10 In-Demand Works on Artsy This Week: March 25, 2021

In this weekly series, Artsy’s Curatorial and Editorial teams offer a look at the artworks that are currently gaining traction among collectors on Artsy. Looking at our internal data, we share a selection of works that Artsy members are engaging with through inquiries, page views, and saves, plus promising lots in current auctions. The following pieces are culled from recent online auctions and art fairs hosted on Artsy, as well as exhibitions and works added by our gallery partners.

Zandile Tshabalala, Self Check: Lady in pink scarf (2021)

Currently on view at SMAC Gallery’s group exhibition “Black Luminosity,” this painting by South African artist Zandile Tshabalala sold after receiving a flurry of inquiries. Curated by Gcotyelwa Mashiqa, the show examines visual representations of Blackness, referring both to the dark, opaque surfaces of the artworks, as well as the connotations of visibility and racial bias. Tshabalala’s work is also currently on view at a solo show titled “Enter Paradise” at ADA \ Contemporary Art Gallery in Accra, Ghana.

Browse available works by Zandile Tshabalala.

Annie Morris, Stack 3, Ultramarine Blue (2021)

This whimsical mixed-media sculpture by the British artist Annie Morris has been seeing a fair amount of excitement at UNION Gallery’s current group show “Holding Hands.” Part of her ongoing “Stack” sculpture series, this intimately scaled work is made from shaped plaster and sand, which Morris then covers with pigment, giving these organic spheres a rich depth of color.

Browse available works by Annie Morris.

Sarah Crowner, Rising Blue (2021)

The American artist Sarah Crowner creates her canvases using stitched-together forms, putting her own unique spin on the hard-edge abstraction popularized by artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Frank Stella. Painted in a Matisse-esque blue, this painting sold shortly after being uploaded to Artsy by Galerie Nordenhake in mid-March.

Browse available works by Sarah Crowner.

Jennifer Guidi, Unt. (Field #8 Sand) (2014)

At the “Artsy x Rago/Wright: Post-War and Contemporary” sale, this work by the Los Angeles–based artist Jennifer Guidi has been attracting a number of bids, approaching its low estimate of $70,000. The textural work is composed of sand and oil applied to a linen canvas, marked by a wooden dowel to achieve its meditative patterning. Last fall, a similar work by Guidi from 2018 sold at Sotheby’s for $375,000.

Browse available works by Jennifer Guidi.

Sam Gilliam, Stile (2004)

Sam Gilliam is known for groundbreaking abstract work, yet it’s only recently that the market for his work has caught up to his legacy. This later work offers a contrast to Gilliam’s better known draped Color Field paintings; it speaks elegantly to the artist’s deft ability to bridge the gap between sculpture and painting, as well as his mastery of color and form. This work is also featured in the “Artsy x Rago/Wright: Post-War and Contemporary” sale.

Browse available works by Sam Gilliam.

Conor Harrington, Holy smoke quintet (part four) (2010)

Just one bid in, this work by the Irish street artist Conor Harrington has already met its low estimate of €45,000 at Digard Auction’s “Urban Contemporary Art” sale. The heavily layered painting is emblematic of Harrington’s loose, expressive brushstrokes and is one of five pieces Harrington created reflecting on the complex relationship between Christianity and Islam, examining their entangled histories.

Browse available works by Conor Harrington.

Jesús Rafael Soto, Untitled

At Martini Studio d’Arte’s “Modern and Contemporary Art” sale, there have already been several bids on this lithograph by the Venezuelan artist Jesús Rafael Soto. Part of an edition of 150, while the print has not yet met its low estimate of €1,000, it’s likely to continue to attract bids, bringing it within its predicted range. Soto’s prints consistently perform well at auction—this past December, one particular 1959 screen print on painted plywood and plexiglass achieved €25,000, over three times its high estimate.

Browse available works by Jesús Rafael Soto.

Katherine Bernhardt, Crazy Doritos (2019)

This print by the sensational American artist Katherine Bernhardt is featured in Forum Auctions’s “Spring Selection” sale. Another Crazy Doritos (2019) print sold last June at Sotheby’s for well over double its high estimate for an astounding HK$40,000. Beloved for her idiosyncratic, technicolor approach to painting popular subjects (everything from cigarettes to watermelons to E.T.), in recent months, Bernhardt has brought her freewheeling practice to Puerto Rico, where she hosted a socially distanced sign-painting party.

Browse available works by Katherine Bernhardt.

Ayako Okudo, untitled (2012)

After receiving a number of inquiries since being uploaded by Kouichi Fine Arts in late February, this painting by the Japanese artist Ayako Okudo sold this week. Though the scene is ostensibly serene, in the distance, one can make out a solitary and completely out-of-place figure seemingly copied and pasted onto the mountainside. These strange figures are a motif in Okado’s work, casting a hint of uncertainty in what are otherwise peaceful compositions.

Browse available works by Ayako Okado.

Dan Colen, Break the Bottle (2013)