Joining the roster of luxury tastemakers such as Kim Jones, Jill Stuart, and Victoria Beckham, Italian designer Margherita Missoni is the latest emissary from the fashion world to guest curate one of Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated sales. The granddaughter of Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, who founded her family’s fashion house in 1953, Missoni has recently taken over as creative director of ‘M Missoni’—a millennial-minded offshoot of the famed brand. Bearing a surname that has become synonymous with colorful zigzagged and space-dyed knits, Missoni, naturally, inherited an eye for aesthetics and art.
“I’ve always been irresistibly drawn and simultaneously repulsed by grotesque aesthetics,” she says, “I can’t stop myself from staring and then turning away.” One of her picks for the auction—George Condo’s Antipodal Reunion from 2005, which is estimated at £650,000–800,000—is a perfect example of such a vantage point.
Some other highlights include Yayoi Kusama’s 1993 Star (estimated at £150,000–200,000), and Monir Farmanfarmaian’s 1975 steel-and-painted-mirrored-glass piece called Geometry of Hope (estimated at £300,000–400,000). “I once read ‘if Duchamp’s aim was to kill art, Anastasi displays the corpse, in various stages of decay,’” she says. “I still can’t find better words to describe his ingenious artistic journey through over 50 years,” which explains why she’s also included conceptual artist William Anastasi’s piece from 2000 Untitled, 2000 (estimated at £25,000–35,000).
With more affordable price points, Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated series provides an opportunity for collectors to explore artist’s markets—both new and established. Marking the auction house’s eighth edition of its London sale, open bidding runs from April 14 to April 21. Sotheby’s will simultaneously debut a new “digital-first” catalog introducing enhanced features such as video and other interactive media.
