Iggy Rodriguez oil painting recently sold at Salcedo Auctions in the Philippines

On June 29, 2013, Saturday afternoon---via telephone bids because I was at a business meeting in another part of Metro Manila---I had recently bought this oil painting of talented and award-winning artist Raoul Ignacio "Iggy" Rodriguez from the Salcedo Auctions in Makati City, the Philippines. The seller originally bought it from his first solo art exhibit entitled "KIMI-IMIK" from November 10 to 30, 2009 at Blanc Compound in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.

I remember I was invited to the opening of that exhibit by businessman and art collector Jonathan Que, and that was the particular work that I liked the most in the entire exhibit but it was already sold. So when this painting "Hindi Laging Ganito" came up for resale this year, I made sure that I should buy it, not only because I admire the talented painter and 2009 CCP Thirteen Artists Awardee Iggy Rodriguez, but I am very impressed by that intriguing, thought-provoking, powerful, defiant, idealistic yet still hopeful masterpiece.

Without telling him that I had bought it, I texted him that it was sold in the auction, the artist texted back me that it is one of his favorite works and which he also used as image for protest rallies of activist groups in Metro Manila.


"Hindi Laging Ganito," oil on canvas, Photo courtesy of Blanc Compound



Joel Vega, based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, wrote in his "18th Moon" blog wrote this essay on the first solo art exhibit of Iggy Rodriguez, here are excepts:

Not only is Rodriguez in my artist-to-watch list after seeing, on-line, some of his earlier pen-and-ink works, but also the fact that it is his first solo (co-produced with Slash/Art Artist Initiatives) in a mainstream art venue.

Kimi is “timid” in Filipino, a trait often attributed by Western observers to many Filipinos. Whether the observation is correct or not, assertiveness is a social trait determined by one’s cultural genes in the Philippines where the politics of class, stature and money dominates or is the red line that crosses many social narratives. In Rodriguez’s chosen title the flipside of “Kimi” is “Imik” which in Filipino means “to speak out.” Not exactly a palindrome, the show’s title is a clever twist on the palindrome. More intriguing is the implicit suggestion: is the Filipino’s ‘timidity-assertiveness’ actually a Janus-face attribute?

Three works in Rodriguez’s Blanc show engage my attention... “Hindi Laging Ganito,” (Not Always Like This) is a sharp commentary on capitalism, where the fruits of a capitalistic society is literally rooted or made on the bent backs of the working class. Rodriquez’s burnt reds and frenetic lines and brush strokes eloquently convey this urgent message of social inequality, a powerful work depicting the ‘powerless.’ 

In socially engaged art it is easy to slide into pamphletry and sloganeering and the pitfalls are many even for the skilled artist. And, perhaps, for many Filipinos, the art of speaking out remains a skill that has yet to be fully mastered and expressed particularly in the face of blatant corruption shown by those who are in power. Thus, the posited query: which part of the Janus-face should the Filipino show in these dog days of  rampant power abuse? 

In this debut solo show, and among his peers, Rodriguez has shown that an artist can eloquently speak out on the country’s ills without straying from or abandoning his own artistic vision.   

In his foreword to the Blanc exhibit, the Filipino social-realist writer Jun Cruz Reyes wrote that Rodriguez obviously still has a lot to say on the social ills that continue to plague Philippine society, adding that it would be a fitting gesture if the art world open the gates to welcome this young artist.

Image below of the artist, sourced from bulatlat.com

Congratulations, Steve Cohen just bought Picasso work "Le Reve" from casino mogul Steve Wynn for US$155 million dollars! Wow!

(Image below of "Le Reve"---French for "The Dream"--- the 1932 oil painting by then 50-year-old artist Pablo Picasso portraying his 22-year-old mistress Marie-Therese Walter, sourced from en.wikipedia.org)




(Image below is the 1907 self-portrait by artist Pablo Picasso)





(Image below of Marie-Therese Walter, sourced from webartacademy.com)











(Image below of hedge fund tycoon Steve A. Cohen, sourced from businessinsider.com)






(Image below of casino tycoon Steve Wynn, sourced from bornrich.com)

Cohen Buys Picasso’s ‘Le Reve’ From Wynn for $155 Million

By Richard Vines & Katya Kazakina - Mar 27, 2013 2:12 AM GMT+0800

Stand Honda/AFP via Getty Images

Christopher Burge, chairman of Christie's, ends the bidding for Pablo Picasso's painting, "Le Reve". The work was bought by Steve Wynn and now resold to Steve Cohen.

