Winter Latin American Auction Results

The big news this season for Latin American auctions was that Phillips de Pury and Co. held its very first auction of Latin American Art in New York on October 3rd and it was a successful beginning, which marks an auspicious start for Phillips de Pury in the area of Contemporary and modern Latin American Art. The sale not only included paintings and sculpture, but was also an excellent opportunity to acquire works in all areas of the field: photography, both classical and contemporary, was excellently represented with works by classics such as Manuel Alvarez Bravo and Tina Modotti, to more contemporary figures such as Flor Garduño and Luis Gonzalez Palma. The auction also dedicated an entire section to editions, which performed particularly well. More importantly, this is the first auction in New York that also incorporated design from the region and excellent pieces of furniture were offered, a growing field of interest in the international market that has been successfully presented by modern and contemporary design sales at Phillips in the past. Well known names such as the brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana were well represented with several signature pieces, but there were also great offerings from Joaquin Tenreiro and Sergio Rodrigues, Oscar Niemeyer and Jose Zanine Caldas. Good taste and refinement of selection were the landmark features of this sale. The excellent catalogue was well designed and had the bonus features of an insightful interview with artist Vik Muñiz, while an essay on fashionable collecting featured the glamorous Tiki Atencio's collection in London. Another interesting essay featured Leandro Erlich, who recently had an exhibition at MoMa's PS1 division and there was also an informative section about contemporary art exhibitions scheduled for London, Paris, New York and Mexico City. Highlights of the editions section included Alfredo Jaar¿s ¿Gold in the Morning¿ estimated at $4,000/6,000 and sold for $7,500; Diego Rivera¿s ¿El Mercado de Flores¿ which carried an estimate of $2,000/3,000 and sold for $5,625; and Guillermo Kuitca¿s ¿Teatro Suite¿ which was estimated at $3,000/5,000 and sold for $3,000; Vik Muñiz¿ ¿Sacred Ludovica, after Bernini¿ from the chocolate series had an estimate of $20,000/30,000 but soared to $42,500. In the furniture and design section¿one of the most successful of the entire auction¿the Campana brothers¿ ¿Cartoon Chair,¿ estimated at $45,000/55,000, realized a solid $47,500 and their ¿Vitoria Regia stool¿ had an even bigger success, far surpassing the estimated $8,000/12,000 and selling for $21,250; another ¿Vitoria Regia stool,¿ smaller and pink in color also went far beyond the estimated $5,000/7,000 for a total of $16,250. The Campana ¿Azul¿ chair from 1993, made largely with woven ropes, carried an estimate of $3,000/4,000 and sold very well for $10,000, and the ¿Anemone¿ chair, estimated at $4,000/6,000 also surpassed the estimate to realize $6,875. Leandro Erlich¿s ¿Shattering Door¿ from 2009 was a sculpture-installation that attracted a lot of attention during the viewing, which resulted in furious bidding that took the estimated $35,000/45,000 to a higher level when it sold for $52,500. Adriana Varejao¿s minimalist diptych ¿Monocromo Branco # 3 and # 4¿ from 2001-2002 had been estimated at $25,000/35,000 but soared to $110,500 after tough competition from several phone bidders that would not give up. Ernesto Neto¿s ¿Apolo 3¿ was another success of the evening when the estimated $35,000/45,000 were easily surpassed and it totaled $62,500. Another Brazilian sculptor, Tunga, also scored a success when his ¿Exogenous Axis¿ from 2000 which had been estimated at $40,000/50,000 and sold at the high estimate for $50,000. Candida Hoffer¿s ¿Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires¿ from 2006, an image of the school¿s old fashioned, wood paneled library had been estimated at $60,000/80,000 and realized $72,100. At Sotheby¿s a very attractive Carrington, ¿Le Gra...