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Next week’s London sales are unlikely to see the kind of fireworks that erupted during Hong Kong’s May sales, or even Phillips New York’s evening auction on Wednesday.
The market is in the midst of a shift in taste, and London is the next stage to watch this evolution play out.
Basquiat die-hards were thrilled to hear the news earlier this month that the late artist’s family was planning a first-of-its-kind exhibition of largely unseen work.
Fashionable formats like “immersive exhibitions” still rely on old-school relationships.
Decorative art sales generated a total of $814 million at auction last month, up roughly 25 percent from the equivalent total in May 2019.
Asked why it was offered without a reserve, Phillips specialist and Zurich regional director Lori Specter was uncharacteristically candid.
The gambit worked: the sculpture—part of Jeff Koons’s “Gazing Ball” series, which debuted at David Zwirner in 2013—sold for nearly $1 million.
Still, it’s unclear whether the market gods were really on the side of the seller, since the price may still represent a loss.