The final report of “Artist Spotlight” by Gago

Even the online market is growing is a fact, definitely enhanced during the lockdown. That digital sales usually do not reach very high figures is also another element now established. But if you increase the focus on a specific job, if you work focusing on quality, instead of quantity, what happens? The answer is provided by Gagosian, with   “Artist Spotlight”.  The initiative, which was launched in April in response to the COVID-19 crisis, included a single work by a different artist each week. The works, including some by Sarah Sze, Urs Fischer and Damien Hirst, made available for purchase for 48 hours, were preceded by a number of editorial functions, including videos, interviews, essays, playlists of artists and more. Notable sales include Mark Grotjahn’s 2019 Untitled (Capri 52.56) for $800,000, Damien Hirst’s Veil of Hidden Meaning (2017-18) for $2.2 million, and Arcimboldo (2019) for $775,000. But the most exciting presentation was that of Virtual (2020), an oil on canvas by Jenny Saville, whose exact figure has not been officially declared, but it is known that it was a sale “multimillion”.  Gagosian also noted that the initiative also led to the sale of additional works by many of the artists present, including a private sale of another Grotjahn painting for $5 million. Fourteen individual works were offered to the public, but nearly 50 were sold. With the reopening of the physical gallery spaces, Gagosian said he intends to continue the series “Artist Spotlight”.

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