Vienna Art Week 2016 Opens at Palais Dorotheum with High-Value Italian Works

The 2016 Vienna Art Week kicked off at Palais Dorotheum, the historic auction house and main sponsor, under the theme 'Seeking Beauty'. Artistic director Robert Punkendorfer delivered a brief welcome speech. The week features auctions of modern and contemporary art: Contemporary Art I on Tuesday 22, Modern Art on Wednesday 23, and Contemporary Art II on Thursday 24. Notable Italian artists with six-figure estimates include Enrico Castellani (€250,000–350,000), Tano Festa (€150,000–200,000), Paolo Scheggi (€160,000–220,000), Giuseppe Uncini (€150,000–200,000), Pier Paolo Calzolari, Agostino Bonalumi, Giuseppe Capogrossi, Arnaldo Pomodoro, and Gino de Dominicis. Lucio Fontana's unusual work is estimated at €200,000–300,000, a contrast to his record-breaking €1 million sale of 'Concetto spaziale (Attesa – 68 T 77)' in 2013. The highest estimate is a Marc Chagall flower still life at €750,000–1 million, in the modern section alongside works by Giacomo Balla, Gerardo Dottori, and Gino Severini. The opening party featured a luminous installation and techno music.