10/09/2001
by Francesca Brambilla

The work of Luigi Ontani has rarely being offered at auction. However a notable sale was seen in June 1990 when Finarte, Milan sold a watercolour by the artist, Rest on the flight into Egypt which made $ 25,960 (€ 28,850). During March and April 2001, a few of his watercolours appeared at sale in Italy with hammer prices close to their estimated values making the artist a safe bet.

Two watercolours: Study of a Figure and Flight of the devil (70 x 50 cm and 30 x 31.5 cm) were offered on the 17^th March and the 21^st April 2001 respectively, at the auction house Meeting Art in Vercelli, Italy selling for $ 3,220 (€ 3,600) and $ 1,020 (€ 1,100). Shortly before this on the 27^th March, Fofo non ha fifa (102 x 76 cm), was offered at Finarte, Milan selling for $ 5,240 (€ 5,900) within its estimate. By contrast with these results, Insetti prediletti stands out, a watercolour dating from 1989 (121 x 52 cm), which was offered on the 12^th March 2001 at the auction house Pandolfini in Florence. Estimated at an over cautious $ 820-915 (€ 930-1,000) it rocketed to $ 4,300 (€ 4,900). Its high sale was helped by the fact that it hadn’t been seen on the market since 1993 at Finarte, Milan when it was then estimated at $ 4,200-5,500 (€ 4,670-6,120), in keeping with its 2001 sale price.

Ontani began working in the 1960’s in Turin, focusing on "citazionismo" (a 1980’s Italian art movement, at the same time as Transavantgardia) re- interpreting myths and legends. He has managed to gather some critical acclaim on an international level, with a recent solo show curated by Carolyn Christov-Bargierv at PS1 in New York, but from the point of view of his market he really only enjoys domestic (Italian) appeal.

Since June 2000, his market has been stable, but kept in-tow by low to mid estimates. His watercolours on paper have reached auction prices with an average coefficient of about 7-8 (an index used in some auction houses to indicate general values). However, as far as his photographs are concerned, results are less pretty with notable bought-in rates. This was the case for Sganontano, a colour photograph from 1977 which was unsold in June 2000 at Finarte, Milan with an estimate of $ 6,400-7,300 (€ 7,200-8,200); or Cleopatria, a 1998 colour photograph which was presented in October, 2000 at Sotheby’s, London for $ 12,800-17,000 (€ 14,400-19,200). Having said that, Salinuntefebo, a photograph from 1972 (200 x 100 cm) was recently auctioned at Christie’s, London for $ 12,800 (€ 14,400) whilst Gladonio from 1973 (243 x 106 cm) hammered at Finarte, Milan for $ 15,529 (€ 16,500) in June 2000.

Ontani’s sculptures are made from a variety of materials - pule wood, polychrome ceramics, papier-maché, hand blown glass - designed by Ontani but made by artisan experts. They have never been seen at auction, however. This autumn Luigi Ontani will be in the auction catalogues again and a rise in his market is expected.