Bonhams Votes for Iranian Art
April 13, 2010 Back to News
During the recession, New York’s major auction houses didn’t include much work by Middle Eastern artists in their major sales of modern and contemporary art. One reason: prices for new stars like Farhad Moshiri had soared above $1 million during the boom but fell sharply as collectors pulled back.
Now, Bonhams is changing its tack. On May 11, the auctioneer plans to offer 20 pieces by modern and contemporary Iranian artists — whose works are priced to sell between $2,000 and $80,000 apiece — in its modern, contemporary and Latin American art sale to be conducted in New York and Los Angeles. Charlie Moore, a cataloguer, says the move is a bid to appeal to the Iranian diaspora in New York and Los Angeles. Moshiri is represented in the sale with his gold-leaf calligraphy work from 2005, “S19R,” priced to sell for at between $60,000 and $80,000. (Moore says similar works from the artist’s series were selling for up to $120,000 during the market’s peak.)
Roya Akhavan’s lapis-colored arabesque, “Untitled VIII,” is another highlight and priced to sell for at least $15,000.
At least one work appears to nod to the recent student protests in Iran: Shiva Ahmadi’s “Green Veil #3” depicts a slouched figure whose grassy-colored veil appears weighed down by thrashing animals and a satchel of spears. The 2010 work is priced to sell for at least $3,000.
click here to go to original link
Now, Bonhams is changing its tack. On May 11, the auctioneer plans to offer 20 pieces by modern and contemporary Iranian artists — whose works are priced to sell between $2,000 and $80,000 apiece — in its modern, contemporary and Latin American art sale to be conducted in New York and Los Angeles. Charlie Moore, a cataloguer, says the move is a bid to appeal to the Iranian diaspora in New York and Los Angeles. Moshiri is represented in the sale with his gold-leaf calligraphy work from 2005, “S19R,” priced to sell for at between $60,000 and $80,000. (Moore says similar works from the artist’s series were selling for up to $120,000 during the market’s peak.)
Roya Akhavan’s lapis-colored arabesque, “Untitled VIII,” is another highlight and priced to sell for at least $15,000.
At least one work appears to nod to the recent student protests in Iran: Shiva Ahmadi’s “Green Veil #3” depicts a slouched figure whose grassy-colored veil appears weighed down by thrashing animals and a satchel of spears. The 2010 work is priced to sell for at least $3,000.
click here to go to original link
