By Elizabeth Willoughby on
Bono and his (RED) organisation are lending support for the upcoming Valentine’s Day art auction by Sotheby’s at the Gagosian Gallery in New York, expected to raise a whopping $40 million.
Artists such as Georg Baselitz, Matthew Barney, Cecily Brown, Antony Gormley, Subodh Gupta, Anish Kapoor, Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns and Keith Tyson will join internationally renowned Damien Hirst in donating over 100 works for auction on February 14.
Hirst, probably the most prominent member of the Young British Artists group, invited the contemporary artists to participate. In his desire to give something back to the world community, the proceeds will be donated to the United Nations Foundation HIV-AIDS programs in Africa.
“For a relatively small amount of effort on each artist’s part we can actually save many lives,” said the 47-year-old artist. “Money is a key and what we raise from this auction will make a huge difference for a lot of people.”
Among Hirst’s donations will be his artwork entitled All You Need Is Love, which is hoped to raise over $1 million, and which depicts a giant, shiny red heart stuck with butterflies.
Bono views this sale as a historic moment, bringing the best collection of art together from the best living artists. “I love art for art’s sake, but what we have here is a real moment in art history.”
The works will be on display during the week leading up to the auction.
Copyright © 2007 Look to the Stars
