With 12 million most expensive work of still living artist

Marlene Dumas In the middle of this week, she set a auction in New York a world record of the most expensive works of living artist. A picture titled Miss January from 1997 she brought her $ 13.6 million ($ 12.1 million) at the auction, exceeding the record Jenny Savillewhich in 2018 is a picture Propped (1992) sold for $ 12.4 million (over $ 11 million).

Miss January It is 2.82 meters high. It features a young woman with a pale face. She is dressed in a translucent T -shirt and is naked from her waist, she has only one vivid pink sock. Because of its monumental size Miss January He rises above the visitors and shows his supremacy.

A South African artist is an inspiration for Miss January drew from the magazine Playboyfrom photos of women on the middle side. Nonetheless Miss January With makeup typical of expensive queens or queens of disguise, it does not evoke the stereotypically male fantasy. Dumas is known for emotionally charged and psychologically complex portraits, which are often based on randomly found photographs. Her works explore topics such as sex, race, sadness, motherhood and body. Miss January It is no exception, as it challenges the traditional concepts of a women’s act throughout the history of art, focused on a view from a male perspective, the portal writes Artnews.

Earn only ten percent of the value of an artist image

Even though Marlene Dumas is with Miss January set a new record for the most expensive works of the living artist, the sum cannot compete with those achieved by the artwork of male artists. There is a picture on the same exhibition Jean-Michel Basquiat Baby boom from 1982 reached a price of $ 23.4 million ($ 21 million), while the world record of the most expensive works of living artist is $ 90.3 million (nearly $ 80.6 million), which it reached Jeff Koons – the value of almost seven pictures Miss January – which clearly indicates systemic inequality in the art market. According to the BBC documentary Recalculating art (2022) artists earn only ten percent of the value for their works the pictures of the artist.

Although auctions for artists and artists are usually not a source of earnings, they are a good indicator of trends in the art market, they evaluate its state, the values ​​of artworks and the popularity of individual artists. The success of artists at auctions contributes to their reputation and recognition, which often provides them with a long -term career and earnings in the future. Nevertheless, seven years have passed since the last world record of the most expensive works of the living artist, which indicates a binary sharing of earnings in the art market.