Record $15.2mn sales at Katara art auction

The auction in progress at Katara. Right: Donald Judd’s Untitled (Bernstein 90-01) art installation. PICTURES: Joey Aguilar

By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter

Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Doha auction netted a total of $15,199,750 on Monday night at Katara – the cultural village in Doha.

Sotheby international contemporary art specialist Lina Lazaar Jameel told reporters that the amount was the highest for an auction of contemporary art in the Middle East.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the overwhelming results, we didn’t expect to achieve such an incredible result tonight with $15.2mn,” she said.

“You’ve seen the room tonight; it was very diverse, the bidding came figuratively from everywhere. Lots of phones from around the world, and that should be a good indicator of diversity of Doha as a new selling platform,” Jameel stressed.

The auction also set new records for nine artists.

Chant Avedissian’s Icons of the Nile was sold for $1,565,000, a record price for a living Arab artist.

Donald Judd’s Untitled (Bernstein 90-01) was sold for $3,525,000, considered to be the most expensive item of the night. He is one of the leading pioneers of new sculptural forms and concepts within America during the latter half of the 20th century.

Of the 47 lots offered, 43 were sold which was above the expected 70%, according to Jameel.

A sale is deemed successful if it sells around 70% of the total lots.

“In tonight’s sale we’ve established 89%, so that is well above our expectation,” she said.

The sale was 89% sold by lot and 93% sold by value.

Sotheby’s last auction in Doha netted about $8mn.

Results doubled last Monday, with Jameel noting that 47 lots is a very small count and volume.

“So we’ve really managed to establish an incredible result with a very small sale and that is very phenomenal,” she added.

Ethiopian-born artist Julie Mehretu’s Rising Down (2008) also set an auction record after it was sold at $3,077,000 after a bidding war between four parties.

The 243.8cm x 365.8cm work of art was done in ink and synthetic polymer paint on canvas.

Doha remains a pioneer for digital and promotion of culture in the Middle East, said Jameel, who also cited the increasing number of museums in Qatar.

Setting new records, the nine items are: The Atlas Group/Walid Ra’ad ($32,500), Suspended Together ($329,000), Icons of the Nile ($1,565,000), Rising Down ($3,077,000), Ya’illahi ($377,000), Sonia Sonia Sonia ($233,000), 10765 Pages ($42,500), Scrutateur de l’Arrière Passion ($665,000), and M.U.S.A. ($27,500).

In a press statement, Sotheby earlier said that the auction comprises a selection of top-calibre works by leading Arab and Iranian artists and international contemporary artists. These included painting, art installations, photography, and sculpture.