Steve Cohen, owner of SAC Capital Advisors LP, has bought Pablo Picasso's “Le Reve” for $155 million from casino owner Steve Wynn, a person familiar with the transaction said.

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Cohen, owner of SAC Capital Advisors LP, has bought Pablo Picasso’s "Le Reve" for $155 million from casino owner Steve Wynn, a person familiar with the transaction told Bloomberg News. Betty Liu reports on Bloomberg Television's "In The Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)

Enlarge image

Steven A. Cohen

Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg

Steven A. Cohen and Mary Pat Christie at the Robin Hood Foundation benefit on May 14, 2012.

The price is the highest paid by a U.S. collector for an artwork, art dealers told Bloomberg.

Wynn had previously agreed to sell the painting to Cohen for $139 million in 2006. The purchase was canceled after Wynn, whose vision has deteriorated owing to retinitis pigmentosa, accidentally put his elbow through the canvas. Cohen remained interested in the work for years as it was repaired.

“The restoration seems to be factored into the price,” said Beverly Schreiber Jacoby, valuation specialist and president of New York-based BSJ Fine Art.  “If you didn’t know that it has been damaged, you would not see it. It’s superbly restored.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed $616 million insider-trading settlement with SAC Capital Advisors will be the subject of a hearing on March 28 in Manhattan federal court.
SAC manages $15 billion, 60 percent of which is Cohen’s and his employees’ money. Cohen is one of the world’s biggest art collectors, with works by Van Gogh, Manet, de Kooning, Picasso, Cezanne, Warhol, Johns and Richter.

Hirst Shark

Cohen, 56, started collecting art in about 2001. His taste has shifted from Impressionist to contemporary works.

An early Cohen purchase was Edouard Manet’s 1878 “Self Portrait with a Palette” from the collection of Las Vegas casino developer Wynn. Cohen later sold the work.

Cohen’s purchases have helped boost prices of artists such as Damien Hirst, whose shark-in-formaldehyde he bought for $8 million.

“Le Reve” shows Marie-Therese Walter, described in biographies as the married artist’s mistress, model and muse. For years he gave her and their daughter financial support.

The market for pictures of her surged when the 1932 “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” sold for $106.5 million -- a record for any work of art at auction -- at Christie’s International in New York in May 2010.
Sotheby’s in London also sold the 1932 “La Lecture” for 25.2 million pounds ($40.5 million) in February 2011. “Femme assise pres d’une fenetre” sold for 28.6 million pounds at Sotheby’s in London in February this year.

Married and 45, Picasso spotted Walter in 1927 on a Paris street when she was 17. She would be the artist’s greatest love for the next decade, inspiring numerous paintings and sculptures, according to John Richardson, Picasso’s biographer.

Young Mistress

“She was young, blond, sexy, round, accommodating,” said Michael Findlay, director of New York's Acquavella Galleries, which organized “Picasso’s Marie-Therese” exhibition in 2008, said in 2011.
Most of the top Marie-Therese paintings at auction have been dated 1932, the year of Picasso’s big retrospective at Galeries Georges Petit in Paris.

The Marie-Therese period hasn’t always been considered Picasso’s finest hour, said Findlay. This changed after “Le Reve” hit the auction block as part of the collection of Victor and Sally Ganz in 1997. It sold for $48 million.

“Everyone wanted to buy the ‘The Dream,’” said Findlay. “It was a standout among the new generation of collectors,” including Francois Pinault, Bernard Arnault, Cohen and Wynn.

The new “Le Reve” sale was earlier reported by the New York Post, citing a source it didn’t identify.
The price isn’t the most paid for a work of art. In 2011, Cezanne’s “Card Players” was bought by the royal family of Qatar for more than $250 million, Vanity Fair reported.

Outstanding nude painting done by National Artist Cesar Legaspi in 1979

I bought this beautiful nude painting by the late Philippine National Artist for Visual Arts Cesar Legaspi from the Dasmariñas Village, Makati City residence of a friend, a respected businessman on the night of January 23, 2013.

