Featured in In the Chilling Shadows of a Biennial Yet to Be Seen
‘Made in L.A. 2020: a version’, slated to open in 2021, exposes the horrors of American life pre-pandemic
Before entering the long-delayed (and now revised) ‘Made in L.A. 2020: a version’, I pitied its poor curators, whose exhibition has been kyboshed by a succession of lockdowns. Originally scheduled to open in June, the biennial – split this year between the Hammer Museum and the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino – has lain partly dormant, partly unfinished. With (almost) all works installed, museum leaders allowed in a few members of the press, who, they hoped, might grant ‘Made in L.A. 2020’ a little exposure to daylight. (The biennial is currently expected to open to the public next year.)
Auctioneer Oliver Barker holding court over Sotheby s global e-auctions. Courtesy of Sotheby s.
The art trade is defined by far more than its uppermost echelon. But in an unprecedented year when virtually ever major auction went… well, virtual, top prices serve as a valuable benchmark and an indication that the world’s wealthiest did not view 2020 as a roadblock to spending big money on art.
If we’re judging by auction prices alone, though, the market was still considerably less frothy at the high end this year than in 2019. Last year, nine of the 10 priciest lots brought over $50 million each (and the 10th, a David Hockney painting, fell short by a hair). This time around, as flexible and jittery consignors alike opted to hold back their best material, only two lots exceeded $50 million.