Super Super Insights #1

Ed Ruscha Say What, 2008, Christie's, Estimate: $180,000 - 250,000

Market: Art fair & auction season in full bloom

Art fair season is up and running, with the trifecta of FRIEZE London, Paris+ and Artissima all opening throughout October. Following those three in Europe, we have notably the OG of all art fairs, ART COLOGNE set to open in mid-November, followed by Art Basel Miami Beach in the first week of December.

Artissima, Turin, 2023

The fall season is also the time of the second and final auction season of the calendar year. Kicking off in the second week of November in New York, the results very much serve as a bellwether for the health of the art market. With several commentators and industry professionals suggesting the upcoming ‘correction’ of prices, we’re eagerly anticipating how the three major auction houses (Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips) do in New York next week. Of course, markets often operate cyclically, and therefore despite the potential for an impending recession in 2024, this may well be a very good reason to buy in the next 12 months, as galleries and auction houses allow for less competition in acquiring desirable works of contemporary art.

In this inaugural edition of Super Super Insights for our Premium members, we’re breaking down for you: What we’re looking at in the primary sector, focussing on 5 emerging artists whose work we’re currently excited about. With the fall auctions about to kick off, we then explore lot highlights and our views on the buoyancy of the (secondary) art market. Finally, we list three things that you should mark down in your calendar to visit in 2023 and 2024.

Thanks so much for being a part of our Premium community, we can’t wait to share 2024 with you ❤️

Primary: 5 artists that we currently have our eyes on

Over the past months, we observed a growing number of recent art graduates that are either being picked up by major galleries or having solo exhibitions at influential institutions across the globe. Here are 5 artists all born after 1987 that are not to be overlooked. Their practices vary from painting to performance, photography or installation. If any of them peak your interest, we’d love to share more information on their recent exhibitions and available works with you here.

1. Leyla Yenirce

Fresh from graduating the HFBK Hamburg in 2022, Kurdish-born Leyla Yenirce (*1992) already had institutional exhibitions at the Kunsthaus Hamburg and Haus der Kunst in Munich. Following the announcement of her representation by the venerable Berlin-based gallery Capitain Petzel, Yenirce is set to open her solo show Ich krieg Geschwindigkeit there next month. The young painter, performer and installation artist is one to watch and with her large impressionistic, abstract canvases, she already seems to be making waves.

Leyla Yenirce Schwimmen, 2023

2. Nika Kutateladze

The Tbilisi-native (*1989) will open his first solo-show at Stuart Shave / Modern Art (London) in January. His dark and allegorically-heavy panels and immersive installations have shown us that he is not afraid to re-imagine what an exhibition might look like, if one were to step inside his world. Kutateladze is an exciting prospect that we were lucky enough to show – for the first time ever in Germany – in Moving in.

Nika Kutateladze My Neighbor is a House, Artbeat, Tbilisi, 2023

3. Ian Waelder

Ian Waelder (*1993) opened a solo museum show on October 20, just a few months after graduating and receiving the graduate prize from the esteemed Städelschule in Frankfurt. In his native Spain, the show even in a language that is not your own at Es Baluard Contemporary Art Museum (Mallorca) is bold and fearless for an emerging artist, turning the museum into a cardboard maze that visitors were led through.

Ian Waelder Even in a language that is not your own, Es Baluard Museu, Palma, 2023

4. Oscar Yi Hou

Born in Liverpool in 1998, British-Asian artist Yi Hou recently had a solo exhibition East of sun, west of moon at The Brooklyn Museum, following a show at James Fuentes in his adopted city of New York. Channelling themes of the underground gay scene, reminiscent of the late and celebrated Martin Wong, we feel this talent is on the cusp of something big.

Oscar Yi Hou East of sun, west of moon, The Brooklyn Museum, New York, 2022

5. Rebecca Ackroyd

2023 marks a big year for Rebecca Ackroyd (*1987), with two back to back institutional shows at the MAC Lyon and the highly respected Kestner Gesellschaft. Ackroyd curated our second-ever physical exhibition The other side of the door in May 2022, and we have been big admirers of her practice that incorporates cast semi-figurative sculptures, which are haunting as much as they are beguiling. Her paintings and pastel works on paper are equally impressive and we feel that her career is shifting up a gear in a promising direction that can’t be ignored.

Rebecca Ackroyd Shutter Speed, Musée d'art contemporain, Lyon, 2023

Secondary: A make or break auction season on the horizon

On November 7, New York auction season will kick off with Christie’s opening their 20/21st Century Art Sales. Much of the market’s health will be judged on the fall auction results across all the three major auction houses:

Christie’s: 20th/21st Century Art November sales in New York (November 7 – 11)

Christie's upcoming auction presents a noteworthy showcase of exceptional works. No stone is left unturned here with star names across the contemporary sector: Henry Taylor, Jenna Gribbon, Matthew Wong, Issy Wood, Jadé Fadojutimi. In the 20th Century / Post war sector, masters like Francis Bacon, Willem De Kooning, Pablo Picasso, Joan Mitchell and Cy Twombly are all present.

