Art Market
Arun Kakar
Installation view of Tina Kim Gallery’s booth at Frieze London, 2024. Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Linda Nylind / Frieze.
Returning to Regent’s Park for the 21st time, Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024 saw busy crowds, bustling booths, and—most importantly—a solid pace of sales throughout their run from October 9th through 13th.
Hosting some 170 galleries from 47 countries, this year’s fairs included numerous new features, including a redesigned format at Frieze London that gave a more prominent position to the fair’s younger exhibitors. And while the industry was abuzz in the run-up to this year’s Frieze fairs, mainly focused on headwinds facing the London art market, the energy throughout the week appeared to be one of broad positivity from collectors, dealers, and commentators alike.
“We entered the fair with many questions on our mind: Will Frieze’s new layout serve us? Will we see the impact of collectors prioritizing Paris over London this year?” said Thibault Geffrin, senior director at Almine Rech. “We’re very pleased to report on a very successful week. We have met many new collectors and are happy with the new location and overall layout.”
Interior view of Frieze Masters, 2024. Photo by Hugo Glendinning. Courtesy of Frieze and Hugo Glendinning.
As well as the return of Frieze, London’s art scene was on display in full colors. From Lauren Halsey at the Serpentine to Vincent van Gogh at the National Gallery, London’s institutions were on top form across the city, and on the commercial side, galleries hosted a number of standout shows. Elsewhere, the expanded alternative art fair Minor Attractions and the returning 1-54 London added complementary art fair energy to the Frieze frenzy. This week the London art scene brought its A-game across town.
Yet the temperature of the London art market was always going to be measured by the performance of Frieze.
With Art Basel Paris opening on Wednesday (and featuring a chunk of galleries that participated in Frieze’s London fairs this year), Frieze London 2024 was watched more closely than ever by those looking to draw comparisons between the two cities. It’s perhaps with that in mind that many in the London art world—not least Frieze’s organizers—will breathe a collective sigh of relief after this week.
Here, we run down the key sales reported from Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024.
Top sales at Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024
Arshile Gorky, The Opaque, 1947. © 2024 The Arshile Gorky Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Jon Etter. Courtesy of The Arshile Gorky Foundation and Hauser & Wirth.
Hauser & Wirth reported the fair’s headlining sale with Arshile Gorky’s The Opaque (1947) for $8.5 million, featured in its group exhibition at Frieze Masters. The gallery also reported selling a number of works from its solo booth of Charles Gaines at Frieze London for prices in the range of $175,000–$195,000. Other sales at Frieze Masters reported by Hauser & Wirth include:
- An Édouard Manet painting for €4.5 million ($4.9 million).
- Francis Picabia’s Elle danse (She Dances) (1948) for $4 million.
- William Kentridge’s Drawing for Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot (Still Life with Black Jug I) (2020) for $650,000.
- Lee Lozano’s No title (1962) for $550,000.
- Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, Attesa (1962–63) for €520,000 ($568,000).
- Fausto Melotti’s Il fulmine (The Flash) (1969) for €270,000 ($295,000).
- Gerhard Richter’s 23.5.08 (2008) for Fr. 145,000 ($168,000).
- Eugène Carrière’s Étude, fillette endormie (ca. 1897) for Fr. 58,000 ($67,000)Méret Oppenheim’s Eichhörnchen (Squirrel) (1970) for Fr. 42,000 ($48,700).
Installation view of David Zwirner’s booth at Frieze London, 2024. Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Frieze and Linda Nylind.
David Zwirner’s sales at Frieze London were led by a painting by Lisa Yuskavage for $2.2 million. Other reported sales included:
- Two paintings by Yayoi Kusama for $670,000 and $720,000 apiece.
- A painting by Steven Shearer for $450,000, and four drawings by the artist for prices in the range of $25,000–$40,000.
- A new painting by Sasha Gordon for $120,000, following the gallery’s recent announcement of its representation of the artist.
- A sculpture by Rose Wylie for $120,000.
- Four new paintings by Walter Price, each in the range of $28,000–$75,000.
Installation view of Kukje Gallery’s booth at Frieze London, 2024. Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Linda Nylind / Frieze.
