The summer edition of Christie’s First Open in New York on July 22 promises a familiar mix of midtier postwar and contemporary art with the added bonus of some notable sellers, including the Bass Museum of Art in Miami, the Seattle Art Museum, and Chicago arts patron Ruth Horwich, who also had worksin February's First Open sale.While the price points are considerably lower than at the evening sales, the house lards the 300 offerings with works by blue-chip names such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Lucio Fontana, Cindy Sherman, Yves Klein, and Andy Warhol. Two Japanese artists who have experienced exceptional market growth in recent years are expected to land among the top lots: Yayoi Kusama with a shimmering gold-painted soft sculpture titled Fruits from 1998, estimated at $50,000 to $70,000, and Kazuo Shiraga, whose oil on canvas Ougi from 1968 carries an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000.The First Open series is most interesting, however, for the range of artists who have not yet, or not recently, made evening appearances. While Warhol's prints might be had at an "affordable" price, these less famous names find their works typically peak under $100,000. Representing those too young to have made the leap are several works by Jacob Hashimoto, born in 1973, who is best known for room-filling abstract installations made from elements that play off traditional Japanese kites. Among the category of mid-career and older artists whose works are being tested on the open market is Karl Wirsum, a founding memner of Chicago's Hairy Who group, specializing in a cartoonish figures. A third category of artists operating in the five-figure realm are those once better figures waiting for resurgence of not outright rediscovery; they are represented here by Op Artists such as Viktor Vasarely and Richard Anuszkiewicz among others.To accompany the live auction, more than 150 lots will be offered for sale online between July 16 and July 28, including works by James Rosenquist, Raymond Pettibon, Lawrence Weiner, Nan Goldin, and Jack Pierson.
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