John Currin Nice 'N Easy, 1999, Christie's, Estimate: $7,000,000 - 10,000,000

One of the standout pieces at Christie’s is John Currin's Nice 'N Easy from 1999. This series of paintings really brought him a broader audience and acclaim at the time – Nice ‘N Easy is part of a nude series that struck a chord with collectors and curators alike. Previously, it set Currin's auction record at $12 million in November 2016, against an estimate of $12-18 million. This time, Nice 'N Easy returns with a more modest estimate of $7-10 million, reflecting a cooler market. The outcome of this sale will be telling – A poor result could offer us some insight into the market's perception of this era of artists.

As spotted on Artnet, recent sales including a Christopher Wool piece, which dropped from $17 million in 2017 to $8 million in May, and works by Rudolf Stingel and Mark Grotjahn selling at substantial discounts, suggest a preference for emerging artists, rediscovered masters, and blue-chip painters like Picasso and Warhol among collectors.

Of those emerging artists, notable estimates and names include Issy Wood, Ilana Savdie, Jenna Gribbon, Jadé Fadojutimi, and Anna Weyant, all offering us a clear desire and appetite for young female painters. Let’s see how they fare.

Phillips: 20th Century & Contemporary Art sales in New York (November 14 & 15)

Phillips offers up some notable younger positions, as is the new norm, with many works having only left the primary market a few years before! We're taking note of a beautiful Lois Dodd work from the 80s, works by Ilana Savdie, and British-Caribbean artist Denzil Forrester whose work has been garnering more and more attention these past 2 years.

Denzil Forrester Dub Salute, 1983, Phillips, Estimate: $50,000 - 70,000

Sotheby’s: The New York Sales (November 8 – 16)

The stand out sale at Sotheby’s is on November 8th – The Emily Fisher Landau Collection Sale, expected to make north of $500M at auction. Passing away at 102 this year, she left behind some modern masterpieces that have never before come under the hammer: Notably, Picasso’s Femme à la montre, 1932. Apart from that, more less all big blue chip names are featured in the Sotheby’s New York Sales. Are there any surprises? Our eyebrows are raised for the inclusion of Liverpool born, Brooklyn-based painter, Oscar Yi Hou’s portrait that is estimated at $30-40K.

Pablo Picasso Femme à la montre, 1932, Sotheby's, Estimate: Upon Request

3 things to add to your calendar

1. Paris

Paris in 2023 has announced itself as the in vogue city to be in, when it comes to collecting and viewing contemporary art. This month with Paris+ opening alongside Paris Internationale, the emerging art fair, Paris was the city where all the major blue chips pulled out the stops in announcing big ticket exhibitions to open in time for the fair. So far, Paris 1, London 0. Other than the touring blockbuster Philip Guston exhibition at Tate Modern and arguably Sarah Lucas at Tate Britain, Paris had the following shows that really caught the attention of the art loving public.

Peter Doig's works are prominently exhibited at Musée d'Orsay in Reflections of the Century
Abstract Expressionist main man Mark Rothko's masterpieces on display in a retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
Bourse de Commerce: A solo presentation I fear (J'ai peur) by the talented Ser Serpas, whose works were included in our exhibition 24h at BRAUNSFELDER last fall.
LA native, Henry Taylor's first solo show FROM SUGAR TO SHIT in the city at Hauser & Wirth.
Art star Anna Weyant's second show The Guitar Man showcased at Gagosian.
Lisa Brice LIVES and WORKS at Thaddaeus Ropac.
Respected gallery Stuart Shave / Modern Art opening its first space outside of London after 25 years this season was a notable addition to the Parisian commercial art gallery scene.

MARK ROTHKO, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, 2023

These exhibitions are not only attracting substantial visitors, but also announcing cultural clout to the French capital. With that, more attention and sales announce Paris as the city that has benefitted the most from Brexit, with London trailing in its wake. Therefore, we would suggest a city break is in order for 2023 or early 2024. With a plentitude of shows running into the new year, name a better place to visit in Europe.

2. Cologne

ART COLOGNE is back this month. Heralded as the first-ever art fair (yes, older than Art Basel), ART COLOGNE focuses on a predominantly German and Benelux-based collectorship, with long serving fair director Daniel Hug noting that 90% of visitors are from Germany. Of those, a loyal and thoughtful audience come year in year out to collect works on show from a mainly European exhibitor offering.

On the occasion of ART COLOGNE, we're thrilled to announce the opening of three temporary exhibition projects Tugce Dayioglu, Tessa Perutz, Kim Stolz. Taking place beyond the walls of a gallery, we invite you to experience a selection of new works by 3 emerging female artists in a one-of-a-kind setting, above the famed Salon Schmitz.

3. Venice (La Biennale di Venezia)

Often described as the Olympics of the art world, the 60th Venice Biennale is as prestigious an event as it gets for contemporary artists.

Directed this year by Adriano Pedrosa (Sao Paulo Museum of Art, Brazil), the international art exhibition that runs every 2 years, will take place from April 20 until November 24, 2024, with a pre-opening on April 17 – 19, 2024.

Venice also marks the location of our first Premium members art trip next year, taking place from May 31 until June 2, 2024. Stay tuned for more information and your invite to this incredible weekend.