A series of high-profile contemporary art auctions is set to begin in London Friday, as rising levels of interest in the genre have prompted auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s to stage competing sales.

“Contemporary art is becoming a global language, the interest is massive,” Francis Outred, head of evening auctions and private sales at Sotheby’s, stated.

“We’ve seen a generational change that is certainly here to stay,” Outred said, adding that new “masterpieces are created all the time which is not the case for Manet or Van Gogh. In the last two years, we’ve seen a big rise in global biddings with buyers from China, Russia and Middle East that are not the classic buyers.”

Along with the traditional February and June sales of contemporary and impressionist art, the competing London auction houses have organized a small set of contemporary art sales this month to coincide with the Frieze art fair, which will take place in London’s Regent’s Park from October 11 to October 14.

Outred also said that eight years ago, the October sales generated between £1 million and £2 million ($3.1 million and $4.1 million). By comparison, the auctions organised for Friday and the following Monday by Sotheby’s are expected to fetch a record £48 million to £68 million, according to pre-sale estimates, though total sales may well exceed those figures.

Posted: 10|10|07 at 4:03 pm. Filed under: UK News.