Christie’s is kicking off a major selling season with works that once decorated the home of Ago Demirdjian and ARTnews Top 200 collector Tiqui Atencio, the husband and wife duo who have become two the most influential figures in contemporary art patronage.
The two have picked 15 blue-chip works of postwar and contemporary art owned by the trustees of Mayfair Oeuvres d’Art Ltd and Artapar Ltd. (Atencio and Demirdjian are behind the two corporations, a Christie’s spokesperson said.) Among the pieces headlining Christie’s 21st century evening sale this May are two works from 1999—Ed Ruscha’s Blast Curtain and Cecily Brown’s Bedtime Stories—that are each estimated at $4 million–6 million. Those works are joined by pieces from Julie Mehretu, Elizabeth Peyton, Louise Bourgeois, and Lygia Clark, among others.
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The auction is, in a way, the culmination of a decades-long collecting journey that began in when the couple met in Paris in the 1980s and spans continents, movements, and mediums. Atencio, a Venezuelan-born collector, author, and trustee of multiple art foundations, has for years championed Latin American artists and female creators. Demirdjian, a businessman, evolved his taste through their partnership, embracing the dynamic edge of the contemporary scene.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the sale is the conversation between household names like Peyton and Ruscha, as well as artists like Carmen Herrera, Lygia Clark, and Gego, who have only recently gained greater attention in the US, with major retrospectives staged in New York for each.
“Evening sales can be like a magnifying glass,” Ana Maria Celis, Christie’s head of postwar and contemporary art told ARTnews, adding that artists like Ruscha, Brown, and Peyton already have phenomenal reputations and don’t particularly need extra attention to prove their value. However, “to have the opportunity to use those works by Ruscha and Peyton in this collection to put a magnifying glass on works that are of extraordinary quality but where the artist’s markets have haven’t quite hit the hype of others, it’s a privilege.”
Following the New York kickoff, additional works from Demirdjian and Atencio’s holdings will be offered in Paris and London later in 2025. The Paris sale will feature a number of works by major figures in French design dating back to the 1950s, including a three-armed floor lamp by Serge Mouille estimated to sell for between €70,000 – €90,000 ($77,500 – $99,700) and a pair of Visiteur armchairs by Jean Prouvé €150,000 – €200,000 ($166,000 – $221,000).