The worlds of fashion and art are “equally complex”, says the designer Erdem Moralioglu, who is collaborating with Sotheby’s on its first ‘Contemporary Curated’ sale in London (11-14 March) which was previewed to the press on 24 February.
London-based Moralioglu has a foot in both camps; he started his fashion label ten years ago and began collecting art seven years ago. He is a regular at Frieze art fair and works with the interior designer Robin Brown, who created Helly Nahmad’s booth at Frieze Masters in 2014.
“One of the first things I bought was a photograph by Peter Doig. I also bought a Nan Goldin and an early photograph by Wolfgang Tillmans,” Moralioglu says. Photography is a “dominant thread” in the designer’s collection, which also includes works by Anne Collier, Rineke Dijkstra and Candida Höfer, but he also collects paintings and illustrations and owns sketches by Andy Warhol and Jean Cocteau, among others.
For the Sotheby’s sale, Moralioglu has chosen ten works out of 205 lots that will be auctioned on 15 March. His selection includes a striking pair of miniature-style oil paintings by George Condo (est. £6,000-£8,000 each), a photograph by Bernd and Hiller Becher (est. £30,000-£40,000) and a red ink drawing by Louise Bourgeois (est. £10,000-£15,000).
Other choices include sketches by Lucian Freud and Marlene Dumas, which appeal to Moralioglu because “they look like they were torn out of a diary”. He adds: “I am attracted to portraiture and things that have a humanness.”
The sale is expected to realise between £2.5m and £3.5m, with the average value of lot standing at £11,000. Prices range from £500 to £150,000; the relatively low estimates are meant to encourage “the new, curious collector” to set foot in Sotheby’s, says Joanna Steingold, who has been drafted in from the day sales to head up the new ‘Contemporary Curated’ section.
Auctions from this series are due to be held every March and September in London, and Sotheby’s plans to collaborate each time with taste-makers in other fields including music, sport, fashion and film.