Legaspi is one of the best modernist painters of Southeast Asia.

By the way, the late Cesar Legaspi was the father of talented Philippine singer Celeste Legaspi.

Below is the image of the beautiful nude painting I just bought...





Description:

Cesar Legaspi,

Nude

1979

charcoal on paper 53 x 35.5 cm

signed and dated (lower right)

(Image below of Legaspi sourced from kunst-gallery.eu)

Biography of Legaspi below sourced from Kunst Gallery:

Cesar Torrrente Legaspi is part of the country’s second generation of modernists. Known as the “Thirteen Moderns,” the group includes Vicente Manansala, Hernando Ocampo, Romeo Tabuena and Arturo Luz. The breakaway group challenged the rigid tradition of conservative academism as espoused by Fernando Amorsolo, exploring and creating in the process a new set of artistic idioms.

Born in the working class district of Tondo, in Manila, 1917, Legaspi attended the University of the Philippines’ school of fine arts.

By the time he graduated in 1936, he had established a name for himself through school competitions.

He found a job as staff artist for Elizalde & Company. He later joined Philprom, an advertising agency, where he worked for 20 years.

He retired in 1968 from his post as vice president for creative planning so he could devote his time to painting.

(Image below of the then elderly National Artist Cesar Legaspi sourced from article.wn.cn)

***

The website pep.ph on August 13, 2008 featured this conference room at the home of Dr. Vicki Belo, which has a Cesar Legaspi painting on the wall...

This is the caption for this picture taken by Rene Mejia:

The conference room, adorned with Cesar Legaspi paintings, is a necessity in this busy household.

“It’s funny, but when I’m up here,” Cristalle laughs, referring to her room, “I really think it’s malaki. But sometimes my mom would say, ‘My house is so small, ’no?’ Kasi minsan, maraming tao. I have a meeting here, my brother has a meeting there, we all have meetings. That’s why we have a conference room.

“The architect wanted that to be an office, because there’s always an office in every house—where there is one table, two chairs. I told the architect, ‘No, we cannot have an office, kailangan conference room.’

“In our old house, everyone was gathering around the dining table to have a meeting. Pag dinner time na, ‘Excuse me…’ Habang nagmi-meeting, nag-aayos ang maids ng lamesa. Parang it was so weird.”

(YES! September 2007 issue)

Photography: Rene Mejia

Below is another art work of Cesar Legaspi...

Description:

Cesar Legaspi

(The Philippines 1917-1994)

Tree Planting signed and dated 'Legaspi 49' (lower right)

oil on canvas

23 7/8 x 35 7/8 in. (60.8 x 91.1 cm.)

Painted in 1949

Another Cesar Legasi painting...

Description:

CESAR LEGASPI 1917-1994

NUDE SIGNED AND DATED '71 LOWER RIGHT

WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER

30 BY 19 CM.; 11 3/4 BY 7 1/4 IN.

Among the delightful purchases of art I have ever done were the three oil works by the superbly talented painter Waling Waling Gorospe from her exhibit "Storage Stories" held from January 6 to 28, 2012 at Finale Art File in Makati City, the Philippines.

Waling Gorospe was born in 1966 and graduated in 1986 from the University of the Philippines (U.P.) in Diliman, Quezon City with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Major in Painting) degree with Cum Laude honors.

Why I liked these three small oil paintings? The imageries are delightful, cheerful, with vibrant colors like red and yellow gold, and celebrating music. There's also a wonderful background story, which was on the wall during the exhibit and which I also got. I will look for the story and share it here....












Here was the description of her art exhibit:

Stories from Sojourns

Waling Gorospe’s latest collection of works is a contemplation on containment. Tangibly-rendered images of suitcases, bags, and trunks—filled to the brim—occupy center space in her works, packed and pregnant with narratives from the past.

‘Storage Stories’ quietly conveys the artist’s fascination with these objects: her musings on what empty luggage and bags must have once contained and her questions about forgotten things packed in bags, long covered with dust. The encounter with such signs is inevitably physical as well as symbolic: Gorospe herself migrated recently to another continent and has had to face the task of dealing with boxes, suitcases, bric-a-bracs, useless things, and special junk along the way. The artist writes:

So many stories [are] attached to objects by their keepers. Most people can look at somebody else’s collection with indifference. But, sometimes, an encounter with an object not your own can remind you of a past experience– a friendship, a trip, a worry.

