A selection of major works from the personal collection of Detroit philanthropist and entrepreneur Jennifer Gilbert will head to auction this spring at Sotheby’s, with proceeds earmarked for Lumana, a new Detroit-based arts nonprofit she founded.
The artworks will be offered across several Sotheby’s sales, including The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction and Contemporary Day Auction in May, followed by Important Design in June. Among the highlights is Kenneth Noland’s 1958 painting “Circle,” which has an estimated worth of $4 million to $6 million — the highest auction estimate ever placed on a work by the artist. Joan Mitchell’s 1976 painting “Loom II” carries an estimated worth of $5 million to $7 million.
Additional works include George Rickey’s kinetic sculpture “Orenary (Space Churn Theme),” estimated at $50,000 to $70,000, and a circa 1950 wire construction by Harry Bertoia, estimated at $80,000 to $120,000. The Mitchell and Noland works are scheduled to appear in the May 14 evening auction, while the Rickey piece will be offered May 15 and the Bertoia work will be sold June 11.
Proceeds from the auctions will benefit Lumana, a cultural nonprofit planned as a hub for artists, designers and institutions in Detroit’s Little Village neighborhood on the city’s east side. The organization’s future home is planned for Stanton Yards, part of a developing waterfront district, and has been designed by the architecture firm Solid Objectives–Idenberg Liu. Lumana’s inaugural programming will be launched in partnership with Cranbrook Art Museum.
“Once open, Lumana will support new generations of artists, designers and the institutions that champion them. It felt fitting that the work of the great modernist artists I deeply admire could continue to uplift those following in their footsteps,” Gilbert said.
Sotheby’s officials described the group of works as a significant snapshot of American midcentury artistic innovation.
“From Kenneth Noland’s early, large-scale target painting to Joan Mitchell’s lush “Loom II” to Harry Bertoia’s exploration of design, sculpture and space, this group of works weaves together the various strains of 20th and 21st century production and speaks to a new era of American midcentury innovation. We are thrilled to offer these works this May and June, with proceeds benefiting Lumana and its mission to support the arts in Detroit,” said Nicole Schloss, a senior specialist in contemporary art at Sotheby’s.
Ahead of the auctions, the works will be publicly exhibited at Sotheby’s galleries in New York, including the Breuer building, during May and June.
Gilbert’s collection has previously been shown in Detroit. Last winter, a group of works from her holdings debuted at The Shepherd, a cultural arts center in Little Village. That exhibition featured 36 works by contemporary artists such as Amoako Boafo, Olafur Eliasson, Helen Frankenthaler, Jeffrey Gibson, Barkley L. Hendricks, Rashid Johnson and others. The show was curated by Laura Mott, chief curator at Cranbrook Art Museum, along with the artist Nick Cave.
In addition to her role with Lumana, Gilbert, the former wife of well-known Detroit businessman and philanthropist Dan Gilbert, is the founder and creative director of Detroit-based design studio Pophouse and serves as president of NFX, an organization dedicated to funding research into neurofibromatosis. She previously founded several design and technology companies and has been active in public art initiatives across Detroit, including the Detroit Art Collection.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jennifer Gilbert selling art worth millions to aid Detroit nonprofit
Reporting by Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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