Jones Bergamin & Sophie Su, Bolsa de Arte, Brazil

Both Lygia Clark and Mira Schendel have long been firmly established as artists nationally and recognized internationally. However, their retrospectives at the Tate Modern in London for Mira in 2013 and at MoMA in New York in 2004 for Lygia, really boosted their market, bringing about changes in their valuation and international representation.

The works of Lygia Clark at the time of her death in 1988 were worth around $30,000. It was in 1994, during her first international retrospective, that her creations began to be valued. In 2001, the O Mundo da Lygia Clark association was created to issue certificates of authenticity and the market was then divided between certified and uncertified works. In 2008, the work of Lygia Clark began to be represented by international galleries and their valuation increased thanks to the curating of exhibitions devoted to the artist at the art fairs of Basel in Switzerland and Frieze in London in 2010. The formalization of Lygia’s retrospective at MoMA in 2012 resulted in the frequent appearance of the artist’s works at national and international auctions. 2013 was a record year for the artist: in May 2013, Phillips New York sold a Contra-Relevo of 1959 for $2,225,000; in August 2013, the auction house Bolsa de Arte, with offices in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, set the world record for any Brazilian artist ever sold at auction, by sellingSuperficie Moldulada nº4 by Lygia Clark for R$5,300,000. However, the artist’s valuation came to a standstill in this year, 2015. Indeed, following family quarrels brought before justice, Mundo da Lygia Clark decided to suspend the issuing of certificates of authenticity, giving rise to a climate of insecurity around the artist’s work and a market awaiting answers. Despite these mostly family-related difficulties, the works on the market have not lost value.

Important international exhibitions have been dedicated to Mira Schendel in recent years, such as that at the Tate in London in 2013, and then at the Serralves Foundation in Lisbon and the Pinacoteca in São Paulo in 2014. This greatly stimulated international demand for the artist while confirming the importance and power of national collectors. Even if high auction prices could be noted, such as that for Objeto Gráfico of 1960, sold for $845,000 at Sotheby’s New York in May 2014, the most popular works have remained in the hands of private collectors and tend to be exchanged by mutual agreement. It is important to note that Mira Schendel has recently come to be represented by one of the most powerful international galleries, Hauser & Wirth. The Zurich gallery with an office in New York and London has already organized two highly successful solo exhibitions of the artist’s work.

We believe that the market for these two incredibly talented artists will continue to grow considerably over the coming years.