Her paintings represent these objects not merely as inanimate vessels but also as signs of a sojourn: a containment of intangible, immaterial stories and sentiments throughout the years and a chronicle of sites and people encountered along the way.

The paintings take on the challenge of reminiscing, retelling, and de-cluttering: unpacking forgotten memories to clear the way, to be finally void of the past and all the weight that it carries. In the end, Gorospe’s art enables us to find solace in such strange comfort: uncovering a transitory spell of time when one world begins as another ends.


Other art works of Waling Gorospe in that same show are shown here below, not in any order:



This was one of my favorites, but already bought! Still, I admire and appreciate this art work....




More art works...

Happy Birthday today to Elmer "Emong" Borlongan, one of Southeast Asia's most talented and dedicated painters, whom I believe is definitely a future National Artist of the Philippines.



This short bio-data of the artist is from canvas.ph: "Elmer Borlongan began his drawing and painting lessons under the inspired tutelage of Fernando Sena at the early age of 11. He took art courses at U.P. Diliman College of Fine Arts as a painting major, and won numerous awards in various painting competitions."

"He is included in the roster of the prestigious Thirteen Artist Awards (1994), and has represented the Philippines in various international art festivals. He was an Artist-in-Residence in ARCUS Ibaraki, Japan (1996)."

"His works are in the collections of the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum and the Singapore Art Museum. He currently resides with his artist-wife Plet C. Bolipata in San Antonio, Zambales."

***

This work below is one of the Borlongan works in my collection.

Untitled

1993

Oil on Canvas

36 inches x 36 inches






I had bought this painting at the Finale Art File and Yamang Katutubo art auction on September 1, 2012 (Saturday afternoon 4 pm downwards) in Finale, Makati City, the Philippines. I was in my weekly Mandarin language class that afternoon from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm and was unexpectedly quite late for the actual bidding due to weekend traffic jam, but I had the day before surveyed all the art works available and I chose to put in a silent bid for this beautiful and unique masterpiece as well as on the auction date communicating via texts to the gallery.

Right after the auction, when I arrived late, I had met the owner of Art Verite Gallery Ms. Lori Juvida there, and I casually asked her which of all the works she considered the most beautiful in the auction. I didn't tell her I had bidded for any work. She replied that the most beautiful art work was the untitled Elmer Borlongan oil painting. I was very glad she shared my choice, because Lori Juvida is more the contemporary art expert and specialist, while I am just an ordinary art admirer.

Thanks also to the staff of Finale Art File for helping me clean this oil painting, before I eventually took it home.

Why do I admire this work of Elmer Borlongan?

The untitled oil painting strikes me so strongly with its uncomplicated rugged imagery and stark colors. There is a young man in shorts and white t-shirt sprawled on the ground, stretched out and recumbent beside a concrete and steel yellow/black arrow road sign in an urban intersection.

Was the guy just playfully resting on the cool floor for momentary relief? Was he exasperated with tiredness, despair, poverty, anger and/or angst amidst the bustle of the metropolis? Were his legs bent to stretch in preparation for a furious run or some other vigorous physical activity he's contemplating, or was it just his natural reflex to unwind his legs? What meanings or symbolisms, if any?

What are your ideas, views or interpretations of this interesting oil painting? Please comment or email.

***

(Photo below by Marc Lego of the painter Elmer Borlongan in San Antonio, Zambales, May 2012)

***

Below in this image from pep.ph of the home of the topnotch ABS-CBN 2 newscaster and TV/radio journalist Karen Davila of the Philippines, I noticed a unique and big oil painting of Elmer Borlongan on the wall of her beautiful living room. Karen Davila has good aesthetic taste!

This image below is the 2006 pastel study "Convoy" by Elmer Borlongan for a future work, and the final oil painting version is now in the living room of Karen Davila. Image sourced from daphne.ph, the personal blog of  tv host & producer, businesswoman Daphne Oseña Paez.

