Miami Top Five: First Big-Ticket Sales at Art Basel Miami Beach and Who Will Buy a $30m Picasso?
3 min read · 05 Dec 2024
Visitors arriving at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024. Copyright and courtesy of Art Basel
The mood music is as buzzy as the carpet leading to Art Basel Miami Beach, which opened its doors to invited collectors on Wednesday, December 4 but the tempo of deal making was far from frantic and gallerists, including even Larry Gagosian, noted that the VIPs were taking their time rather than snapping up works. That said, a number of leading dealers reported significant early sales of works by their in-demand artists.
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Works by Robert Rauschenberg (Ropac) and Noah Davis (Zwirner) were among the lead seven-figure opening day deals at Art Basel Miami Beach but uber dealer Larry Gagosian noted "slower movement" by VIP collectors, The Art Newspaper reports
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Aquavella is presenting a painting by Picasso with a $30m asking price, impressing financier Leon Black, reports Artnet News, which listed opening day sales of works by David Hammons (Hauser and Wirth) and Wangechui Muti (Gladstone) among others.
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By the end of Wednesday’s VIP day, blue-chip galleries reported strong sales and ABMB "has its energy back", ART News reports, with collectors snapping up a $3.5m Yayoi Kusama (David Zwirner) and a $2.2m Nicholas Party work (Xavier Hufkens).
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Reports of early sales at NADA and Untitled Art slowly trickled in, writes Observer. Margot Samel sold 11 of Cathleen Clarke’s paintings priced ($9,000-$20,000) at NADA while Fridman Gallery sold several paintings by Will Maxen ($1,300-$7,500) at Untitled.
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Ester Kim Varet, the founder of ambitious LA-based gallery, Various Small Fires, present works by A’Driane Nieves and Sarah Rosalena, both of whom are making their Miami debut, reports The New York Times.
Acrobats by Keith Haring sold for $306,000. Image courtesy of Phillips
In other news
Sharjah: The curator and Sharjah Biennial director Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi tops the 23rd annual ArtReview Power 100. Rirkrit Tiravanija (2) and Steve McQueen (4) also made the top ten.
London: "Gerhard Richter: The Overpainted Photographs, A Comprehensive Catalogue", a six-volume edition of a body of work the artist began creating in the mid-1980s, is published by HENI. The work includes contributions by leading curator Hans Ulrich Obrist among others.
Market: Keith Haring's Acrobats, which sold for 35% above estimate, led Phillips $3.9m 'New Now: Modern & Contemporary' auction. For all the highlights, see the HENI News report
"'I gave up teaching and became the gallery’s first full-time employee. From there, life just took over. Iwan and I fell in love. We became partners in business and life,' recalls Manuela Wirth, as she looks forward to opening a art-filled restaurant in SoHo, New York."
- W Magazine
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