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Sotheby’s sold her work 'Happening' (2014) for $5,253,000

Avery Singer was born and raised in New York City in a family of artists, which encouraged her to explore creativity from a very young age. Initially, she focused on photography and drawing, and later, during her higher education, she expanded her work to include performance, video art, sculpture, and finally, painting, which became her preferred medium.

The artist has exhibited in prestigious events such as the Venice Biennale, the Lyon Biennale, and the New Museum Triennial. Her works are part of collections in important institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, among others.

In 2022, she achieved an auction record when Sotheby’s sold her work 'Happening' (2014) for $5,253,000. In this 254 x 304.8 cm canvas, Singer evokes the aesthetics of performances from the 1960s and 70s, filtered through a digital perspective. The painting presents a complex scene composed of various geometric figures that seem to be participating in a ritual or meeting, all created with the precision of 3D modeling software. Despite this accuracy, the work is neither cold nor dehumanized; on the contrary, it vibrates with energy resulting from the interaction between the hyperrealism of the models and the artist's subjective interpretation.

Singer, Avery; Anna Karina, Museum Ludwig (ML/Dep. 7685, Köln)(Photo: © Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln, rba_d040996)

With a unique and materially inventive approach to painting, Singer redefines contemporary artistic technique. Her meticulous production process involves creating figures, scenes, and abstract geometries through SketchUp—a program typically used to design exhibition spaces—which are then depicted pictorially, often in shades of black, white, and gray. Light and shadow are manipulated with digital precision, giving her works a hyperrealistic yet strangely artificial quality.

Singer's works stand out for their satirical nature, combining early Internet aesthetics with elements of Constructivism, Futurism, and Cubism. Her formal practice incorporates figures in constructivist forms that express emotions through exaggerated poses and dramatically disordered hair.

In her early works, Singer dramatized her themes and parodied the life of an artist. In her first solo exhibition in 2013 at Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler in Berlin, titled 'The Artists', she explored stereotypes about artists' lives, work, and social interactions. In a fake press release—part of a larger series titled 'Press Release Me'—Singer mocked the creation of a sanctioned artistic language and the social role of the artist. The paintings in this exhibition depict stereotypical scenes from the art world, such as a meeting with collectors in 'Jewish Artist and Patron' (2012) and a studio visit in 'The Studio Visit' (2012).

Using new technologies to reinterpret historical art references, Singer challenges the limits of painting. Her first self-portrait, *Self Portrait (Summer 2018)*, exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2019, employed a new process using liquid rubber, spray bottles, and diluted white paint to simulate frosted glass. The result is an image of a figure in the shower, a theme that evokes the classical genre of Venus or Bathers, but complicated by the light passing through air, water, and glass. Singer succeeds in her experiments to reinvent the future of painting, using virtual fictional characters and symbols drawn from art history and the contemporary art world, subverting expectations.

Singer frequently reimagines the theme of painting and image creation as the subject itself, distancing herself from romanticized visions. Each of her works reflects a unique way of seeing the world around her, representing a new generation of artists who are redefining what it means to paint in the 21st century. Her practice, which combines contemporary digital technologies with traditional painting techniques, opens up new possibilities for art, expanding the boundaries of what can be considered painting. Although her approach is deeply rooted in artistic tradition, her work points to the future, suggesting new directions for art in an increasingly digital world.

The ability to innovate without completely abandoning the past is what makes Singer's work so relevant and impactful for audiences. She does not reject art history but reinterprets it through contemporary technology, creating works that are simultaneously tributes to and critiques of the traditions that preceded them. This duality gives her paintings a richness and depth that resonate with both the public and critics alike.

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Sotheby’s sold her work 'Happening' (2014) for $5,253,000

Singer, Avery; Anna Karina, Museum Ludwig (ML/Dep. 7685, Köln)(Photo: © Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln, rba_d040996)

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