Archinect - News

Refik Anadol's Casa Batlló NFT sells for $1.38 million

2022-05-11T11:32:00-04:00

A landmark of the Art Nouveau style is on center stage after Refik Anadol’s NFT of the Casa Batlló sold for $1.38 million at Christe’s 21st Century Evening Sale last night.

Titled Living Architecture: Casa Batlló, the piece was commissioned by the group responsible for managing Gaudí’s converted House of Bones last year and is currently on display in a larger format outside the Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters until May 13. It was also the lone digital-only lot to sell in the auction house’s marquee New York spring sales events this week.

Previously on Archinect: Refik Anadol unveils ‘first-of-its-kind’ AI artwork NFTs

A spokesperson with the Casa Batlló named Gary Gautier called Anadol a “perfect fellow traveler” and told reporters that his work “resides between art and technology, expands the possibilities of architecture and brings a new outlook beyond space and time.” Gautier also commented that the Turkish-American artist “connects past, present and future, reminding u...

Frank Gehry's twin crocodile sculptures will star in Bonhams' upcoming LA auction

2022-02-23T18:53:00-05:00

Two sculptural pendant crocodile designs that once formed the centerpiece of Frank Gehry’s most significant mid-career designs are now for sale at Bonhams as part of the auction house’s first Modern Designs | Art sale of the year.

Frank Gehry, Illuminated Pendant Crocodile, 1983, custom-designed for Rebecca's Restaurant, painted metal and glass. Image courtesy Bonhams.

The pair is predicted to fetch somewhere in the $50,000–70,000 and $30,000–50,000 range respectively when the hammer drops in Los Angeles on March 8th.

The sculptures were created as part of Gehry’s 1983 commission from restaurateurs Bruce and Rebecca Marder for the design of the interior of their then-new Venice, California restaurant called Rebecca’s.

Related on Archinect: 'I think the fish form is architectural': Watch Frank Gehry talk about his latest sculpture exhibition in Los Angeles, Image: Spinning Tales, 2021, installation view. © Frank Gehry. Photo: Joshua White. Courtesy of Gagosian

Gehry’s design instantl...

Norman Foster’s Francis Bacon triptych is expected to fetch $47.3 to $74.3 million

2022-02-17T12:56:00-05:00

Bacon’s Triptych 1986–7, which is scheduled to be sold with an estimate of £35 million to £55 million ($47.3 million to $74.3 million) on March 1 in the first of a series of high-stakes 20th- and 21st-century art auctions, is being sold by star architect Norman Foster, according to people familiar with the work.

The painting is one of 28 historical triptychs Bacon completed between 1944 and 1991. Past auctions have commanded prices as high as $84.6 million (£62.1 million) for similar works, including his masterpiece Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which caused a media sensation in 2013 after setting records as the most expensive painting ever sold.

News of the upcoming auction has already been getting discussed in the Archinect Forum...

Foster appears to have purchased the triptych anonymously in 2007 from New York’s Marlborough Gallery. The piece had recently been shopped around privately for values upwards of $100 million, according to Artnet. Next month's auction will constitute the first time it has appeared in a public sale.

Los Angeles architects band together to raise funds for local elementary school

2019-11-27T12:50:00-05:00

A group of architects at NAC Architecture in Chinatown LA have come together to raise money for the students at Castelar Elementary School located just a few blocks from their office.

“We are a community-focused practice, and we love the community we’re in. So a chance to help our neighbors and learn from each other is a valuable investment of our time,” said Helena Jubany, FAIA, a Principal at NAC Architecture, “There are lots of talented artists at design firms, so why not mobilize them for a cause?”

Humberto Herrero, Job Captain at NAC Architecture working on his piece for the auction.

After identifying a need for laptops at his kids' school, Edwin Fang, an architect at the firm, founded Boundary/Threshold, an art show and silent auction that will be held at the Eastern Project Gallery in Chinatown. As its name suggests, the theme of Boundary/Threshold centers around an idea of transition.

Piece by Louise Griffin, Project Manager at NAC Architecture.

The art for the event explore...

I.M. Pei's collection of art will go out to auction starting September

2019-08-30T07:00:00-04:00

Not only did they care deeply for the works, but in many cases they cared deeply for the artists themselves, like Jean Dubuffet and Barnett Newman. Both Eileen and I.M. Pei had incredibly creative minds and, unsurprisingly, they surrounded themselves with friends of equal talent and intellect.

I.M. Pei, and his wife, Eileen's collection of art will go to auction at Christie's starting in Paris in September, followed by Hong Kong and Los Angeles in October, and then New York in November. The auctions will feature artwork by Barnett Newman, Zao Wou-ki, Jean Dubuffet, Henry Moore, and many others, reports Architectural Digest.

Many of the artists were friends with the Peis and the work is sure to provide an intimate look into the life of the couple, writes AD's Nick Mafi.