This is what Daphne wrote about this work below: "And Elmer donated his work from 2006. He said he didn’t have enough time to paint something new that fit our theme “Play” so he gave a drawing from his archives. Convoy, Pastel on paper, 16.5 x 23 inches, 2006. (Apparently the original painting of this is owned by Karen Davila). It currently has the most bids among the lot...."

The auction Daphne was referring to was the "UNICEF Auction for Action" from October 1 to 7, 1012. Elmer Borlongan and his artist-wife Plet Bolipata donated various art works 100% for the benefit of kids in the Philippines.

***

Another Elmer Borlongan work sold in the 2009 Ateneo Art Auction was entitled the 2009 "Study for Big Brother",  Charcoal on paper, size 41 x 29 cm. I had bought it as my first ever purchase of a Borlongan art work. That study eventually was made into an oil painting entitled "Big Brother".

This oil work (image shown below) was exhibited in September 2009 at the Biennale of Chianciano in Tuscany, Italy. Organized by the Museum of Art of Chianciano Terme, the Biennale of Chianciano is a 2,000-square-meter exhibition that brings together the most talented emerging and established contemporary artists from all over the world.

Before the oil painting was exhibited in Italy, the  36×36-inch oil on canvas painting was on view from August 1 to 5 at the 1/of Gallery in Serendra, Fort Bonifacio Global City, then auctioned. A prominent businessman and art collector won the bidding for this oil painting. Proceeds from the sale benefitted Canvas, Fernando Sena’s Art Discovery and Learning Center, Casa San Miguel Foundation, and the Silangan Foundation for the Arts, Culture, and Ecology.

Fernando Sena is the former art teacher of Elmer Borlongan.

Image below of the "Big Brother" painting sourced from flickriver.com.

***

This Elmer Borlongan art work entitled ‎"Magbubukid" by Elmer Borlongan, Pen and Ink on paper 10" x 7 3/4" (unframed), 2005, was the painter's generous contribution to the “Art for Humanity” charity online auction that was held via Facebook in December 2012 to raise funds to help victims of typhoon Pablo in Mindanao of southern Philippines.

Source of this story from online article by Susan de Guzman for Interasksyon.com of TV5 with this link http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/art-for-humanity-on-facebook-artists-mount-art-auction-for-pablo-victims

Warhol the world's most expensive artist based on auction prices in 2012?

Art auctions do not convince me or my art preferences. I am not convinced that Andy Warhol should be priced that high---or highest---in price of his art works in auctions. Yes, I admire the creativity and talent of the late Andy Warhol, but not to that extent. Even if I had the zillions, sorry, I wouldn't bid those astronomically highest prices for Warhol works but would bid for the works of others.

And even for artists whom I admire, I would still appreciate and assess each individual work on a case by case basis; for I believe there are Pablo Picasso works worth US$1 million dollars and others worth more than $100 million based on their individual quality, merits and attraction or meaning to me as an art admirer. Not all works are equal, even if all by the same artist.


(World's most expensive artist the late Andy Warhol, his image below sourced from edwardwillett.com)






(Formerly world's most expensive artist the Chinese painter Zhang Daqian 张大千, who lived from 1899 to 1983, his image below sourced from english.chinese.cn)







(Pablo Picasso image below sourced from publicdomainpictures.net)






(2012 the world's most expensive living artist Gerhard Richter, image below sourced from guardian.co.uk)







Here's a news report I want to share:

Andy Warhol Tops Pablo Picasso art auction sales, Richter Leading Living Artist

By Scott Reyburn - Jan 7, 2013 8:00 AM GMT+0800 Bloomberg

Andy Warhol has supplanted the Chinese ink painter  Zhang Daqian as the world’s biggest seller at auction.
Works by the U.S. pop artist fetched $380.3 million in sales in 2012, also beating  Pablo Picasso, according to figures compiled by the database Artnet (ART) for Bloomberg News. The two western artists -- who died in 1987 and 1973 respectively -- had totals exceeding those for 80-year-old Gerhard Richter, the top living artist, with Zhang tumbling to fourth place from first.

'Lotus and Mandarin ducks'

Artprice via Bloomberg

"Lotus and Mandarin ducks" by Zhang Daqian. The work fetched HK$191 million ($24.5 million) at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in May 2011.

