(Last UPDATED 5/27/2021) Description of the 2021 Crocker Art Auction, an annual event to raise funds for the Crocker Art Museum and its varied programs.
2021 Crocker Art Auction (in a nutshell)
The 2021 Crocker Art Auction will consist of TWO virtual art auctions (via Bidsquare). Bidding for both virtual auctions (Big Names Small Art (BNSA) and the Silent Art Auction opened on May 10. Bidding for the artworks in the Live Art Auction (sold out) also opened on May 10.
Big Names, Small Art
BNSA showcases over 200 works of art (12″ x 12″ or smaller). Bidding on each starts at $25.
Silent Art Auction
The Silent Art Auction features approximately 100 original works by some of the region’s most renowned artists.
Live Art Auction
The live auction will feature 15 select artworks by some of the region’s best-loved artists. Missed out on securing a ticket for the Live Art Auction? You can virtually bid on the artworks in real-time on Bidsqure.com.
June 5
June 5th will be a full day of excitement! The BSNA Auction starts closing bidding on one artwork per minute at 1:00 p.m. At 6:30 p.m. the Live (in-person) Art Auction event begins, with bidding starting at 8:30 p.m.
June 6
At 1:00 p.m. the Silent Art Auction begins to close one artwork every minute.
Original Blog Post
The 2020 Crocker Art Auction is currently underway, but you still have time to get registered and participate! Like all annual events in Sacramento that have not been outright cancelled so far this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crocker Art Auction is being held virtually.
Interested in filling that blank space on your wall with an original work of art, or looking for a conversation piece to grace your coffee table? If so, you may want to check out the Crocker Art Auction this year. After all, registration is free and you don’t have plans to go to the theatre that evening.
The Crocker Art Auction is actually three auctions featuring over 200 curated artworks, including works by many Sacramento area artists.
The artworks are varied as are the media. You will find everything from oil on canvas, porcelain, resin and ceramic, and etchings to photographs and prints.
SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)
Big Names, Small Art
Big Names, Small Art (BNSA) is a silent auction of some 100+ small artworks, each 12×12 inches or less. Bidding for BNSA artworks start at $25, regardless of fair market value. Bidding began on June 19 and begins to close July 18 at 1:00 p.m. (one artwork closes every minute).
Over a dozen of the BNSA artists have artworks in the Crocker’s permanent collection. A number of the participating BNSA artists have also generously donated their work to the art auction, including renowned local artist Gregory Kondos.
Gregory Kondos taught art at Sacramento City College for 27 years, where a gallery was named in his honor. His artworks are included in the collections of numerous museums, including the Crocker Art Museum.
I happen to very much like his artwork, which often features landscape scenes of the Sacramento region. Wondering what artwork Kondos donated to BNSA, and what artwork he has in the Silent Auction?
Live Auction/Silent Auction
Similar to the BNSA, a number of the artists participating in the live/silent auction also have artworks in the Crocker’s permanent collection. Fourteen of them have generously donated 100% of their proceeds from the sale of their works.
Live Auction
The live auction begins on July 18 at 5:30 p.m. when ten works of art will be auctioned.
List prices range from $3,200. to $10,000.
I tend to gravitate towards landscapes, and I really liked both Dunes Over Fanshell Beach (Brian Blood/$8,500.) and Dusk (Deladier Almeida/$10,000.). However, both are way out of my price range.
Silent Auction
The silent auction follows the live auction with bidding closing on the remaining artwork every minute starting at 7:00 p.m. List prices range from $300.00 to $15,000.00.
The artworks I particularly liked in the silent auction were also out of my league, but then I had, from the start, focused on the BNSA auction.
As I looked over the list of participating silent art auction artists the names of several jumped out at me, including Gregory Kondos for a second time. Kondos has a 20×30 inch lithograph, The Sacramento River (1982) (list price $3,500.) in the Silent Auction.
Another local artist that caught my eye was Lin Fei Fei. I first became aware of Lin Fei Fei and her artwork through her participation in the Sacramento mural festival. Originally from Dalian, China, Lin Fei Fei now lives in Sacramento. In 2016, she was named as one of the ten Contemporary Chinese Artists of the Future by the Wang Shi Art Foundation in Beijing.
Her entry in the auction is Celestine Moon NO. 1, a 24×24 inch Oil and gold leaf on Canvas (2019) (list price $4,000).
Another artist with whose work I am familiar is Bryan Valenzuela. He also has participated in the Sacramento mural festival, and once you become familiar with his style you will also be able to spot other murals of his around town. I first became familiar with his artwork, however, as a result of his commission by the City of Sacramento and the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission to create Multitudes Converge for the Golden 1 Center.
See related blog post: Multitudes Converge – Sacramento Public Art
His entry in the silent auction is Dichotomy, a 11×9 inch ink on paper (2020) (list price $1,200).
While I signed up for the BNSA portion of the auction, I very much doubt that I will have a winning bid. However, I anticipate that the event will be educational and entertaining at the very least!
See related blog post: Crocker Virtual Exhibition Opening
UPDATES
(UPDATED 9/30/2020) The Crocker Art Museum recently reported that its first ever virtual art auction was a great success. Big Names, Small Art, the Silent Auction and the Live Auction together raised almost $280,000 after expenses. The funds raised will help the museum to continue key operations during these uncertain times.
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