Olyvia Kwok sued by Sotheby’s Over Unpaid-For Basquiat and Twombly Works

Sotheby’s London has issued art and jewelry investor Olyvia Kwok with a £3 million High Court writ for purchasing two artworks on behalf of a client who was unable to pay for them, the Telegraph has reported. Kwok successfully bid £2.49 million for “Water-Worshipper” by Jean-Michel Basquiat and £386,500 for “Idilli” by Cy Twombly at the Contemporary Art Evening Auction back in February. At the time, Kwok described the Basquiat purchase as “a bargain,” adding, “I believe that by the end of the year it will be in a different league. In 18 months we are looking to double what we paid.

Since then, Kwok has claimed that she was acting on behalf of a European client based in Hong Kong, who later failed to produce the funds. She was introduced to the client through a mutual friend. “In ten years of dealings in the business I have never found my trust has been breached in this way,” she said. Sotheby’s filed a High Court writ demanding the £2,974,400 owed, plus interest of £43,964.08. It has also retained the works. However, a spokesperson for the auction house confirmed that while the writ has been issued, the parties involved are “in the process of resolving the matter.”

“We’ve now been paid the majority of the proceeds, and payment in full is in the process of being amicably resolved,” the spokesperson said.

Kwok became an art dealer at the age of 22, with guidance from her godfather Conor Mahony — a former vice-president of the Chinese department at Sotheby’s. She went on to purchase artworks for a private bank in Geneva as part of its $50 million hedge fund. She opened her own gallery in London in 2005, but moved into art investing in 2009 after prices across the art market fell.

Paris Names Public Square After Basquiat

A public square in Paris’s 13th arrondissement will be named after Jean-Michel Basquiat after the French capital’s City Council approved a proposal from  Jérôme Coumet, the 13th arrondissement’s mayor.

 

“Basquiat is one of the biggest contemporary artists,” Coumet told Le Figaro. “He defended the cause of African-Americans in the US, and was also a lover of France. He was the artist who blazed the trail for street art, and art in public space.”

 

The 13th arrondissement has become a destination for its wealth of street art—including the recently demolished Tour Paris 13—and already features several streets named after artists, like the Rue Paul Klee and Rue Marcel Duchamp.

 

“The 13th already has a number of streets with the names of artists and intellectuals,” Coumet said. “Basquiat has his place among them.”

 

The future Place Jean-Michel Basquiat is currently under construction, and will be christened with its new name at an as-yet unspecified date.

 

Also approved in the same session of the council of the 13th arrondissement on June 10: Rue Jacques Lacan.

Young King Basquiat

LEGEND SINCE DAY ONE

 

JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

 

"EVERY LINE MEANS SOMETHING"

 

$60 Banksy Central Park Stencils Estimated to Sell for $200,000

Last fall, Banksy took to New York for his “Better Out Than In” residency. One of his projects in the series saw Banksy hire a man to sell his art pieces in Central Park. Although the canvases were on sale for $60 USD a piece, only a few were sold with visitors clueless that the art belonged to the acclaimed street artist. Now, two of the stenciled pieces, “Kids on Guns” and “Winnie the Pooh” (seen above) are heading up for auction at British auctioneers Bonhams. Sizing out to 45.5 x 45.5 cm each, the auction house estimates the artworks to worth $51,000 to $85,000 USD and $85,000 and $12,000 USD respectively. The auction will take place on July 2 in London