Despite the steady rain and premonitions of a faltering art market, the 47th edition of Art Basel, Europe’s premier modern and contemporary art fair, opened to a long line of umbrella-wielding VIPs who quickly scooped up a broad range of offerings.
At Paris-based Chantal Crousel, a new diptych by Wade Guyton, “Untitled,” in Epson Ultra-Chrome K-3 Inkjet on linen and measuring 128 by 108 ¼ inches, sold in the opening moments of the preview for $600,000 to a French collector. The image, inspired by Guyton’s 2001 “Altered Steel Chair” sculpture, which he deconstructed from a found Marcel Breuer “Cesca Chair” from 1928, depicts the stripped-down and largely unrecognizable skeletal frame set against a grainy abstract background. As at last year’s fair, Guyton parceled out iterations of the identical image to four other galleries that represent him in various parts of the world.
Source: Sales Report: Art Basel 47 Gives No Cause for Concern
