TEFAF New York 2023: Italian Galleries Report Strong Sales to Institutions

At TEFAF New York 2023, held at the Park Avenue Armory from May 11, Italian galleries reported strong sales, particularly to institutional collectors. Mazzoleni sold works by de Chirico, Morandi, Carla Accardi, and Salvo, with prices ranging from $40,000 to $400,000. The fair saw over 90 international museums in attendance, with early acquisitions including a Meret Oppenheim sculpture sold by Di Donna to a major US institution, multiple Josef Albers works acquired by an Asian museum from David Zwirner, and Matt Mullican's 'Untitled (Man and His Symbols)' sold by Peter Freeman for $185,000. Female artists performed well: Pacita Abad (Tina Kim, $50,000–100,000), Shirley Jaffe (Nathalie Obadia), Gillian Carnegie, Isabella Ducrot, Jadé Fadojutimi, Laura Owens (Galerie Gisela Capitain), Kiki Smith (Galleria Continua), Chloe Wise (Almine Rech, $40,000–55,000 each), and Bridget Riley (Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert, $200,000 each). In design, Galerie Mitterrand sold François-Xavier Lalanne's 'Singe Attentif SI' (1992) for $1.7 million, plus Claude Lalanne objects ($20,000–650,000). Modernity sold an Axel Enoch Boman table lamp ($38,500) and a pair of Aarhus City Hall ceiling lights ($50,000). The fair coincided with major auctions at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips.