Two of the world’s art and architecture stars, Theaster Gates and Sir David Adjaye, have collaborated with musician and activist Bono to curate the third (RED) Auction to support the fight against AIDS. Artists donating works to the auction include Jeff Koons, Ai Weiwei, Wangechi Mutu, Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson, Christo, Sean Scully, Marilyn Minter, Frank Gehry, Guillermo Kuitca, and Teresita Fernández, among others.
In addition, Gates and Adjaye have created unique pieces for sale. Centered on the theme of light and the color red, this collection of contemporary art and design will be auctioned by Sotheby’s on December 5, 2018, and will include global bidding available live online and by phone.
The auction is preceded by a public exhibition presented by Gagosian at the famed Moore Building in the Miami Design District that opens on December 1, World AIDS Day. This event follows two previous (RED) auctions conducted by Sotheby’s that together raised $68 million. The first, organized by Bono and Damien Hirst in February 2008, featured works donated by Hirst, Banksy, Anish Kapoor, Marc Quinn, Georg Baselitz, and Howard Hodgkin, among others, and established seventeen new auction records. The second, curated by Jony Ive and Marc Newson in 2013, offered important twentieth and twenty-first-century design, and attracted matching funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. To date (RED) has generated more than $500 million for the Global Fund to support life saving HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. Proceeds from this year’s auction will continue to support community-based programs in Africa through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, while also aiding the Rebuild Foundation, Chicago, an organization championed by Gates.
Moore Atrium – 4040 NE 2nd Ave