Sam FRANCIS (1923-1994)

Just opened, the exhibition dedicated to Zao Wou Ki at the Paris Museum of Modern Art is called “Space is Silence” and is an invitation to meditation through a selection of large format paintings.   Paris had not hosted a major exhibition honouring Zao Wou Ki for 15 years. The new show (1 June through […]

Today’s prices of American Abstract Expressionist art illustrate the country’s dominance of the global market, with works by Mark ROTHKO, Clyfford STILL, Jackson POLLOCK and Sam FRANCIS easily fetching more than $50 million at auction.

After the year’s first major sales in London – with a number of new auction records – New York is currently preparing its prestigious Post-War & Contemporary Art sales

Zao Wou Ki – one of the key figures of Lyrical Abstraction – is also one of China’s most cherished cultural icons. Driven by bulimic Asian demand, his auction prices have soared and in 2013, his works generated no less than 35 auction results above the million-dollar threshold.

With a large number of major collectors clearly back in acquisitive mode, the results of the big sales in New York during May amply covered the price expectations and were a far cry from those posted in May 2009.