10 In-Demand Works on Artsy This Week: May 20, 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.

A featured work in our online presentation of Art Central 2021, this muted-toned painting by Japanese artist Ly has received a flurry of inquiries. One of three works by the artist included in Avenue des Arts’s presentation at the Hong Kong art fair, which opened earlier this week, the work features Ly’s signature monster named “Luv.”

This oil painting by the multimedia artist Austyn Weiner was sold by Harper’s, where it is part of the show “Morning Wood.” A reflection on 2020, the exhibition features explosive paintings and works on paper Weiner completed in the confines of her kitchen last year. The show also includes her “daily morning broadcast,” a compilation of videos from the artist’s virtual quarantine diaries that she originally posted on Instagram stories; it now serves as a visual time capsule.

This 2019 portrait by the Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo acquired a number of inquiries since being uploaded to Artsy by the Stockholm-based gallery CFHILL on May 6th. Titled Yellow Jacket, the figurative work displays the acclaimed artist’s signature approach and ability to convey a sense of vibrancy and celebration in his portraiture. Boafo will have a solo show at Roberts Projects in Los Angeles this September.

George Condo often draws on the varied practices of , , and . In this recent drawing, uploaded by Hauser & Wirth, Condo alludes to his and influences while incorporating his singular pictorial language. The abstracted face is typical of Condo’s approach to his neo-Cubist pictures. On Artsy, Condo’s works on paper have attracted more inquiries than all but one other artist in the category over the past year.

Multimedia artist Annie Morris has noted that her works are “usually made up of lots of smaller pieces that come together to make one big piece.” Case in point: her 2021 painting-slash-sculpture titled Stack 3, Ultramarine Blue, which is assembled from foam core, sand, concrete, steel, and plaster. This pigmented topsy-turvy piece was recently included in the group exhibition “Holding Hands” at UNION Gallery last March.

The British Chinese artist Faye Wei Wei’s poetic paintings are grounded in performance and dreamscapes. The artist’s painting process begins as a dance between her and the large-scale canvas, a balance of remaining in the middle of the physical and pictorial space. Inspired by , illuminated manuscripts, and romantic tropes like the sea, the figurative painter creates works that often explore the theatrics of gender, masculine symbols, and love. This pastel blue painting, with its gestural brushstrokes and thin, nonlinear lines, tiptoes between a lush imagined world and reality. Last March and April, Wei Wei’s work was featured in two solo exhibitions at Isetan Shinjuku in Tokyo and Galerie Kandlhofer in Austria, respectively.

This painting is part of Julie Curtiss’s new body of work that is featured in her current solo exhibition at White Cube, which is also her first solo show in London. With mid-century modern aesthetics, the artist turns feelings of isolation into unnerving, offbeat paintings. These works expand on the oft-macabre, , and cinematic scenes Curtiss has previously portrayed, while reflecting the frustrated feelings she experienced during lockdown. Drawing from 18th- and 19th-century French figuration as well as the , Curtiss creates works that mirror the alienation and grotesque ridiculousness of everyday life.

This portrait by the Nigerian artist Oluwole Omofemi sold after accumulating a significant number of recent inquiries. The painting is included in Out of Africa’s gallery presentation at 1-54 New York 2021 that centers around Omofemi and (Boris Anje). Omofemi is esteemed for his portraits of Black women that highlight Afrocentric pride. Last fall, Omofemi’s work was featured in the exhibition “Say My Name” at the Signature African Art Gallery in London, which was presented by renowned filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

This limited edition by the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat has earned significant attention in the benefit auction for the American Friends of Museums in Israel. Part of a set, the work has already reached close to triple its $700 high estimate. In the black-and-white image, a woman’s hands are inscribed with Farsi poetry. The work demonstrates Neshat’s ongoing ability to capture the contemporary dichotomies (freedom and oppression; communication and silence) that have molded Iranian society.

At Heritage’s “In Focus - RETNA” sale, bids on this letterform by RETNA, born Marquis Lewis, have surpassed the work’s low estimate of $4,000. The auction doesn’t close until May 26th, which leaves ample time for the work’s price to continue to climb. The street and studio artist is best known for works featuring his geometric script inspired by Egyptian and Native American traditional symbols—a practice he began after he started making graffiti during high school in Los Angeles.