Contemporary Art - Zdeněk Sýkoras "Linienbilder" – one of the high points of the auction

After Tony Cragg's "Runner", a 1.5 m tall bronze from 2014 and one of the highlights was withdrawn shortly before the auction (lot 659), two "Linienbilder" by the Czech painter and sculptor Zdeněk Sýkora became highlights of the auction. Sýkora had worked on the theme of "Linienbilder" since 1972, which brought him fame worldwide for his sensually highly descriptive meditations on the relationship between system and chance. "Linien Nr. 34" from the year 1985 sold for € 285,000 to a Czech collection (lot 634, € 150/200,000), whilst "Linien Nr. 40" from the following year sold for € 198,000 to a collection from the same country (lot 635, € 90/120,000).

A further top lot was Günter Förg’s 2.50 x 4.20 m untitled canvas from 1998, which sold for € 368,000 (lot 641, € 250/350,000), whilst another was Kenneth Noland's large-format, irregular, eight-sided canvas "Immingle" from 1976, which sold for € 309,000 (lot 617, € 180/220,000).

Shining out from the small group of Sam Francis works was the 1979 dated "Ohne Titel "SF 79-885)", selling for € 124,000 (lot 637, € 80/120,000). Gerhard Richter was present with almost a dozen works. The highest result of € 149,000 for "7.4.88" from the year 1988 sold to the German trade (lot 649, € 120/150,000), whilst his "Frau mit Kind", a frequence-modulated offset print on card from 2005 sold for € 81,000, also to the German trade (lot 653, € 60/80,000).

Imi Knoebel was represented by a total of 15 works, nearly all selling above the estimate. The highlight was a large, untitled painting measuring 204 x 420 cm which passed on to the German trade for € 147,000 (lot 663, € 100,000). His 1994 characteristic work in acrylic on aluminium on wood "If I can dream" pushed past its €50/60,000 estimate to reach € 81,000 (lot 627), whilst one of his "Faces" pictures also went far beyond its estimate to sell for € 60,000 (lot 660, € 30/40,000). Amongst the Katharina Grosse works, an untitled, almost three meter wide, brightly coloured sprayed canvas from 2014/2015 shone out with the Spanish trade investing € 112,000 (lot 665); an acrylic painting on aluminium reached € 59,000 (lot 666).

"Figur II", a 171 cm high bronze by Joannis Avramidis from the year 1959 went to the Austrian trade for € 143,000 (lot 615, € 120,000), whilst "Two lying figures on base", a 25 x 34.5 x 48 cm bronze by the British sculptor Lynn Chadwick from the year 1974, reached € 52,000 (lot 604, € 50/60,000). The German trade took on a canvas by Peter Brüning from 1961 for € 72,000 (lot 601, € 50/60,000), and an untitled, figuratively-abstract canvas measuring 170 x 245 cm from 1983 by James Brown sold way above the estimate for € 64,000, to a buyer in Italy (lot 658, € 30/40,000).

From the small, noteworthy selection of six works by Norbert Kricke, from a private collection, the 1956 work "Raumplastik Gelb-Weiß-Schwarz" drew particular attention. A German collector was eventually successful at € 74,000, from an estimate of € 25/35,000 (lot 606). The other two sculptures also pushed past their estimates: a spatial sculpture from the 1950s rose up to € 60,000 (lot 607, € 30/40,000), and "Flächenbahn" from the same period reached € 47,000, from € 20/30,000 (lot 608).