LONDON.- Christie’s announces the second edition of FIRST OPEN/LDN as part of the global FIRST OPEN auctions this March, including FIRST OPEN/NYC, FIRST OPEN/ONLINE and ASIA+/FIRST OPEN in Hong Kong. Concluding this FIRST OPEN season, FIRST OPEN/LDN will take place at Christie’s South Kensington on Thursday 26 March. The sale offers another carefully curated selection of 194 works, with estimates ranging from £700 to £300,000. The global FIRST OPEN sales continue to offer an accessible platform, engaging both young and established collectors through dynamic edits of post-war and contemporary art.

The March edition of FIRST OPEN/LDN has a truly global focus and features a group of five striking artworks from an important private Asian collection comprising two artworks by internationally celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, including Nets 41 (estimate: £25,000-35,000); two stellar paintings from the 1970s, by important Korean artist Lee Ufan – From Line No. 780231 (estimate: £200,000-300,000) – and a stunning work by fellow Korean artist, Kim Tschang-Yeul.

Further post-war highlights include Zero group artist Otto Piene’s Big Black Seed (estimate: £22,00028,000) and a number of works by iconic post-war American artists, such as Andy Warhol and Sturtevant’s Warhol Flowers, executed in 1964-68 (estimate: £30,000-40,000).

FIRST OPEN/LDN continues to highlight a variety of contemporary artists with established names such as Lucy Mckenzie and Dexter Dalwood, alongside cutting edge artists including Sachin Kaeley, Parker Ito, Storm Tharp, Ida Ekblad, Fredrik Værslev – Untitled (Canopy) is illustrated left (estimate: £60,000-80,000) – and Still House Group artists Brendan Lynch and Louis Eisner, amongst others.

Christie’s also announced the first crowd-sourced section of artworks at auction, as part of a collaboration initiative between FIRST OPEN/LDN and the innovative social media platform, ArtStack. From 20 January – 2 February artists were given the opportunity to submit their work via ArtStack for an online competition in which the public were invited to vote for their favourite art works by ‘stacking’. Almost 3,000 artists from over 100 countries submitted more than 11,000 works for inclusion in FIRST OPEN/LDN. Eight artworks were selected for sale this March, from a shortlist of the most ‘stacked’, by a high-profile panel of art world, fashion and media figures. 25% of the proceeds raised from the sale of the eight artworks will be donated to the Whitechapel Gallery, whose programme has long championed emerging artists.