Apr 20, 2021
Strong market for contemporary art and design
Sculptures by Antony Gormley, Olafur Eliasson and Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg among the highlights.
This spring's contemporary auction Contemporary Art & Design offered art, prints, photography and sought-after design objects. International artists such as Antony Gormley, Olafur Eliasson, Yayoi Kusama, Donald Baechler, Banksy and Andy Warhol were represented among the highlights along with Swedish Dan Wolgers and Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg.
– It's exciting that the sculpture department represented the auction's top lots exceeding three million SEK with works by Antony Gormley, Olafur Eliasson and the famous artist duo Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg. Female Swedish artists also stood out, with Linn Fernström and Lena Cronqvist in the lead. One of my personal favourites is Yayoi Kusama's delicate work The Woman which was sold at an excellent final price. She created the artwork in 1953 when she was only 24 years old, says Louise Wrede, Specialist Contemporary Art.
– Unique for this spring's auction was some exquisite David Hockney prints. Characterised by his characteristic light and sensitive expression, they were some of the auction's absolute highlights. The two works Contrejour in the French Style and Two vases in the Louvre are what collectors are asking for right now, which the fantastic final prices are proof of, says Marcus Kinge, Specialist Prints, as a comment on the high final prices of the works that ended on 951 356 SEK respectively 700 356 SEK.
Well-known motifs by international names such as Terry O'Neill, Nick Brandt and Peter Beard were hammered high above estimate. However, it was Dan Wolger's iconic postmodern work Här slutar allmän väg that became the auction's most expensive photograph with a final price of 586 500 SEK.
– It's great to see that the conceptual Scandinavian photography went so well in today's auction! We had several fine works by Esko Männikkö, Denise Grünstein, Helena Blomqvist, Elina Brotherus and Tuija Lindström, which were popular with the bidders, says Karin Aringer, Specialist Photography, Contemporary Art.
Verstraeten & Montironi's company AP Collection was founded in 2015 to create art furniture based on the 50s and 60s models from the company Artifort. They redesigned the objects with different types of stuffed animals and furs and had them produced in small limited editions. Miss Flamingo quickly sold out at the producer and is therefore highly sought after in the auction market.
– The greatest surprise of the design department was the Miss Flamingo armchair ending up with a final price of SEK 460'000, an international record for the design duo Alexis Verstraeten & Pauline Montironi. The armchair made in 2017 can be seen as the design world's pop-art interpretation. AP Collection, Brussels had it produced in a limited edition of 30 +3 copies, says Jonatan Jahn, Specialist Design and 20th-21st Century Works of Art.
– We also see an increased interest in craftsmanship and contemporary design made out of traditional materials such as glass and ceramics. These designers have been significant to our contemporary design scene and made people starting to value arts of craft as art objects, Jonatan Jahn continues.
Swedish design with Theselius at the forefront and classic objects from Källemo show a steady interest in high-quality design. Two unique cabinets by James Krenov, Erik Höglund's luminaires and handicrafts from Mårten Medbo, Hanna Hansdotter and Matti Klenell were also popular items during the auction stage.
From left; David Hockney, 'Contrejour in the French Style'. Alexis Verstraeten & Pauline Montironi, 'Miss Flamingo'. Terry O'Neill, 'Faye Dunaway, Hollywood, 1977'
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Stockholm
Björn Extergren
Head of Consignment and Sales Department, Fine Art. Specialist Antique Furniture, Decorative Arts and Asian Ceramics
+46 (0)706 40 28 61
Stockholm
Louise Wrede
Head of Art Department, Specialist Contemporary Art, Private Sales
+46 (0)739 40 08 19
Stockholm
Karin Aringer
Head Specialist Contemporary Art and Photographs
+46 (0)702 63 70 57
Stockholm
Jonatan Jahn
Head Specialist Contemporary and Modern Design
+46 (0)703 92 88 60