"Lotus and Mandarin ducks" by Zhang Daqian. The work fetched HK$191 million ($24.5 million) at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in May 2011. Source: Artprice via Bloomberg

Attachment: Bloomberg Ranking: Art Appreciation

"Self-Portrait" (1963-1964) by Andy Warhol is synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas. Source:

Christie's via Bloomberg

"Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust" by Pablo Picasso. Source: Christie's via Bloomberg

'Nature morte aux tulipes'

Sotheby's via Bloomberg

"Nature morte aux tulipes," signed and dated 2 Mars XXXII (March 2, 1932), by Pablo Picasso. The oil-on-canvas painting is estimated at $35 million to $50 million.

"Nature morte aux tulipes," signed and dated 2 Mars XXXII (March 2, 1932), by Pablo Picasso. The oil-on-canvas painting is estimated at $35 million to $50 million. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg

"Abstraktes Bild (809-4)," a 1994 painting by Gerhard Richter. The painting was sold by the rock guitarist Eric Clapton in a Sotheby's "Frieze Week" auction of contemporary works in London on Oct. 12. The work sold for 21.3 million pounds ($34.2 million) -- more than 30 times what Clapton paid for it in 2001. Source: Sotheby's via Bloomberg.

The rankings reflect the increasing dominance of western postwar and contemporary works in the international art market. Auctions in this category at Sotheby’s, Christie’s International and Phillips de Pury & Co. in New York in November raised a record $1.1 billion, more than twice the total of the previous week’s Impressionist sales, where Picasso traditionally shines.


“Contemporary art is where the dynamic energy is at auctions,” Jonathan P. Binstock, senior adviser in postwar and contemporary art at City Private Bank Art Advisory & Finance, said in an interview. “The market is selective and concentrated on works by certain artists. The instant recognizability of masterpieces by Warhol and Richter makes them well suited to performing well.”


The ranking of auction sales for artists born after 1880 shows demand for Warhol barely exceeded the $379.4 million raised in 2011.


Warhol’s all-time auction sales climbed to $2.9 billion in 2012, while Picasso’s reached $5 billion.

Munch Record

This last year, Picasso lost his long-held reputation as the world’s priciest artist at auction. “The Scream” by Edvard Munch (1863-1944) became the most expensive artwork at a public sale when it fetched $119.9 million at Sotheby’s, New York, in May. The previous high had been the $106.5 million paid for Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” in May 2010.


Picasso’s total auction sales were also down, slipping to $334.7 million last year from $366 million. The average sale price declined to $1.5 million from a record $1.6 million, according to data supplied by Artnet. All its figures include auction-house fees.


“Supply is the problem,” said the London-based art adviser Wendy Goldsmith. “There weren’t as many good examples from the right periods coming up for auction last year. The market still loves Picasso. People just don’t want to let them go.”

Statue Silkscreen

Picasso’s 1932 “Nature Morte aux Tulipes” was the 10th most expensive artwork sold at auction in 2012 when it fetched $41.5 million at Sotheby's (BID) New York in November. The following week, Warhol’s 1962 “Statue of Liberty” silkscreen raised $43.8 million at Christie’s.


The Spanish-born artist was top of Artnet’s rankings in 2010 with $386 million of auction sales.
Richter’s $298.9 million total in 2012 was a 48.8 percent increase on 2011, putting him in third place. The German painter ranked sixth in 2011.


Boosted by the record 21.3 million pounds ($34.2 million) for a 1994 abstract owned by Eric Clapton at Sotheby’s in October, Richter this year joined a select club of post-1880 artists whose all-time value of auction sales has exceeded $1 billion, according to  Artnet.


“It’s been an incredible two years for Richter,” Binstock said. “There’s a consensus that he belongs to the top echelon of artists. There’s intelligence in his market, though demand does tend to be specific for abstracts from the 1980s and 1990s.”


Auction sales of Zhang, who died in 1983, slumped to $241.6 million from $782.4 million. Economic and political uncertainty reduced domestic demand for Chinese art in 2012, dealers said.


Sales were relatively smaller for the former contemporary art market darlings Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. Koons was ranked the 31st biggest-selling artist in the list with $43.8 million of sales, an increase of 5.1 percent on 2011. Hirst ranked 42nd with $28.9 million, a decline of 10.2 percent on the year before.