10 In-Demand Works on Artsy This Week: January 28, 2021

In this weekly series, Artsy’s Curatorial and Editorial teams offer a look at the artworks that are currently gaining traction among collectors on Artsy. Looking at our internal data, we share a selection of works that Artsy members are engaging with through inquiries, page views, and saves, plus promising lots in current auctions. The following pieces are culled from recent online auctions and art fairs hosted on Artsy, as well as exhibitions and works added by our gallery partners.

Though we’re only a month into the year, Lagos-based artist Dennis Osadebe already has works from 2021 available on Artsy. Part of the upcoming exhibition “Safe Space” at New York’s GR Gallery, this eye-popping painting by Osadebe has received a significant number of inquiries on Artsy.

One of the major highlights of last week’s U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony was the performance by youth poet laureate Amanda S.C. Gorman. The nation’s youngest inaugural poet, Gorman delivered an awe-inspiring poem that captured the anxieties of the past four years and distilled them into a forward-looking pronouncement of hope. This 2018 portrait by Shawn Theodore embodies the poet’s remarkable poise and magnetic energy and has seen a flurry of interest since the inauguration.

This painting by Katherine Bradford is currently on view at Almine Rech as part of its group exhibition “Different Strokes” and has attracted a number of inquiries on Artsy. Curated by artist , the show brings together 14 artists exploring painting’s possibilities. The radiant color palette and whimsical subject matter make this canvas a quintessential work by Bradford.

Known for her captivating portraits of women, Paris-born artist Delphine Desane culls inspiration from her own experiences of Black womanhood and motherhood. This particular work by Desane is currently seeing a wave of interest via Luce Gallery’s presentation at the first-ever Paris edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, which closes on January 31st.

The titular painting in Ludovic Nkoth’s current solo show at François Ghebaly, this piece has already sold ahead of the exhibition’s opening. Running from January 28th through February 27th, “Don’t Take This Too” marks the Cameroon-born, New York–based painter’s first major solo exhibition. The show is Nkoth’s deeply personal exploration of Black identity as both an African and an African American.

Beloved for her haunting charcoal amalgams of Pop cartoon characters and frenetic Abstract Expressionist mark-making, Joyce Pensato attracts fairly consistent demand—particularly since the artist passed away in 2019. This work, which was uploaded to the platform by Rita Krauss Fine Art, is no exception. Pensato’s work is also currently on view at Petzel’s Chelsea and 67th Street locations; the latter focuses specifically on her depictions of Batman and Spiderman.

This metallic canvas by Jimi Gleason has soared past its high estimate at Laguna Art Museum’s “California Cool” benefit auction. Known for his use of nontraditional materials—like silver deposit—to create luminous, light-reactive surfaces, Gleason aims to create meditative experiences for viewers.

This Martin Whatson print currently available via Heritage’s “Urban Art” sale is already seeing a frenzy of bids ahead of the live auction on February 3rd. Having honed his craft as a street artist in Oslo, the now internationally renowned Whatson has made a name for himself through his practice of “vandalizing” his own carefully rendered grayscale compositions with abstract graffiti.

Part of Artsy and Forum’s “Contemporary Masters” sale, this lithograph by Yue Minjun attracted a steady stream of bids pushing it just past its high estimate. A leading figure of China’s contemporary art scene as part of its Cynical Realist movement, Yue veils political criticism and social commentary behind absurd, nearly hysterical smiles. Part of an edition of 45, this print offers collectors an opportunity to purchase a work by Yue at a relatively modest price point.

Another work that attracted a bevy of bids at Artsy and Forum’s “Contemporary Masters” sale is this mixed-media work by Ivorian artist Aboudia. Aboudia’s work is currently included in Ethan Cohen Gallery’s group show “American Dreams,” which explores the meaning of that concept in a globalized world.