Sothebys : Sotheby’s Announces Alexander Rotter & Cheyenne Westphal as Global Heads of Contemporary Art

New York | Lauren Gioia / Dan Abernethy | [e-mail]| [e-mail]| [phone]

London | Mitzi Mina | [e-mail]| [phone]

SOTHEBY'S ANNOUNCES ALEXANDER ROTTER & CHEYENNE WESTPHAL AS GLOBAL HEADS OF CONTEMPORARY ART

NEW YORK, 31 January 2014 - Bill Ruprecht, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby's, today announced the appointment of Alexander Rotter and Cheyenne Westphal as Worldwide Heads of Sotheby's Contemporary Art Department.

Join Alexander and Cheyenne as they discuss the

'Defining Moments' of their time at Sotheby's

VIDEO
"Over the past several years, Sotheby's global Contemporary team, under the leadership of Alex and Cheyenne and spanning from Mexico City to Hong Kong, had remarkable success across every aspect of the Contemporary art market," commented Mr. Ruprecht. "With auction sales that have grown five-fold in the past decade and private sales that have quadrupled since 2010, as well as the development of the S|2 brand, the global gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art Department, Sotheby's is uniquely qualified to best serve clients in the marketplace. Alex and Cheyenne boast nearly 40 years of experience between them and have strong relationships with virtually every major collector, dealer, advisor and artist in the field. The powerful combination of the next generation of deal-makers, together with arguably the most seasoned network of Chairmen and advisors in the field, positions Sotheby's exceptionally well as the market for Contemporary art continues to grow exponentially."
Alexander Rotter has been instrumental in many of the highest profile auctions in New York of recent years, including the Rockefeller Rothko ($72.8 million), Jeff Koons' Hanging Heart ($23.6 million), and most recently the $104 million Silver Car Crash by Andy Warhol, while at the same time
pioneering a number of key developments across the business. Along with Miety Heiden, he was behind the launch of Sotheby's first S|2 gallery in New York in 2011, and more recently has been working with senior management on exploring investment opportunities in the field of Contemporary Art. Alexander played a critical role in the highly successful sale of Contemporary Art held by Sotheby's in Doha, Qatar this past April, and presided over the evening as auctioneer. He is joined by Gabriela Palmieri, Grégoire Billault, and Miety Heiden, each of whom bring significant expertise and are responsible for high-value transactions each year. Their focus on business development, auction sales and private sales respectively is complemented by the support of senior executives including Chairman, Lisa Dennison, former Director of the Guggenheim Museum, who has played a key role in the sale of a number of major Abstract Expressionist masterworks in recent years; Vice Chairman, Anthony Grant, whose venerable expertise and counsel is sought by many of the most important collectors in the United States; Lulu Creel, who is at the forefront of the development of major collections in Latin America; and Andrea Fiuczynski, who recently joined the company as Chairman of Sotheby's West Coast operations.
Cheyenne Westphal is one of the most experienced Contemporary art professionals in the market today and has been a leading force in Europe for decades. She was integral to the success of the Damien Hirst sale, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, which raised $200.75 million in 2008, the $92.2 million auction of the Duerckheim Collection in 2011, and the sale of the Gunther Sachs Collection in
2012 that totaled $65.5 million, as well as the record-breaking development of the market for both Gerhard Richter's abstract and photorealist works. In the autumn of 2013, Cheyenne inaugurated Sotheby's S|2 gallery in London with Joseph Beuys Revealed, and an exciting schedule of exhibitions is planned for 2014, including the recently opened show JUST NOW, curated by Bert Kreuk. In addition, Cheyenne has played a leading role over the last seven years in Sotheby's annual support of The Tate Britain Commission. Cheyenne is joined by Oliver Barker, Deputy Chairman Europe and noted auctioneer; Alex Branczik, Head of the Contemporary Art Department in London; Isabelle Paagman, Head of Private Sales for Contemporary Art in London; Claudia Dwek, Deputy Chairman Europe, who directs Sotheby's 20th Century Italian Art auctions; and Stefano Moreni, Head of the Contemporary Department in Paris, in addition to a seasoned team of more than international 30
colleagues,

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S|2 at Sotheby's

Private sales of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's globally have quadrupled since 2010. In New York in the autumn of 2011, Sotheby's launched the first of two galleries dedicated to sales of Contemporary Art under the S|2 brand. Since the opening of the Richard Gluckman-designed space in New York, the gallery has played host to a range of shows organized both by Sotheby's as well as art world figures such Vito Schnabel, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, and Paul Kasmin, among others. Highlights include: Man Made: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Les Lalanne: The Poetry of Sculpture and Keith Haring: Shine On, in addition to SHUIMO, an exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Ink paintings, many of which were created especially for the show. The S|2 team has organized a number of pop-up exhibitions in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, including: Yayoi Kusama - Hong Kong Blooms in My Mind (2012) and From Warhol, With Love (2013). In October 2013, Sotheby's inaugurated the second dedicated S|2 gallery in London, designed by David Kohn Architects, with Joseph Beuys Revealed and currently on view is Just Now - curated by Bert Kreuk, which features works by Oscar Murillo, Alex Hubbard and Danh Vo, among others. Further S|2 shows on the calendar for 2014 include This Side of Paradise in London and Bertoia: A Celebration of Sound and Motion in New York. The global S|2 team is led by Miety Heiden and directed by Anna McKnight in New York and Fru Tholstrup in London.
CONTEMPORARY ART SALES AT SOTHEBY'S BY THE NUMBERS
528%
Increase in Sotheby's Contemporary Art sales over the past 10 years
$380.6 million
Total achieved at the November 2013 Evening Sale, highest ever in company history
200%
Increase in the activity of Asian collectors in Sotheby's Contemporary Art sales last year
251
Contemporary works sold privately by Sotheby's in 2013
13
Contemporary works over $20 million sold at auction in 2013, nearly double 2012
67
Countries that participated in our Contemporary Art sales last year

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26
Contemporary specialists with a decade or more at Sotheby's
45
Members of Sotheby's global Contemporary team under the age of 35
34%
Buyers in Sotheby's 2013 Contemporary sales participating for the first time
11
Consecutive Contemporary Art Evening Auctions with a sell-through rate of over 80%

MEET THE TEAM

Sotheby's Worldwide Contemporary Art Department

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Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in nine different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids in real-time from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, as well as Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

*Estimates do not include buyer's premium and prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Images are available upon request

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