Another porcelain sculpture, this time titled “Woman in Bath Tub”, by American artist Jeff Koons went over the US $ 1,5 million mark at Christie's on May 16th 2000 in New York. This 157.5 x 231.1 x 175.3 cm piece, produced in an edition of three in 1988, fetched $ 1,7 million, $ 100,000 less than for his “Pink Panther” porcelain sculpture sold by Christie's last November. “Woman in Bath Tub” was based on a postcard. Representing a naked woman in a tub her hands grabbing her breasts and with only a third of her face shown, her lips opened as if she was gasping in horror, facing a snorkel suggesting the presence of a diver ready to pounce on her.
Jeff Koons explained that this work was part of his total vocabulary on “Banality” and intended to show the interface between the victim and the victimiser through the presence of the snorkel indicating that somebody is doing something to this woman because she is grabbing her breasts for protection while the viewer also wants to participate and victimise her.
It seems that sales goers are longing for something spectacular with the best signatures offered on catalogues. In addition, there is a new brand of collectors who have mostly become rich thanks to the booming new technology sector, eager to buy what pleases them much. Members of that new club therefore packed at Christie's sale on that Tuesday evening, which ended with 91% of lots sold, a total turnover of $ 14,4 million and 15 new record prices.
Sigmar Polke's “Zwei Frauen”, 151 x 125 cm oil on canvas in black and white dots like a magnified newspaper photograph showing two women, fetched $ 1,6 million. Meanwhile Eric Fischl's “Noonwatch”, a 165 x 254 cm oil painting showing naked elder people on a beach in a manner reminiscent of that of Lucian Freud, went for $ 996,000.
Charles Ray's “Boy”, painted fibreglass, steel and fabric sculpture measuring 181.6 x 68.6 x 86.4 cm and showing a young boy wearing a clean shirt and short pants of the 1940's fetched $ 886,000.
$ 270,000 FOR PHOTOGRAPH
A 188 x 241.3 cibachrome print, published originally in an edition of ten, showing the “Pantheon in Rome” by German artist Thomas Struth sold for a record $ 270,000.
Janine Antoni's installation, 300 kilos of chocolate bars in a showcase, sold for a record price of $ 204,000.
Christie's also introduced works produced by some Contemporary designers who have now risen to the rank of established artists. Ettore Sottsass' “Golden Eye Table” went for $ 30,500 and Gaetano Pesce's “Momoch Lamp” fetched $ 64,625. Marc Newson's “Lockheed Lounge”, an aluminium and fibreglass couch, sold for $ 105,000 against a top estimate of $ 60,000.
Meanwhile, Sotheby's recorded a total turnover of $ 46 million with 95,7% of lots sold and 17 record prices during its sale of Contemporary art on May 18th 2000. Mark Rothko's “yellow over Purple”, an abstract composition of 1956, fetched $ 14,3 million while a Sponge relief by French artist Yves Klein titled “Re 40” went for $ 2 million.
Other top prices were recorded for Brice Marden ($ 1,5 million), Clyfford Still ($ 1,7 million), Richard Prince ($ 269,000) and photographer Cindy Sherman, $ 269,750 for “Untitled”, a colour print of 1989.
Pop Art King Andy Warhol confirmed his status with a $ 2,7 million bid for his emblematic portrait of Natalie Wood and another of $ 830,000 for one of his Flowers series.
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