ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Christie's and Sotheby's blur art and commerce

market-auction · 2026-04-23

Christie's and Sotheby's are treating contemporary art like auctioneers, mixing disposable underwear from 1960 with Nan Goldin images in their catalogs. The confusion between fashion, advertising, and art is fueled by brands like Comme des Garçons, which installed a store interior in New York plagiarizing a Richard Serra work previously exhibited in a facing gallery.

Key facts

  • Christie's and Sotheby's mix disposable underwear from 1960 with Nan Goldin images in catalogs.
  • Comme des Garçons installed a New York store interior plagiarizing a Richard Serra work.
  • The plagiarized Serra work was exhibited months earlier in a gallery facing the store.
  • The article was published in artpress in June 1999.

Entities

Artists

  • Richard Serra
  • Nan Goldin

Institutions

  • Christie's
  • Sotheby's
  • Comme des Garçons
  • artpress

Locations

  • New York
  • United States

Sources