Phillips auction house is looking to cash in on the market success of artists KAWS and Banksy by holding a market auction sale dedicated to the two artists.
“Ten Monkeys and a Dolphin: Banksy & KAWS” features the distinctive works of the blockbuster artists. The exhibition, on view from January 14 through February 10 in New York, highlights paintings, screenprints, editions, and sculptures, all of which come from a single European collector.
The auction house shared on Instagram that “after back-to-back exhibitions featuring the artists in 2018 and 2019, we've brought Banksy and KAWS together to kick off our 2020 season.”
Based on the performances of both artists last year “Ten Monkeys and a Dolphin: Banksy & KAWS” is likely to be a success. Banksy’s Devolved Parliament (2019) fetched $12,142,893 at Sotheby’s London, and KAWS’s Sgt. Pepper-meets-The Simpsons painting The Kaws Album (2019) fetched $14.8 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
Miety Heiden, Phillips’ head of private sales, told ArtNet that although these were extraordinary results, “the market is very deep for both these artists.” According to Heiden, “we see more and more people coming into this market every day, but it’s still not at the price levels of Warhol or Basquiat, so it’s still very accessible for a big group of art collectors.”
“Ten Monkeys and a Dolphin: Banksy & KAWS” will be on view January 14 through February 10 at Phillips New York.
