Adrian Ghenie's Nickelodeon was realised for £7,109,000 setting the world aution record for the artist.
Christie’s Frieze Week auctions of Post-War and Contemporary Art brought together over 200 of the foremost names in the contemporary art world today and focused on artists who are the subjects of the most anticipated exhibitions this autumn, including Glenn Brown, David Hockney, Per Kirkeby, Gerald Laing, Thomas Schütte, Henry Taylor, Günther Uecker and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
Cristian Albu, Specialist, Head of the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction: ‘This October my aim was to put an emphasis on names that are fresh and relevant to the current art landscape and it is remarkable in the selection the number of artists who are currently the subject of major solo or participating in important group shows across the world. Alongside the Waddington Collection and the Italian Sale we are looking forward to seeing another season at Christie’s of the highest quality works alongside new talent that promises major results.’
Adrian Ghenie was represented in the Post-War and Contemporary Evening Auction with the vast and cinematic vision that is Nickelodeon (2008; estimate: £1,000,000-1,500,000) which was the centrepiece of ‘Darkness for an Hour,’ Ghenie’s first UK solo show in 2009. Nickelodeon was realised for £7,109,000 setting the world aution record for the artist.
The work, executed on two panels that together span over four metres in width, presents eight figures amid a dark, cavernous interior. These characters tread the boards as if assembled on a spotlit stage, whose planks are dragged viscerally into being with paint pulled across the canvas.
Records were set over the course of the auction also for Imi Knoebel, Lucy McKenzie, Albert Oehlen, and Henry Taylor.
Adrian Ghenie Nickelodeon (2008) oil and acrylic on canvas (in two parts) each: 238 x 207cm; overall: 238 x 414cm estimate: £1,000,000 – 1,500,000
