(RED), Sotheby's & Gagosian Celebrate The Third (RED) Auction In Miami
TOTAL NEARLY $11 MILLION RAISED FROM BOTH LIVE AND ONLINE AUCTION TO SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS
Auction Curated by Theaster Gates and Sir David Adjaye OBE In Collaboration with Bono
Exclusive Reception & Auction at the Moore Building in the Miami Design District
Theaster Gates 'A Flag for The Least of Them' Brings $807,000 A Record for the Artist
Jenny Saville's 'Susanna' Achieves $735,000
Additional Auction Records Set for Jennifer Guidi, Ebony G. Patterson, Ti-A Thuy Nguyen, Hank Willis Thomas and Leo Villareal
Attendees Included Bono, Sir David Adjaye OBE, Theaster Gates, Larry Gagosian, Craig Robins, Naomi Campbell, Karolina Kurkova, Christian Louboutin, Derek Blasberg, Bobby Shriver, Deborah Dugan and Gayle Smith
What: 5 December, 2018, in Miami, (RED), Sotheby's and Gagosian came together to raise $5.5 million to support the fight against AIDS. The third (RED) Auction totaled nearly $11 million, including matching funds by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Larry Gagosian, Theaster Gates, Bono and Sir David Adjaye OBE at the third (RED) Auction
The Moore Building Elastika for the third (RED) Auction
Oliver Barker during the third (RED) Auction
Curated by art and architecture stars Theaster Gates and Sir David Adjaye OBE in collaboration with musician and activist Bono, the auction featured contemporary art and design donated by Jenny Saville, Sean Scully, Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson, Jennifer Guidi, Frank Ghery, Christo, Jeff Koons and many more prominent creators. In addition, Sir David Adjaye and Theaster Gates created unique pieces for the sale.
Centered on the theme of light and the color red, the auction was led by Theaster Gates 'A Flag for The Least of Them,' which achieved $807,000, an auction record for the artist. Additional auction records were set for artists including Jennifer Guidi, Ebony G. Patterson, Hank Willis Thomas and Leo Villareal.
Now closed for bidding, the accompanying (RED) Online sale helped bring the total raised to nearly $11M for the fight to end AIDS. The online auction was led by Ti-A Thuy Nguyen's 'Scarlet Mist,' which sold for $100,000 and set an auction record for the artist. The public exhibition presented by Gagosian, designed by Rene Gonzalez Architects and produced by Claire Breukel, was on view at the Moore Building through 7 December. The building donated by Craig Robins.
To date, (RED) has generated more than $600 million for the Global Fund to support lifesaving HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. Proceeds from the evening will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS to provide life-saving HIV/AIDS programs in sub-Saharan Africa, while also helping to fund community-strengthening programs in Chicago with the Rebuild Foundation – an organization championed by Theaster Gates.
The December event follows two previous (RED) Auctions conducted by Sotheby's. The first, organized by Bono and Damien Hirst in February 2008, featured works donated by Hirst, Banksy, Anish Kapoor, Marc Quinn, Georg Baselitz and Howard Hodgkin, among others, and established 17 new auction records. The second, curated by Jony Ive and Marc Newson in 2013, offered important 20th- and 21st-century design, and attracted matching funds for the AIDS fight from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bono, (RED) co-founder, commented, "These auctions have been game changing for the AIDS fight. It's not just about the cash they bring in, which is literally lifesaving – but it's also about the heat, about keeping this epidemic on the public agenda. Art has always been a vehicle for activism and for truth telling and the truth of the matter is that we're at a pivotal point where the progress we've achieved is in real jeopardy. Theaster and David - and all the artists here tonight - are raising the red flag at a critical time when fatigue and complacency are very real threats to the future of this virus."
"Conjuring this exhibition has been such a privilege. We are so grateful to the art, architecture and design community, all of our friends and colleagues who stepped up for the third (RED) Auction to contribute such beautiful work," said Sir David Adjaye.
"Pieces of work that now will extend beyond traditional utility and serve an even greater purpose in helping save lives," continued Theaster Gates.
Oliver Barker, Chairman of Sotheby's Europe and the auctioneer for the (RED) Auctions, said, "It has been an incredible honor for Sotheby's to partner with (RED) for a third auction in the fight against AIDS. Bono, Theaster and David have been extraordinary collaborators, and the enthusiasm of the artists who donated works of contemporary art and design had a direct impact on the outstanding prices achieved tonight."
