Italian art upsets the market, collecting enters the scene and closes the London auction of Sotheby's dedicated to contemporary Italian art on 17 October last, with truly sensational results. A catalog of 49 lots for a total of 52.395 euros.
The highest result was achieved by the work Achrome by Piero Manzoni, sold for €15.872.822 against an estimate of €6,2-8,7 million, setting a new record for the artist.
Alongside Manzoni, there was a strong demand for works by Manzoni, Castellani, Bonalumi and Simeti, doubling previous records for artists. All three works came from the collection of Giobatta Meneguzzo and were sold for the benefit of his museum: the Museo Casabianca.
The second best result was for the work “superficie Bianca” by Enrico Castellani, which really seems to fly, a work that started from an estimate of 1,2-1,8 million euros and reached, to say the least… 4.749.967 euros .
Furthermore:
AGOSTINO BONALUMI with the work "NERO"
Estimate (125.710 — 188.566 EUR) Sold to (EUR 259.592)
LUCIO FOUNTAIN "SPATIAL CONCEPT - EXPECTATIONS"
Estimate (879.973 — 1.131.393 EUR) Sold to (1.962.213 EUR)
AGOSTINO BONALUMI “White”
Estimate (377.131 — 502.842 EUR) Sold to (EUR 787.576)
LUCIO FONTANA "SPATIAL CONCEPT, THEATER"
Estimate (502,842 — 754,262 EUR) Sold (EUR 531,126)
TURI SIMETI “WHITE”
Estimate(100,568 — 150,852 EUR) Sold (EUR 244,507)
PAOLO SCHEGGI “WHITE INTERSURFACE”
Estimate (150,852 — 226,279 EUR) Sold (EUR 485,871)
HENRY CASTELLANI
YELLOW SURFACE NO. 2
Estimate (565.697 — 817.118 EUR) Sold (EUR 1.330.644)
MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO “CORD”
Estimate (754.262 — 1,257.104 EUR) Sold(EUR 1.179.792)
DOMENICO GNOLI “WAIST LINE”
Estimate (2.514.208 – 3.771.312 EUR) sold (EUR 2.778.828)
ALIGHIERO BOETTI “THE THOUSAND LONGEST RIVERS IN THE WORLD (PROJECT)”
Estimate (439.986 – 691.407 EUR) sold (EUR 576.382)
LUCIO FONTANA “SPATIAL CONCEPT”
Estimate (1.257.104 — 1.885.656 EUR) Sold (EUR 1.511.667)
ALBERTO BURRI “PLASTIC WHITE”
Estimate (377.131 — 502.842 EUR) Sold (500,956 EUR)
Reporting on what was stated by Claudia Dwek, president of Sotheby's Italia, vice-president of Sotheby's Europe and head of the auction: "We are experiencing a new dawn for Italian art. Since the beginning in 1999, with the first edition of the Italian Sale – which totaled GBP 5.2 M, approximately €6.5 M – we have constantly followed the market in its growth, but with this XNUMXth edition we have made a great leap forward. We have been so lucky to be able to present works that are the dream of every collector, and the market has rewarded their quality.”
We can add that it is not an extemporaneous fact, Italian art in recent years, with the exception of a few artists, has definitely remained in the drawer without arousing real interest from collectors. Maybe now its time has really come, certainly thanks to international collecting that is appreciating its quality and all in all ... works that can still be purchased at a respectable value but certainly lower than other artists who ride international fashions and investments.
The near future? perhaps backwards towards the modern art of the '900…and those much forgotten historicized artistic works that have made the history of Italy and Europe?
For now we only find a few such as:
GIORGIO MORANDI “NATURA MORTA” estimate (817.118 — 1.068.538 EUR) Sold (938,428 EUR); MARINO MARINI “PICCOLO MIRACOLO” estimate (188.566 — 251.421 EUR) sold (304.848 EUR)…but let's wait…
Attachments: London auction video
