$6 M. Philip Guston Leads Day-One Basel Sales (That We Heard About)

With the first VIP day of Art Basel 43 now over, we’ve reached out to a handful of dealers to ask what they’ve been selling.

We’ve copied the formatting from our various sources, since people answered the question in different ways, and in different currencies. This is to be considered “raw data,” as it were, so as with the fair, caveat emptor!

Sprüth Magers:

Sterling Ruby

EXHM (3685), 2012
Collage and urethaneon cardboard
Sold for USD 95,000 to a European Collector

Rosemarie Trockel
Untitled, 1986
Wool
Sold for 380,000 EUROS to a European Collector

Hauser & Wirth:

A Philip Guston
oil on canvas
Orders, 1978
Sold for USD 6 million to a European private collection

A Louise Bourgeois mixed media sculpture
Arched Figure, 1993
Sold for USD 2 million to a European private collection

A Paul McCarthy wooden sculpture in black walnut
White Snow and Prince on Horse (working title), 2012
Sold for USD 1.8 million
The gallery sold all three editions of Thomas Houseago’s bronze wall pieces (TBC, Mask Panel), 2012
For USD 175,000 each

David Zwirner:

Bruce Nauman – price not for publication
Neo Rauch – $850K asking price
Luc Tuymans – $600k
Mamma Andersson – $380k
Toba Khedoori – $250k
Francis Alys – $120k
Tomma Abts – $120k
Suzan Frecon – $100k
Carol Bove (peacock feathers) – 2, each at $75k each
Raymond Pettibon – $400k

And then we have sold a few other things, have a few other major works on reserve, and will re-hang the booth with different works tomorrow or Thurs.

 

Pace Gallery:

Pace had strong day, with works by diverse artists (young, midcentury, Asian, American) selling quickly.

Some highlights include:

– Claes Oldenburg’s bronze “Clothespin,” (1974) a maquette for his major public sculpture in Philadelphia ($600,000)
– a new painting by Zhang Xiaogang ($450,000)
– a small-scale Agnes Martin painting (1961) for over $1,000,000
– a new fluorescent light installation by Robert Irwin ($350,000)
– a small black-and-white John Chamberlain from 2006 ($300,000)
– a painting from Adam Pendleton’s Black Dada series
– two new works by Raqib Shaw ($125,000 apiece)
– a Richard Tuttle wall piece from 2001 ($150,000)

Lehmann Maupin:

ANGEL OTERO – Sold to a collector based in Israel
“Bacchus, Dionysus” (after Poussin), 2012
oil paint and oil paint skins collaged on canvas
76 x 98 x 4.5 inches
193 x 248.9 x 11.4 cm
Works of this size and nature start at $30.000.00

ROBIN RHODE – Sold to a collector in Switzerland
Pots, 2012
9 photographs
9 works, each: 15.67 x 23.62 inches
39.8 x 60 cm
Together: 50.15 x 74 inches
127.4 x 188 cm
Edition of 5
Works of this size and nature start at €50,000.00

ROBIN RHODE – Sold to a collector in New York
School of Fish, 2012
9 photographs
9 works, each: 15.67 x 23.62 inches
39.8 x 60 cm
Together: 50.15 x 74 inches
127.4 x 188 cm
Edition of 5
Works of this size and nature start at €50,000.00

MICKALENE THOMAS – Sold to a collector in New York
Portrait of Lili, 2012
rhinestone, acrylic, enamel and oil on panel
60 x 48 inches
152.4 x 121.9 cm
Works of this size and nature start at $55,000.00

HERNAN BAS – Sold to a collector in New York
Tartini’s Dream (The Devil’s Trill), 2012
acrylic, airbrush, and block print on linen
108 x 96 inches
274.3 x 243.8 cm
Works of this size and nature start at $150,000.00

SHIRAZEH HOUSHIARY – Sold to a collector in New York
Dim Dazzle, 2011
pencil and pigments, black aquacryl on canvas and aluminum
27.56 x 27.56 inches
70 x 70 cm
Works of this size and nature start at £50,000.00

TERESITA FERNÁNDEZ – Sold to a collector in Michigan
Nocturnal (Aurora), 2011
solid graphite on wood panel
3 panels, each: 8 x 16 inches
20.3 x 40.6 cm
overall: 8 x 48 inches
20.3 x 121.9 cm
Works of this size and nature start at $50,000.00

MICKALENE THOMAS – Sold to a collector in Switzerland
Hair Portrait Series #6, 2012
rhinestone and acrylic on panel
TBC: 4 panels, each: 24 x 20 inches
61 x 50.8 cm
overall: 48 x 40 inches
121.9 x 101.6 cm
Works of this size and nature start at $48,000.00

And here are a few tidbits from Benjamin Genocchio’s early report for Blouin Artinfo.

Things sold extremely quickly. It took less than two hours for Marian Goodman to sell Gerhard Richter’s “Strip (922-1)” (2011) for an undisclosed sum. Nearby, L&M Arts had a fabulous Frank Stella painting from 1967 that went for around $2 million. Karsten Greve sold a Twombly, a Fontana, and a Chamberlain all before lunch.

And over at Gagosian, he reports, booth jockeys were quick to tell the crowds that most of his stock of Picassos, Hirsts and Warhols are not for sale.