Larry Gagosian commented, "It is an honor to support my friend Bono and (RED) in their impactful, and necessary, work in the global fight against AIDS. Sir David and Theaster were the perfect choice to curate the auction as they are two artists who best speak to the times in which we live. Since the first auction 10 years ago with Damien Hirst, I continue to be proud of the art community for their unwavering generosity and support."
"(RED) is making spectacular contributions to the fight to end AIDS, creating powerful collaborations infused with innovation and imagination to save lives and accelerate our progress towards ending the epidemic," said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund.
Where: The Moore Building, 4040 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33137
Who: Bono, Theaster Gates, and Sir David Adjaye OBE were joined by guests including Larry Gagosian, Craig Robins, Naomi Campbell, Karolina Kurkova, Christian Louboutin, Derek Blasberg, Marc Quinn, Guggi Rowan, Bobby Shriver, Princess Alia Al- Senussi, HRH Princess Firyal of Jordan, Ebony G. Patterson, Hank Willis Thomas, Dr. Deborah Willis, Sue Webster, Ti-A Thuy Nguyen, James Casebere, Stephen Burks and Ben Milstein.
Thanks to sponsors Bank of America, NetJets and Sotheby's International Realty.
ABOUT (RED)® (RED) was founded in 2006 to engage businesses and people in the fight against AIDS. (RED) partners with the world's most iconic brands that contribute proceeds from (RED)-branded goods and services to the Global Fund. (RED) Proud Partners include: Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Claro, The Coca-Cola Company, Durex, MCM, Salesforce, SAP, Starbucks and Telcel. (RED) Special Edition partners include: aden+anais, Alessi, ALEX AND ANI, Andaz, Baxter of California, Bombas, Calm, Fatboy USA, Girl Skateboards, Montblanc, Mophie, S'well, Wanderlust and Vespa.
To date, (RED) has generated more than $600 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to support HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. 100 percent of that money goes to work on the ground – no overhead is taken. Global Fund grants that (RED) supports have impacted nearly 140 million people with prevention, treatment, counseling, HIV testing and care services.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL FUND The Global Fund is a 21st-century partnership organization designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. Founded in 2002, the Global Fund is a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases. The Global Fund raises and invests nearly US $4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in countries and communities most in need.
Working together, we have saved millions of lives and provided prevention, treatment and care services to hundreds of millions of people, helping to revitalize entire communities, strengthen local health systems and improve economies.
ABOUT REBUILD FOUNDATION Rebuild Foundation is an arts, education and cultural development organization committed to transforming urban communities. Founded by artist Theaster Gates, the organization supports artists and strengthens communities by providing free arts programming, creating new cultural amenities and developing affordable housing, studio and live-work spaces. Rebuild Foundation also serves as a platform for other mission-aligned organizations by providing space, support and partnership around common goals.
ABOUT GAGOSIAN Gagosian is a leading international gallery for modern and contemporary art, with sixteen exhibition spaces in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, Rome, Geneva, Athens and Hong Kong. Founded by Larry Gagosian in the early 1980s, the gallery has presented an unparalleled program of exhibitions by legendary figures such as Francis Bacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Constantin Brancusi, Alexander Calder, John Chamberlain, Willem de Kooning, Walter de Maria, Alberto Giacometti, Helen Frankenthaler, Roy Lichtenstein, Claude Monet, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol. Together with its distinguished historical program, the gallery presents a roster of ambitious exhibitions by the world's most acclaimed living artists, including Georg Baselitz, John Currin, Rachel Feinstein, Urs Fischer, Ellen Gallagher, Mark Grotjahn, Andreas Gursky, Jasper Johns, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons, Brice Marden, Takashi Murakami, Ed Ruscha, Jenny Saville, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Taryn Simon, Rudolf Stingel, Mark Tansey, Adriana Varejão, Mary Weatherford, Rachel Whiteread and Christopher Wool. These exhibitions, which have placed Gagosian at the forefront of contemporary art, are accompanied by beautifully designed, scholarly catalogues, monographs, and the Gagosian Quarterly.
ABOUT SOTHEBY'S Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection, artist, estate & foundation advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and three retail businesses: Sotheby's Wine, Sotheby's Diamonds, and Viyet, the online marketplace for interior design. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).
*Estimates do not include buyer's premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.
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