10 Standout Auction Lots on Artsy This Week: April 22, 2021
In this series, Artsy’s Curatorial and Editorial teams offer a look at the auction lots we’re currently watching on Artsy. This selection includes hidden gems, popular works with the most bids, and promising lots from the latest auctions. Browse all of the auctions on Artsy, including lots by artists you follow, here.
Banksy, Girl with Balloon (2004)
Part of an edition of 600, this iconic print by Banksy is currently available at Forum Auctions’s “Only Banksy” sale, which, as the title suggests, is dedicated exclusively to works by the irreverent British street artist. The work is easily among Banksy’s best-known images—a version of Girl with Balloon stenciled onto canvas was catapulted into infamy at a 2018 Sotheby’s auction when it was shredded upon selling. With a starting bid of £120,000, this print is an exciting opportunity to collect a highly sought-after work; to put things into perspective, another edition of this print recently sold at Christie’s for £475,000 ($652,114).
Browse available works by Banksy.
Tauba Auerbach, Static X (2010)
Bids on this print by Tauba Auerbach are well on their way toward the work’s $2,500 high estimate at Artsy and Forum Auctions’s “Fine Print” sale. Part of an edition of three, plus one artist’s proof, the print is from a series of works by Auerbach exploring the patterns found in television static. The San Francisco–born, New York–based artist was originally due to have her first retrospective at SFMOMA last year, prior to the pandemic. The highly anticipated exhibition has been postponed to this coming winter.
Browse available works by Tauba Auerbach.
Nicolas Party, Blakam’s stone (lemon) (2010)
This playful sculpture by the Swiss artist Nicolas Party, a stone painted like a lemon, calls to mind the proverbial saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Available through Artsy and Forum Auctions’s “Fine Print” sale, the unique work is part of a series Party had made for a festival in Scotland. Bids have already surpassed the work’s low estimate and are likely to continue to climb. Party was recognized by Artsy as one of the most influential artists of 2020.
Browse available works by Nicolas Party.
Tschabalala Self, Wash N’ Set (Yellow) (2019)
At Bonhams’s “Contemporary Art (London)” sale, Tschabalala Self’s neon portrait of three Black women is expected to do well. The work is the third in an edition of three (plus two artist’s proofs) and is a rare opportunity to collect a work in neon by the New Haven, Connecticut–based artist whose practice is usually based in textiles, paint, and print. In late March, Self opened a major museum exhibition, “By My Self,” at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Browse available works by Tschabalala Self.
Carmen Herrera, Untitled (2013)
A particularly striking lot from Bonhams’s “Contemporary Art (London)” sale is this painting by the Cuban artist Carmen Herrera. The now 105-year-old artist didn’t sell her first work until she was 89 years old. Since then, the demand for her minimal, hard-edged abstractions has been through the roof, with works consistently breaking their high estimates.
Browse available works by Carmen Herrera.
Flora Yukhnovich, Untitled (2018)
A flurry of bids have already sent this small oil-on-paper piece by the up-and-coming British artist Flora Yukhonovich well above its £3,000 high estimate. It is one of two lots by Yukhonovich currently available at Bonhams’s “Contemporary Art (London)” auction. The second work, another untitled 2018 painting, is similarly attracting a number of bids. This excitement is indicative of the strong market already surrounding the promising young artist, who joined Victoria Miro’s roster this past January.
Browse available works by Flora Yukhonovich.
Teresita Fernández, Ghost Vines (Anthem) #2 (2008)
In her 2014 solo exhibition “As Above So Below” at MASS MoCA, Teresita Fernández presented sensory interpretations of the natural world. This painting, which is currently available as part of the museum’s annual benefit auction, continues those explorations by illustrating a trellised vine rendered spectral without its supporting structure. The work is in direct conversation with Fernández’s “Ghost Vine” sculpture series, which are made from highly polished metals.
Browse available works by Teresita Fernández.
Joan Mitchell, Untitled (1989)
One of Joan Mitchell’s later paintings, this introverted untitled 1989 work was likely informed by the late artist’s battle with cancer: “Blues pour onto the canvas, poignant, and gorgeously raw,” as described by Hindman. This deeply intimate, relatively small-scale work is currently available as part of Hindman’s “Post War and Contemporary Art” sale, where its starting bid is $250,000.
Browse available works by Joan Mitchell.
Le Corbusier, Unite (plate VII) (1953)
Bidding on this etching by Le Corbusier at Hindman’s “Prints and Multiples” sale has been through the roof. Live bidding doesn’t begin until May 5th, yet the work has already breached its $2,500 high estimate. The print is part of the French-Swiss polymath’s portfolio of 20 etchings and aquatints titled “Unité, Planche.” An homage to the Purism art movement, these works sought to simplify the severe geometric abstraction of Cubism and apply organic, elemental shapes to still lifes and portraits of women.
Browse available works by Le Corbusier.
Sanford Biggers, The Pasts They Brought with Them (2013)
This silkscreened paper collage work by the Harlem-based artist Sanford Biggers is currently available through the sale “USA for UNHCR: Art and Resilience Benefit Auction 2021.” Part of an edition of 30, the work reflects the ways in which Biggers incorporates the deep traditions of quiltmaking into his practice. Proceeds from this sale will go toward the UN’s Humanitarian Coalition in their efforts to support refugees from Syria. In addition to this auction, Biggers’s work is also currently featured as part of Monique Meloche Gallery’s presentation at EXPO Chicago’s online edition.
Article Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Teresita Fernández’s “Ghost Vines (Anthem) #2” (2008) was on view at her 2014 MASS MoCA exhibition, “As Above So Below.” The work was not included in said show. The article has since been corrected.