers of last resort.
The art market cycle has come fully through from the trough to another seeming market peak.
News and press release should follow from Christie’s shortly:
Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Composition, 1916 aka the big bang or the ground zero of modernism. This is by far the most important and groundbreaking work, from an art historical point of view, I had the privilege of working on in my entire career. Malevich as an artist opened single-handily the pandora box of modernism and abstraction as we know it today. Without him forget Rothko, Newmann and Co and even all the artist who rebelled against his core principle such as Pollock, Dekoonng and Co. Had he not existed the face of the art creation post 20’s until today would be far different and probably far less interesting. Trust me I am not a fan of superlatives, I am just paraphrasing every single art historical books I read when I was at university (I used to understand them back then). This is not a just a Malevich this is THE best Malevich full stop ( I also remember studying this exact work in my art history lesson at University College London), this work is better perhaps that anyone in any museum or private collection in the world. I am not a big fan of the words priceless or masterpiece but if this is not the case then my name is Rosie. A work like this one should be the corner stone of every major collection or museum and if the market was indexed to the art historical importance of works, then this should be a billion $ painting ( although we as specialist have to sadly take into account the laws of gravity and the estimate will be in the region on $70m)