Kukje Gallery’s sales at Frieze London included five Ha Chong-hyun pieces in the range of $540,000–$649,000, and another mixed-media piece in the range of $253,000–$303,600. Other reported sales include:
- Several Haegue Yang mixed-media works in price ranging from ₩3.8 million ($2,800) to €105,000–€126,000 ($114,800–$137,000).
- A Jae-Eun Choi 16-piece wood panel work in the range of $46,000–$55,200.
- Two Kibong Rhee pieces for prices in the ranges of $70,000–$84,000 and $60,000–$72,000, respectively.
At Frieze London, White Cube’s reported sales were led by an Al Held painting, which sold for $450,000. Other reported sales include:
- Four Tracey Emin bronze works for £80,000 ($104,560) each, along with two additional works on paper for £90,000 ($117,600) and £120,000 ($156,800), respectively.
- A Tiona Nekkia McClodden work for $75,000.
- A Robert Mapplethorpe photograph for $17,500.
- An Alia Ahmad painting for $85,000.
- A Marguerite Humeau bronze for £75,000 ($98,025), and a work on paper by the artist for £25,000 ($32,600).
- A Salvatore Emblema work for €54,000 ($59,000).
- A Marina Rheingantz work for $80,000.
- A Tarwuk work for $70,000.
- An Imi Knoebel work for €65,000 ($71,100).
- A Sara Flores handmade wild cotton work for $30,000.
Thaddaeus Ropac’s reported sales were led by Antony Gormley’s SHELF III (2024), which sold for £500,000 ($653,227). Other sales reported by the gallery included:
- Martha Jungwirth’s Ohne Titel, aus der Serie “Francisco de Goya, Stilleben mit Rippen und Lammkopf” (2022) for €430,000 ($470,102). The gallery also sold a trio of oil paintings by the artist for €60,000 ($65,630), €65,000 ($71,100), and €80,000 ($87,460) apiece.
- A Joan Snyder work for $200,000.
- An Elizabeth Peyton work for $225,000.
- A 1983 Hans Josephson work for Fr. 95,000 ($110,815).
- A Robert Longo ink-and-charcoal work for $90,000.
- Two Megan Rooney works for £75,000 ($98,000) and £18,000 ($23,500).
- Three Zadie Xa paintings, each for £60,000 ($78,400), £60,000 ($78,400), and £70,000 ($91,525), respectively.
- An Oliver Beer painting for £20,000 ($26,150).
Pace Gallery reported that its leading sale at Frieze London was David Hockney’s 25th July–7th August 2021, Rain on the Pond (2021), omitting the price. Other sales from the gallery included:
- An Alicja Kwade work for $500,000.
- A work by Emily Kame Kngwarreye for $360,000, and two works by the artist for $150,000 apiece.
- Nigel Cook’s Nemesis (2024) for $110,000.
- Arlene Shechet’s Nearly Autumn: Together (2024) for $75,000.
- Gideon Appah’s White Water (2024) for $65,000.
- Some 20 works by Nathalie Du Pasquier sold at the artist’s Frieze Masters Studio presentation for prices ranging from €40,000–€60,000 ($43,700–$65,630).
- Works by Pam Evelyn, Yoshitomo Nara, Loie Hollowell and Genesis Belanger were among other sales reported by the gallery for undisclosed prices.
Installation view of Almine Rech’s booth at Frieze London, 2024. Courtesy of Almine Rech.
Almine Rech sold out its works by Ji Xin, each priced up to $50,000. Additional sales from the gallery include:
- Two paintings by Genieve Figgis for prices in the range of $170,000–$190,000 and $70,000–$80,000 each.
- A painting by Claire Tabouret for a price in the range of $90,000–$100,000.
- A painting by Roby Dwi Antono for a price in the range of $60,000–$65,000.
- A painting by Brian Calvin for a price in the range of $35,000–$40,000.
- A painting by Guimi You for a price in the range of $65,000–$70,000.
- A painting by Sasha Ferré for a price int he range of €25,000–€30,000 ($27,332–$32,797).
