Frieze Art Fair Opens With Big Hirst Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Oct 14th 2010 at 9:01PM

The last couple of years have seen the artworks of Damien Hirst tumble in value but perhaps that is changing. Hirst's "The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths," a 2006 piece featuring more than 400 specimens of fish in three formaldehyde-filled cabinets sold for $5.6 million in the first hour of the preview of the Frieze Art Fair.

Supermodel Claudia Schiffer, hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen and others were at the London event. Bloomberg News reports that Dasha Zhukova, Roman Abramovich's art-loving girlfriend was also at the VIP Day. The event is Europe's biggest commercial event devoted to living artists with a total of $375 million worth of art on display. It isn't all Hirst-level expensive, the fair is also an opportunity to invest in younger artists with more reasonable prices.

The fair runs through October 17 at London's Regent Park and tickets are £25. Frieze has also launched a free iPhone and iPad app this autumn that includes an interactive map of the fair and 'Art Finder' a comprehensive search filter enabling visitors to navigate and browse the exhibited art works on their own terms by selecting specific media and size, as well as work priced under £5,000. Get an inside look at the fair by checking out the Frieze Flickr page.

Tags: claudia schiffer, damien hirst, frieze art fair, FriezeArtFair, london art fair