Giulio PAOLINI (1940)

Christie’s is preparing a sale of Modern and Contemporary Art in Milan featuring 88 lots that reflect a number of upward price trends for a selection of Italian artists.

Friday is Top day! Every other Friday, Artprice publishes a theme-based auction ranking. This week: the top ten auction results for Arte Povera.

The market for contemporary art may be shrinking everywhere else, but in Italy both value and volume sales are booming. In the first half of 2003, Italy accounted for 5% of the market by value and 19.6% by volume, with 1,085 lots generating sales worth EUR 2.2 million.

In a tense economic climate, contemporary art auctions in New York are proving stronger than modern art and impressionist art sales. The evening auctions may have been unexceptional. But Sotheby’s and Christie’s still managed some reassuring surprises, generally in the less prestigious later sessions, when prices for some artists showed real growth and some of them turned out to be impressive records.