10 most expensive abstract works

The power of abstraction can never be underestimated.

In the art market, in recent years, high-priced abstract works have been auctioned for many times, and various auction data show that it has become a trend to sell abstract works.

When these works sell for hundreds of millions of dollars, people can’t help asking: Why are they so valuable?

Review the 10 most expensive abstract works in the auction in 2020:

Works: Untitled [Posena]

Artist: Setombre

Transaction price: USD 38,685,000.

Tombray is a giant in the art history of the 20th century. He appeared in Venice Biennale in 1964, 1989 and 2001, and won the Golden Lion Award in 2001. Whitney’s works have been exhibited in American Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art, as well as tate modern in London.

In 1951, Tombray held his first solo exhibition at the Kootz Gallery in new york, when his works were still influenced by Franz KLINE and Robert MOTHERWELL. Since Tombray’s touring exhibition in 2004, his auction price has increased by 479%, and his works have become an important part of the night show of all major auction houses.

Precious Tombray album, there is only one in stock:

Related reading:

Fifty days in Iliam | Sai Tombray

Veil theory | Sai Tombray

Works: Untitled

Artist: mark rothko

Transaction price: USD 31,275,000.

Roscoe’s Untitled is one of the most conflicting paintings in the artist’s later years, which was sold for $31,275,000. The thick and bright colors in Roscoe’s works are intertwined, and there is a void around the center. This complex masterpiece is one of only four works painted by the artist from the time he finished the church series in 1967 to the last series of Black on Gray in his later years.

Roscoe started his iconic rectangular color gamut painting in 1950s, which was the style he pursued for the rest of his career until his death at the age of 66 in 1970. His works were undervalued by the market before his death, but the price of his works rose steadily at the auction after his death. From 2003 to 2017, the average annual yield of Roscoe’s works resold at auction was 16.8%, and the value of 31 such color gamut paintings increased by 100%.

　

Works: Five in One

Artist: Barnett Newman

Transaction price: USD 30,920,000.

This work is based on a dark blue canvas with a "zipper" in the middle, which is separated by a contrasting color tone. Newman began to use this theme in the 1940s. Among the six original works completed by this artist, "Onement V" is one of the two works still in private collection. The remaining four works are collected by different museums.

This painting has been circulated among different collectors many times: from new york collectors Harold and Hester Diamond to the artist’s wife Annalee Newman, and the Pennsylvania collector David Pincus acquired this painting in 1988. This work was last sold to the current client at Christie’s Contemporary Art Auction in new york in May 2012 for $22.5 million, exceeding the pre-auction estimate of $10 million to $15 million.

Works: Complementarity

Artist: Bryce Madden

Transaction price: USD 30,920,000.

In 2006, critic Peter Schjeldahl wrote in The New Yorker that Madden was "the most profound abstract painter in the past forty years". Madden’s early monochrome paintings were created in the form of single panel, double painting and triple painting. After designing stained glass windows for Basel Cathedral in 1977, he became interested in expressing colors and light in architecture in his paintings.

Madden was represented by Matthew Max Gallery for more than 20 years before being represented by Gao Guxuan Gallery. As early as May 2006, a painting by Madden was sold at Christie’s for nearly $3 million.

Madden was also included in the series of people in focus by Felton Press.

The 12 volumes of the Felton Focus Artist series, the last part of which is in stock, are out of print after being sold out.

Works: Ph-144 (1947-y-no.1)

Artist: Cliff Steele

Transaction price: USD 30,920,000.

As one of the most important figures in American abstract expressionism, Steele’s influence in this movement cannot be overemphasized.

If the styles of abstract expressionist painters are subdivided, Clyfford Sill belongs to the school of abstract imagism. He often uses red, white and yellow, and has rich chromaticity changes and colorful brushstrokes in a large area of color blocks, and often flashes many finishing touches. Steele prefers the two-dimensional flat surface and the romantic, notched shape and color. He used this language symbol repeatedly and persisted for many years. From Steele’s works, we can see that the pictures he created in a relatively comfortable state have a sense of flow, and they are changing, changing, competing and opening and closing. No beginning, no end. The pictures he created are simple and not complicated, but they can inspire our rich associations. From the use of mysterious lines and abstract symbols, there is a symbolic meaning.

Works: abstract painting (649-2)

Artist: gerhard richter

Transaction price: HKD 214,631,000.

215 million Hong Kong dollars! Richter’s works set a new Asian auction record for western contemporary art.

In October 2020, gerhard richter’s work "Abstract Painting (649-2)" sold for HK$ 214.631 million (about RMB 188.04 million), leading Sotheby’s Hong Kong autumn auction of contemporary art, setting a new record for the highest price of western contemporary art in Asia. This painting was painted in 1987 and originated from Gerhard richter’s most famous series of works. From 1980 to 1985, richter created many early abstract works with immature styles. Since 1986, he has decided to abandon all deliberately arranged image elements and structures in his works, and mainly tends to use vague scraping techniques and "squeegee" to stack pigments. On the screen, the stacked pigments are combined into multiple horizontal color blocks and intruded into vertical color bars dragged by wide strokes; Some more delicate and angular thick spots crisscross between the two, forming an exciting thick color field, in which the picture elements complement each other and compete with each other at the same time; The saturated color of pigment endows the works with shining brilliance, which is an excellent example of richter’s abstract works.

Works: 04.01.79

Artist: Zhao Wuji

Transaction price: CNY 174,800,000.

Zhao Wuji doesn’t like being called a master, but he is really a master. His works were questioned and incomprehensible by many people, but they were auctioned at sky-high prices again and again. In September 2018, Zhao Wuji’s works were auctioned for a sky-high price of HK$ 510 million. Since then, it has repeatedly shot high prices.

In 1972, Zhao Wuji’s second wife passed away, and it was not until 1973 that he resumed his brush painting. At this time, he decided to return to the tradition. 04.01.79 has participated in more than a dozen important exhibitions of artists, covering many cities in Europe and Asia, and was completely recorded in 12 important albums of artists.

Zhao Wuji 1935-2010 is the only complete Chinese edition in Zhao Wuji, and it is a very good album. There is not much stock left, and it will be out of print soon.

Works: Woman (Green)

Artist: willem de kooning

Transaction price: USD 23,260,000.

De Kunin’s creative career takes the human body as the main body, and develops his abstract world by landscape and writing symbols. He integrated the European cubism, surrealism and expressionism into the great and powerful painting behavior and melted the idea of radical art. Even extreme paintings have artistic beauty, trying to awaken people’s inner connection with all life things.

His work reached its peak in 2016 when collector Ken Griffin bought the work Interchange from David Geffen for $300 million.

Works: Ph-407

Artist: Cliff Steele

Transaction price: USD 18,442,500.

Cliff Steele’s "PH-407" is a work from the artist’s "Maryland period". At present, there are less than 40 private collections of Steele’s works on the market, and this work was sold for 18.44 million US dollars, ranking second in the auction on the spot.

There are two works by Cliff Steele in the first ten miles, which shows the weight of artists.

Works: 20.03.60

Artist: Zhao Wuji

Transaction price: HKD 114,827,000

Since 1961, Zhao Wuji has moved to rue Jonquoy in Mont panas, where he has enough space to create larger-scale works. The "Wild Grass Period" is the most vigorous and exuberant peak of his creative career, and the number of his works that hit high prices in the art market is considerable, with five of them ranking among the top ten works in Zhao Wuji auction records.

Original title: "10 most expensive abstract works | 2020 Review"