Sold-out booths at Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024
Several galleries reported sold-out booths from the fair. These included the following:
- Stephen Friedman Gallery sold out its Frieze London booth of works by British artists Caroline Walker and Clare Woods, for £35,000–£175,000 ($45,700–$228,700) each. In collaboration with Jessica Silverman and Karma, the gallery also sold a Woody De Othello bronze work, which was presented in Frieze Sculpture, for $350,000.
- Gagosian reported selling out its booth of sculptures by Carol Bove, selected as one of Artsy’s best booths from the fair.
Charlotte Edey, installation view in Ginny on Frederick’s booth at Frieze London, 2024. Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy Frieze / Linda Nylind.
- London tastemaker Ginny on Frederick sold out its booth of beaded and painted panels by Charlotte Edey by noon on opening day, with prices in the range of £10,000–£13,000 ($13,074–$16,997).
- Lehmann Maupin sold out its solo booth of 14 paintings—including those created on-site—by British artist Billy Childish, with prices ranging from $50,000–$100,000.
- Kasmin and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery sold out their joint booth of paintings by Nengi Omuku. The artist was nominated for a solo booth—one of Artsy’s standouts of the fair—by Yinka Shonibare in the Artist-to-Artist section. Omuku’s works were priced from £50,000–£90,000 ($65,375–$117,675).
More key sales at Frieze London
Other sales reported by galleries at Frieze London included the following:
- Tina Kim Gallery reported sales of a Lee ShinJa work for $100,000–$200,000, a Mire Lee work for $25,000–$50,000, a Ghada Amer work for $10,000–$20,000, and a Suki Seokyeong Kang work for $20,000–$40,000.
- Sprüth Magers’s reported sales include a painting by Anne Imhof for €200,000 ($217,800), a work by Joseph Kosuth for €125,000 ($136,700), a Thea Djordjadze piece for €50,000 ($54,690), a Mire Lee work for €40,000 ($43,750), a Louise Lawler print for $40,000, and an Oliver Bak painting for €35,000 ($38,300).
- Timothy Taylor reported several sales from its solo booth of Paul Anthony Smith, including six paintings at $35,000 apiece, one painting at $50,000, and three studies for “under” $10,000 each.
- Lisson Gallery’s solo presentation of works by Leiko Ikemura was led by Usagi Kannon Pray (168) (2022) for €168,000 ($138,700). Other works by Ikemura that sold include Evidence (2024), for €115,000 ($125,800); Yellow Scape (2020) for €108,000 ($118,000); and Lago Rondo (2020) and B-bay (2020), for €108,000 ($118,000) each.
- Sullivan+Strumpf sold six Naminapu Maymuru White paintings for prices in the range of £10,000–£35,000 ($13,075–$45,762), and all of its works by Gregory Hodge for £17,500 ($22,881) apiece.
- ATHR’s reported sales include a 2018 work by Dana Awartani for a price in the range of £20,000–£30,000 ($26,150–$39,224), and two works by Sara Abdu for prices in the range of £3,000–£6,000 ($3,922–$5,230) apiece.
- At the Focus section of the fair dedicated to emerging galleries, Public Gallery reported the sale of several works from its solo presentation of Nils Alix-Tabeling for €10,000 ($10,933) apiece. The booth was one of Artsy’s standout selections from the fair.
More key sales at Frieze Masters 2024
Sales reported by galleries at Frieze Masters included the following:
- Osbourne Samuel sold a Henry Moore bronze for £1.4 million ($1.83 million).
- Archeus / Post-Modern sold two works by Yayoi Kusama for £1.25 million ($1.63 million) and $1.4 million ($1.83 million) apiece.
- Susan Sheehan Gallery sold a Joan Mitchell painting for $65,000.
- BASTIAN sold a Robert Rauschenberg painting for €1.3 million ($1.42 million).
- MARUANI MERCIER GALLERY sold a work by Le Corbusier for a price in the range of €280,000–€340,000 ($306,117–$371,713) and a 1975 work by Andy Warhol for a price in the range of €300,000–€350,000 ($327,982–$382,646).
