“World Receiver” was withdrawn from Sotheby’s auction
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Isa Genzken decided to return the once donated sculpture
A sculpture by German artist Isa Genzken entitled Weltempfänger (“World Receiver”) was valued at $50,000 and was to be included in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art – Discovery auction. Moreover, it was the “World Receiver” that was supposed to open the auction. However, during the auction the lot was withdrawn. What’s happened?
Muddy story. Attention to the art object in the form of a concrete block from which two receiver antennas protrude was also drawn because two weeks before the auction scheduled for the end of September, it appeared in the popular German TV series “Bares für Rares” (“Dough for Old Men” , also known as “Garbage”). In the eighth season episode, the characters discuss the importance and value of work that is essentially made from garbage, but raises a complex debate about the age of the information society. On the one hand, we live in a world of high technology, on the other hand, we remain savages and the way information is often handled resembles the new Stone Age.
However, the reason for the withdrawal of the conceptual work from auction was not political reasons, but commercial ones. It is reported that the work was put up for auction by an unknown owner, to whom the sculpture, created in 2011, was donated several years ago. Sotheby’s keeps the names of clients secret: confidentiality policies are commonplace in the art market. There is a version that the sculpture belongs to the Berlin gallery of Daniel Buchholz. The publication Der Standard writes that the artist’s lawyers intervened in the case. Apparently, the 74-year-old artist or her representatives decided that after the television success, it was not profitable to sell the “World Receiver”. Probably the deed of gift was not documented. In this case, the author can assert his rights and return the work. However, it is strange that this was not done earlier, before the start of online bidding, which lasted two weeks. As a result, the auction failed. Most of the lots remained unsold.
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