Hunger for big ticket items at Art Basel Miami Beach continues at a steady tick after the whopping sale on Tuesday of the Richard Diebenkorn painting, “Man Drawing” from 1956, which sold for five million dollars from Acquavella Gallery.
The gallery also sold Zeng Fanzhi’s appropriately themed beach scene of a man in a purple suit walking a black dog, “Untitled (Mask Series)” from 1998 “for a couple of million bucks,” according to Nick Acquavella.
Richard Diebenkon's "Man Drawing" (1956)
Zeng Fanzhi's "Untitled (Mask Series)" (1998)
At Galerie Gmurzynska’s Zaha Hadid-designed stand, Yves Klein’s petite “IKB 93” in the artist’s patented blue pigment and synthetic resin laid on panel from 1961 sold somewhere in range of the $4.5 million asking price.
The Zurich-based gallery also sold another Klein, “SE 250” (1959-60), similarly composed of the pigment IKB, with sponge and synthetic resin, for a figure near the $900,000 asking price. Though it didn’t make seven figures, it still rates a mention.
New York dealer and Latin American art specialist Mary-Anne Martin sold a stunning Rufino Tamayo painting, “New Moon” from 1951 and measuring 40 by 31 inches to a South American collector for around $1.3 million.
Rufino Tamayo's "New Moon"(1951)
Continuing the seven figure amble through the fair, New York’s Christophe van de Weghe sold Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 77 by 119-½-inch collaboration painting, “Fuck you, Dentures” (1985) for $1.8 million.
Van de Weghe still had high hopes for selling other big ticket items, including a 90 inch span Alexander Calder mobile from 1956 for $2.85 million and a Gerhard Richter abstract for $1.85 million. “They’re priced to sell,” claimed the dealer.
New York’s Helly Nahmad, one of the younger members of the famed Nahmad art trading empire, sold a stunning Joan Miro bronze sculpture “Tete” from 1974 — identified as number four from the edition of six casts — for somewhere in the neighborhood of the $1.8 million asking price.
Joan Miro's “Tete” (1974)
Though the gallery wasn’t betting the store on a sale of this magnitude, New York/London/Madrid’s Marlborough Gallery waggishly displayed Francis Bacon’s fearsome “Man at Wash Basin” from 1989, measuring a hefty 78 by 58 ½ inches, and contained behind the artist dictated glass and gold frame.
The asking price? Eighteen million dollars (U.S.).
The weekend traffic may bring out more seven-figure results.
It’s wonderful that some art work is going for $18,000.000 but ” did the creator of that art ever get his hands on eighteen million?” I would dare to say absolutely not. This is all a grand marketing scheme initiated by the galleries and the wealthiest 1% for its them that want to own a piece of history and an artist with credentials and name recognition in the envy game to impress others with their stature and wealth. A phase of the “ME” generation that continues to chug along for the very priviledged and moneyed. I’ve been painting for over 40 years and have had very good years to make a modest living but as of late my larger works cannot even fetch $8,000.00 even though they are exquisite pieces, I have many nibbles and favorable reviews but when it comes to the final sale the pocket book closes shut.
For the biggest majority of fine artists its a constant struggle to try and catch a glimpse of the limelight, we for the most part become good regional artist with the occasional flirtation of being accepted in New York. It takes good smoozing ability and tremendous PR backing and seed money with a pedigree to get a look. While artists such as “Koons” and others can put out any crap they want and demand the highest prices, which the moneyed crowd would gladly pay..
Its an insane world, but for me I just keep on working and discovering.