The chart above shows the artists who had the biggest increases month over month in the number of collectors inquiring about their work on Artsy in November.
Last month,
experienced one of the largest surges in collector demand on Artsy. The self-taught New York–based painter is best known for his prismatic abstractions that merge
and
with images mined from contemporary popular culture. This uptick in interest follows a wave of international solo and group exhibitions featuring the artist’s mixed-media work. Martinez’s current show, “Fingers Pointing at the Moon,” is now on view at Perrotin in Shanghai until December 25th. His works were also exhibited during Miami Art Week, including at Mitchell-Innes & Nash’s seasonal pop-up space.
Interest in the artist’s colorful work has continued to grow following the significant growth of his secondary market in 2020. His work, which now regularly commands six figures, set two new auction records this past May. At a Christie’s Hong Kong sale, Martinez’s frenetic large-scale paintings They Build You Up to Knock You Down (2009) and Untitled (2015) sold for HK$6 million (US$772,688)—more than triple its high estimate—and HK$5.6 million (US$724,619), respectively, landing in his top 10 auction results to date. On December 9th, Martinez’s work will be among the leading lots at Phillips’s “New Now” sale in London.
Meanwhile, collector interest in
’s patterned and vibrating canvases of geometric shapes nearly tripled on Artsy last month. This increase may be partially attributed to the recent spotlight on the revolutionary
on the British television network BBC Two.
The program, titled Bridget Riley: Painting the Line, gave a comprehensive look at the artist’s enduring legacy. The surge in demand for Riley’s paintings also came on the heels of the sale of Halcyon 2 (1972) for a stunning £2.6 million ($3.6 million) at a Christie’s auction in London this past October. The kaleidoscopic acrylic-on-linen work became the British artist’s fifth-highest auction result to date.