Adrian Ghenie's painting for which 99,999 euros were offered is entitled “Self-Portrait” and was made in 2003-2004. Although it was initially estimated at 50,000-70,000 euros, at the postmodern and contemporary art auction organized on Tuesday evening , by Artmark, was obtained double the minimum amount, according to Agerpres.
The work “Self-Portrait” by the painter Adrian Ghenie was awarded, PHOTO artmark.ro
We remind you that another painting by Adrian Ghenie was awarded, in 2023, at the Sotheby's auction house, for 366,000 euros. It is also about a self-portrait, created in 2012, this time entitled “Self-portrait as Charles Darwin”.
One of the most famous painters of his generation, Adrian Ghenie, was born in 1977 in Baia Mare, but lives and works in Berlin. In 2015 he was selected to represent Romania at the 56th edition of the Venice Biennale in 2015 and since then he has had solo exhibitions at Galerie Judin, Berlin (2021); Tim Van Laere Gallery, Antwerp (2020); State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (2019); and Palazzo Cini, Venice (2019).
In 2022, two paintings by the Romanian artist were permanently installed in the historical framework of the Chiesa della Madonna della Mazza, Palermo, in an independent project curated by Alessandra Borghese. Along with his paintings, the artist created several exhibitions based on the “room in a room” concept, of which we only mention “The Dada Room” (2010), currently in the permanent collection of SMAK, Ghent, and “The Darwin Room” ( 2013-14), located in the collection of the Center Pompidou.
“Self-Portrait”, the most recent auctioned work, is part of a wider cycle, which the author dedicates to the fragmentation and decomposition of faces or objects that he pictorially records in his works, according to News.ro.
The talent of the Romanian painter Adrian Ghenie is appreciated by specialized critics, who state about him that “drawing on various sources, the artist reconfigures personal memories, art historical references, film stills and visual media gleaned from the internet into the images of his works.”
Among the works awarded during the session at high prices are “The Last Snow” by Felix Aftene, for 18,000 euros, “Vas cu flori” and “Poiana” by Ştefan Câltia, for 17,500 euros and 10,000 euros respectively, Sunflower” by Corneliu Brudaşcu, for 13,000 euros.
The postmodern and contemporary art event organized on Tuesday evening by the Artmark house also included a charity section, in which 18 works participated. With the money collected from the sale of lots from this section – approximately 15,000 euros – the auction house grants a scholarship to encourage the research of Romanian art, consisting in the creation of monographs on important Romanian heritage artists valued in the art market, but insufficiently researched academically and documented in the specialized literature.
