After the Art Fairs ,,,, let's go the Auction Houses,,,

PREVIEW at SOTHEBY"S
Mon, 31 Mar 08, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tue, 1 Apr 08, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
DATE & TIME
Session 1: Wed, 2 Apr 08, 10:00 AM, Lots 1 - 240
Session 2: Wed, 2 Apr 08, 2:00 PM, Lots 468 - 472


OVERVIEW
The spring mid-season sale of Contemporary Art, held during Armory Show week, will feature a wide range of periods and styles, from Abstract Expressionism to Contemporary Chinese Art. Among the Conceptual works on offer is a group by Richard Tuttle and featured in the Pop section are works spanning from Warhol to Pettibone. The sale presents exciting opportunities to acquire works by rising stars of the buoyant young art world, including fine works by Hernan Bas and a sampling of work by graffiti artists Banksy, Crash and Faille. In addition to Pop art celebrities like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Tom Wesselman, the sale features their appropriationists Richard Pettibone, Mike Bidlo and Louise Lawler.

There is an impressive section of photorealist works by Ron Kleeman, John Baeder and Robert Cottingham, including the latter's iconic gouache Art (est. $25,000/35,000), the cover of the catalogue. The selections offer both depth and breadth, in categories ranging from French Art Brut and American late Cubism (a precursor of Abstract Expressionism) to African American artists and contemporary trends in new realism. Highlights include a group of works by Romare Bearden, led by The Flower Girl, a superb collage estimated at $150,000/$200,000. Vasarely and Arman, from the legendary stable of Galerie Denis Rene, are represented with exciting works including Vasarely's Jatek (est. $150,000/200,000) and Arman's splendid accumulation of paint tubes, Chief's Blanket (70,000/90,000). Another highlight of the sale is Alfred Jensen's Au Debut du Printemps, 1975, in four panels (est. $70/90,000). Also from the geometric movement pioneered by the Parisian gallery is a magnificent construction by Argentine artist Luis Tomasello, Atmosphere Chromoplastique 199, estimated at $30,000/50,000. The auction offers opportunities for collectors of ultra-contemporary artists, ranging from the stylish brashness of Anselm Reyle, whose large foil-and-perspex-collaged canvas is expected to sell for $200,000/300,000, to the intimate inquiries produced by Shazia Sikander, whose small gouache on paper Plush Blush is offered with an estimate of $8,000/12,000.

AND ALSO at CHRISTIE'S
Viewing
31 March 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Overview

Since its launch in the spring of 2005, Christie's First Open sales have become a fixture on the global contemporary art circuit, providing the perfect venue for new and seasoned collectors to discover emerging artists and to explore lesser-known works by well-established names. The results show that Christie's specialists have found the exact formula to attract not only collectors but also connoisseurs of abstraction and conceptualism hunting for works not seen on the market for decades. Sales are held twice-yearly in New York.