A ceramic plate in the Concetto Spaziale series by Lucio Fontana fetched an extraordinary $233,000 at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day Auction, New York, 12 November, 2014, a record. When I had Garth Clark Gallery in New York we held the first exhibition (2002) in the US of just of Fontana’s ceramics. We sold an almost identical plate for $30,000. The Crucifixes were $15,000 (now reaching $193,477). And so the collectors who bought from us and on our future Fontana shows did very well. And those who chose not to did very poorly. At present Fontana’s ceramics are in ascendency. You will notice that his figurative plates do less well than his abstract works with buchi (holes) or tagli (cuts). Below are the most recent auction results and along with a note that CFile does not take responsibility for any errors in reported prices and or currency conversions.
Garth Clark is the Chief Editor of CFile.
Above image: Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale. At Contemporary Art Day Auction, 12 November, 2014. Estimate: $50,000 to $70,000. Result: $233,000.
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Lucio Fontana, Battaglia. At Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Milan on 25, November, 2014. Estimate: €35,000 to €45,000. Result: €51,900 ($64,916).
Lucio Fontana, Battaglia. At the Arte Moderna e Contemporanea sale in Milan on 25-26 November, 2014. Estimate €35,000 to €45,000. Result: €47,100 ($58,912).
Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale. At the Arte Moderna e Contemporanea auction in Milan on 25 November, 2014. Estimate €40,000 to €60,000. Result: €247,500 ($309,572).
Lucio Fontana, Crocefisso. At the Arte Moderna e Contemporanea auction in Milan on 25-26 November, 2014. Estimate: €35,000 to €45,000. Result: €91,500 ($114,454).
Lucio Fontana work sold at The Italian Sale, London. Estimate: £40,000 to £60,000. Result: £122,500 ($193,477).
Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale. At Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Milan on 25-26 November, 2014. Estimate: €25,000 to €35,000. Result: €71,100 ($88,811).
Lucio Fontana and Roberto Menghi Table at Phillips Design in London on 24 September, 2014. Estimate: £140,000 to £180,000. Result: £152,500 ($240,779).
How does one put their work into this market?