The thirtieth anniversary version of the Armory Present marked the start of the autumn season in New York, and that signifies that college is formally again in session, as sellers and collectors are fond of claiming.
For the reason that Frieze’s acquisition of the Armory Present and Expo Chicago, there was speak of an artwork honest conglomerate pulling itself aside on the seams. Frieze Seoul, which takes place similtaneously Armory Present, is a significant draw for galleries hoping to capitalize on the bourgeoning—and nonetheless evolving—Asian market.
As previously few editions, not one of the galleries known as “the megas”—David Zwirner, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and Tempo Gallery—took half. Nonetheless, heavy-hitting collectors, tastemakers, and market observers had been noticed promenading the aisles, air kissing and handshaking their buddies whereas additionally, in fact, evaluating the products on provide.
MoMA director Glenn D. Lowry, Sotheby’s High quality Artwork division chairman Amy Cappellazzo, and curator Cecilia Alemani had been current, as had been collectors resembling Agnes Gund, the Mugrabis, and the Rubells. Celebrities resembling David Byrne and an ageless Paul Rudd had been additionally current.
The mega-galleries usually convey the most costly works to those gala’s, and their lack meant that few works right here offered at values above the million-dollar mark. However collectors generally search for the best high quality at a the appropriate worth, and that makes lower-value works price surveying, too. Listed below are a handful of the works that offered on the Armory Present’s VIP preview day.
-
Walton Ford at Kasmin
Picture Credit score: Courtesy Kasmin On the heels of a present on the Morgan Library earlier this 12 months, Walton Ford’s five-foot-tall watercolor The Singer Tract (2023) offered for $750,000. The richness of the work betrays the medium right here: gold, brown and amber hues radiate from the canvas in a means not often seen in watercolors. On the fashionable aspect of issues, the gallery additionally offered Robert Motherwell’s Apse (1980–84) for $825,000 in addition to works by Sara Anstis, Jan-Ole Schiemann, and Emil Sands.
-
Lynne Drexler at Berry Campbell
Picture Credit score: ©The Lynne Drexler Archive/Courtesy Berry Campbell, New York The Chelsea-based gallery Berry Campbell offered a never-before-seen portray by Lynne Drexler, Autumn Twilight (1977) for $450,000. Regardless of her being typically lesser-known, Drexler’s market has reached file highs previously two years, with certainly one of her work even promoting for $1.38 million at public sale final 12 months. It appears as if there’s nonetheless a variety of curiosity in her artwork. Berry Campbell, which makes a speciality of artwork by feminine painters of the postwar period, additionally offered Yvonne Thomas’s Blue Inexperienced (1964) for $125,000 and Nanette Carter’s Cantilevered #14 (2014) for $22,000.
-
Lee Bae at Johyun Gallery
Picture Credit score: Courtesy Johyun Gallery The Busan-based Johyun Gallery offered three charcoal works by the South Korean artist Lee Bae ranging in worth from $90,000 to $300,000. Lee’s work has been in demand this 12 months. Throughout Frieze New York, Perrotin offered out of its solo sales space of Lee’s artwork, with costs starting from $75,000 to $230,000. The artist was additionally featured in a Venice Biennale–adjoining exhibition and, maybe extra importantly (relying in your age demo), his work was seen in a YouTube video in regards to the artwork assortment of RM, the 29-year-old chief of the Korean pop group BTS. Johyun additionally reported promoting a portray by Lee Kwangho within the vary of $30,000 to $40,000, an oil on canvas work by Kang Kang-Hoon for a worth between $25,000 and $35,000.
-
Lita Albuquerque at Michael Kohn Gallery
Picture Credit score: Picture Karl Puchlik/Courtesy Michael Kohn Gallery The Los Angeles–primarily based Michael Kohn Gallery reported promoting two Lita Albuquerque work, one for $75,000, the opposite for $95,000. Albuquerque is simply one of many gallery’s strong roster of established West Coasters, amongst them Joe Goode and Sharon Ellis, in addition to the estates of Wallace Berman, John Altoon and Martha Alf. The gallery additionally offered works from their rising roster of early and mid-career artists, together with two oil work by Nir Hod for $95,000 and $140,000, an Alicia Adamerovich portray for $55,000, and a William Brickel portray for $10,000.
-
Sam Moyer at Sean Kelly
Picture Credit score: Courtesy Sean Kelly Compound Fern (2024), a piece that includes marble and acrylic on plaster-coated canvas, offered for $70,000 at Sean Kelly’s sales space. The work is from the artist’s “Clippings” collection, which exhibits how remarkably shut one can come to conventional portray and drawing practices whereas additionally making use of non-traditional supplies like marble. The gallery additionally offered a number of works by Hugo McCloud priced at $30,000 every and two prints by Jose Dávila for $65,000 every.
-
Doug Aitken at 303 Gallery
Picture Credit score: © Rob Pruitt/Picture Justin Craun/Courtesy 303 Gallery, New York New York stalwart 303 Gallery discovered properties for 2 works by Rob Pruitt at $175,000 every. The gallery additionally offered three works by Sam Falls within the vary of $70,000 to $90,000 every, a portray by Hans-Peter Feldmann for $77,000, and three editions of a 2019 work by Jeppe Hein known as YOU ARE AMAZING JUST THE WAY YOU ARE (handwritten). The Hein works had been comprised of powder-coated aluminum, blue neon tubes, two-way mirroring, powder-coated metal, and transformers, and offered for $49,980 every. A sculpture by Alicja Kwade additionally went for $33,000.