How did the most important art fair in the world go (online)?
The Basel edition of Art Basel held online also closed its virtual doors a few hours ago. With what results?
The virtual fair, which opened with the Vip preview on June 17, presented works for a total value of $ 740 million: a value that if compared with that of the previous edition on the web in March (of $ 270 million), leaves well understand how the confidence of retailers has grown towards the online fair.
The booth nicknamed “Celebrating Basel Basel” by Hauser & Wirth sold numerous works including its absolute novelty, a painting by Mark Bradford, The Press of Democracy (2020), sold for $ 5 million. Among the sales of the Swiss gallery, a series of 36 prints from 2007 by Louise Bourgeois closed for $ 1.5 million as well as George Condo’s Diagonal Evolution (2020) work sold for 1.4 million.
David Zwirner recorded his online sales record with Jeff Koons sculpture Balloon Venus Lespugue (Red) (2013–2019) purchased for $ 8 million. Other sales include Kerry James Marshall’s 2015 Untitled (Blot) ink painting, purchased from an American museum for $ 3 million. Joan Mitchell’s Pastel paper (1991) and a painting by Josef Albers were sold for 1 million each.
Gagosian sold Jia Aili’s new painting, Mountain and Line (2020) for $ 350,000; a work by Mary Weatherford, Heaven’s Gate (2020) for 310 thousand dollars; an untitled painting by Katharina Grosse from 2020 for 195 thousand dollars; and Sarah Sze’s painting, Still Dusk (2020) for $ 85,000 plus many others.
Anthony Meier Fine Arts, among other works, sold one work by Donald Judd and one by Sol Lewitt, respectively 1987’s Untitled (87-33) for $ 1.85 million and the 1972 Progressive Spiral sculpture for $ 225,000.
Good results also for two Italian artists: the Lévy Gorvy gallery sold Enrico Castellani’s silver surface from 2006, which for being a work of the late period of the artist was sold at a good price, equal to 150 thousand dollars, while the gallery Bortolami sold Claudio Parmiggiani’s Untitled of 2019 for 65 thousand dollars.
