London’s “Freize Week” is a mix of art exhibitions, fairs, lectures, and perhaps most visibly, auctions. Over the course of the festival, 1,178 lots will be offered worth some $173m. “This week is going to be a big test of the market,” said art dealer Nicholas McLean. Items to keep an eye on: Gerhard Richter’s 1982 work “Kerze (Candle),” the highlight of Christie’s sale on Friday, and Lucian Freud’s small portrait, “Head of a Boy”(1952), which leads Sotheby’s auction on Thursday.
Other works to watch include Jeff Koons’ walrus-stuck-in-a-basket sculpture, the featured item in Phillips’ auction on Wednesday. The work didn’t sell at Art Basel, where it carried a price tag of $5m. For this week’s sale, it’s estimated at $3.1-$4.7m. Another key auction of the week is Bonhams’ first “Contemporary One” event on Thursday afternoon, where the standouts will be works by Alighiero Boetti and Glenn Brown.
Read more at Financial Times.
