Artsy: Can you start by describing your curatorial vision for the sale? How do you balance representation of iconic 20th century artists and contemporary trailblazers?
Tamila Kerimova: The sale is extremely diverse, as is the taste of collectors today as people increasingly look to collect across categories – bringing together works of different eras, genres and media. It is wonderful to be able to offer a work by today's superstar Adrian Ghenie alongside a work on paper by Pablo Picasso, the twentieth-century heavyweight. What is important for me, regardless of the time the works were produced, is to bring a selection that is relevant in the current time to the viewer.
Adrian Ghenie Study for 'Self-Portrait as Charles Darwin', 2011
Pablo Picasso Le Photograph, 1964
I am particularly pleased to be offering a Freischwimmer by Wolfgang Tillmans and a work on paper with collage by Robert Rauschenberg – two completely different artists whose stunning retrospectives currently share the same floor at Tate Modern. The sale presents the perfect opportunity for those who loved these shows to add a piece to their collections.
Wolfgang Tillmans Freischwimmer 170, 2011
Robert Rauschenberg Tally - Signal Series, 1980
A: This sale encompasses a wide selection of media and subject matter. Which works would you highlight for collectors interested in material-based artistic investigation?
TK: We have a strong selection of works in which the materials used become the focal point of the artwork. Among them is the beautiful black monochrome painting by Ad Reinhardt from 1955, the gorgeous John Chamberlain sculpture executed on a small scale, the heavily impastoed painting by André Butzer, among others.
John Chamberlain Tabasco fiasco, 2003
A: How about more conceptual works?
TK: There is a wide range of conceptual works in the sale, led by Sherrie Levine, Richard Pettibone, Haim Steinbach, Fischli & Weiss. The latter deserves a special mention as it is rare to come across a good quality work by the duo on the market. Made out of rubber and coated with polyurethane paint to replicate the objects in the studio, the work is a great example from the series they began in 1982, where we see the artists giving worthless everyday objects the status of art and alluding to the banality of life.
Peter Fischli & David Weiss Untitled, 1994-2002
A: Can you walk us through some works of notable provenance or distinction within an artist's oeuvre?
TK: We are proud to present a selection of works from an important Belgian Collection, which features excellent examples by the Pictures Generation artists such as Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Levine, Robert Longo, Louise Lawler and Jack Goldstein. The collection sits alongside important European artists such as Gerhard Richter, Alighiero Boetti, Maurizio Cattelan, Andreas Gursky, Bernd and Hilla Becher and Thomas Ruff, which creates a beautifully curated section of high quality works that make this sale very special.
Robert Longo Untitled from Men In The Cities (Cindy), 1981-1998
Louise Lawler You Could Hear a Rat Piss on Cotton - Charlie Parker, 1987
A: Finally, what are some trends you have seen within the contemporary art market this year, and how do you see them evolving as we head into the spring season?
TK: It seems that the trend of moving away from process-based work is continuing, with figurative work being the popular style at the moment. We saw strong prices achieved for good examples by George Condo in November last year, and gallery shows by Ella Kruglianskaya, Mernet Larsen and Sanya Kantarovsky completely sell out. The much-anticipated Tillmans retrospective currently on view at Tate Modern, together with his upcoming show at the Beyeler Foundation, has made the artist a 'market darling' in the past year, which is greatly deserved. I hope this momentum will continue for him.
Bid and watch live here on Friday 10 March at 2pm GMT (9am EST).