- Ben Brown Fine Arts reported the sale of a work by François Xavier Lalanne for a price in the range of €300,000–€600,000 ($327,984–$655,968).
- DAG’s reported sales included a painting by Ramkinkar Baij for $299,700, a work by S.K. Bakre for $179,800, and a work by Avinash Chandra for $149,800. It also reported the sale of works by A.A. Raiba, Paritosh Sen, and Laxman Pai for undisclosed prices.
- Philip Mould & Company—one of Artsy’s best booths from the fair—reported the sale of works by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska for £85,000 ($111,052) and Mary Beale priced at £195,000 ($254,767).
- Mazzoleni sold several works by Salvo within the range of $80,000–$100,000.
- Richard Saltoun sold four works by Juliana Seraphim, ranging from £30,000–£80,000 ($39,216–$104,576).
- Eric Firestone Gallery sold works by Pat Passlof, Elise Asher, and Miriam Schapiro for prices in the range of $100,000–$300,000.
- PROYECTOS MONCLOVA—one of Artsy’s best booths from the fair—sold seven Manuel Felguérez Barra paintings for undisclosed prices.
- Jhaveri Contemporary sold “all but one” of the works from its solo presentation of Balraj Khanna with prices from £20,000–£70,000 ($26,144–$91,504). The gallery also reported “securing multiple sales” at its Frieze London booth for prices “up to £60,000” ($78,432).
- In the Spotlight section, Frestonian Gallery sold 20 pieces by Sam Herman, with prices ranging from £8,000 to £18,000 ($10,457–$23,530).
- Gavlak sold Judy Chicago’s Childhood’s End #2 (1972) for a price in the range of $90,000–$110,000.
- Lehmann Maupin sold several works from its Studio presentation of Kim Yun Shin for undisclosed prices.
Key institutional sales at Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024
Some 300 museum and institutional groups spanning 43 countries were reported to have attended this year’s Frieze London and Frieze Masters. The attendance yielded a number of significant reported institutional purchases.
The Frieze Tate Fund, which provided £150,000 ($195,000) to purchase works for the Tate Collection, made the following acquisitions:
- Naminapu Maymuru-White’s Milnyawuy (2024), comprising 17 abstract panels made from natural earth paint on bark, was acquired from Sullivan+Strumpf at Frieze London.
- Eva Švankmajerová’s Spící Venouš (Sleeping Venus) (1969) was acquired from The Gallery of Everything at Frieze Masters.
- Three 2024 pastel works from Bani Abidi’s “Society for Aching Bodies” series were acquired from Experimenter at Frieze London.
- Two acrylic paintings by Mohammed Z. Rahman, The Lovers and The Spaghetti House (both 2024), were acquired from Phillida Reid at Frieze London.
Nour Jaouda, The Light In Between, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Union Pacific.
In its second year, the Arts Council Collection Frieze Acquisitions Fund provided £40,000 ($52,000) to acquire work for the collection. These works included:
- Nour Jaouda’s tapestry The Light in Between (2024), which was presented by Union Pacific at Frieze London.
- Nicole Wermers’s sculpture Reclining Female #3 (2020), which was presented by Herald St at Frieze London.
- Shaqúelle Whyte’s oil painting Form i: Under the lonely sky (2024), which was presented by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery at Frieze London.
Nat Faulkner, installation view in Brunette Coleman’s booth at Frieze London, 2024. Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Frieze / Linda Nylind.
Other reported institutional acquisitions at the fair included the following:
- Nat Faulkner, showing at Frieze London’s Focus section with Brunette Coleman, received the Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Prize. Faulkner’s photographic work Artificial Sun II was also acquired by the Photography Centre at the V&A South Kensington. The acquisition was supported by Stone Island, the official partner of Frieze’s Focus section for emerging galleries.
- The Contemporary Arts Society Collections Fund acquired two works by Haegue Yang and Nour Jaouda for the Hepworth Wakefield.
- The Spirit Now Prize facilitated the acquisition of artworks by Shafei Xia, Asemahle Ntlonti, and Bambou Gili for the Women’s Art Collection at Cambridge.
Arun Kakar
Arun Kakar is Artsy’s Art Market Editor.
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