Contemporary Art

The Contemporary Art department is among the most profitable at Lempertz. Alongside our successful regular auctions we also carry out special sales for large corporate and private collections as well as being a dedicated partner in numerous charity auctions. Our Lempertz branches in Cologne, Berlin, and Brussels have housed exhibitions of renowned Contemporary artists such as Anish Kapoor, Sean Scully, Ellsworth Kelly, Joannis Avramidis, Eberhard Havekost and Jorinde Voigt.

With lempertz:projects, we give private and institutional collectors a platform to sell at auctions works of young artists not yet established on the art market. Moreover, lempertz:projects comprises art works by established contemporary artists with attractive estimates.

The lempertz:projects auctions take place in Brussels once a year in early December. Brussels with its vicinity to all European art centres and with its dynamic art market offers the ideal location for the latest tendencies in contemporary art.

Our experienced Contemporary Art experts are here to help you. We are available to answer your questions in person at one of our branches, via e-mail, or over the phone. For particularly extensive collections we are also happy to organise home visits upon request.

E-Mail: contemporary@lempertz.com

Lempertz have been organising sales of Contemporary Art since 1989. Our portfolio has included artists from the post-war period to the present day. Our Contemporary Art auctions take place twice annually in May/June and November/December in Cologne. In 2017 we extended our Contemporary Art programme to include the lempertz:projects format. This new auction format is designed to appeal especially to younger collectors, offering works by Contemporary artists for moderate estimates.

Lempertz is among the leading auction houses for Contemporary Art. Every auction season brings forth surprising new works of Contemporary Art of the highest quality. Our sales include paintings, works on paper, sculptures, objects, multiples, prints, as well as large scale artworks. The complete selection of works are presented in our auction catalogues.

Are you planning on selling a work of Contemporary Art or would you like to have a work of Contemporary Art valued? Our experts are happy to provide you with free and non-binding advice. Our valuation form is a simple way to make your initial contact with us.

Collectors and experts alike praise and admire Contemporary Art. Quintessential works of Contemporary Art achieve exceptional results and the prices for Contemporary Art can rise to fantastic heights. Lempertz auction house can look back on a long and successful history of Contemporary Art auctions. 

An exceptional result was achieved in 2018 for Achrome; a folded canvas with kaolin by the Italian artist Piero Manzoni which sold for € 844,000 (all prices including buyer's premium).  Joseph Albers' Homage to the Square from 1962 changed hands in June 2017 for € 616,000. Lempertz have also achieved impressive results for works of contemporary sculpture. For example Fritz Koenig's Große Flora D, which sold in December 2016 for € 568,000 and especially the bronze High Wind by the British sculptor Lynn Chadwick, which changed hands for € 624,000.