COURTESY BERLIN IN FOKUS.
Martin Klosterfelde, the Berlin dealer who closed his eponymous gallery in 2013 to join Phillips as a director, will move to Sotheby’s, the auction house announced in a press release. He will join the European contemporary art team as a senior director, and it appears he will wield the gavel as well—this year, he was trained as an auctioneer.
Klosterfelde gallery opened in Berlin’s Mitte district in 1996, and during its 18-year run exhibited artists such as Christian Jankowski, Danh Vo, Lawrence Weiner, Elmgreen & Dragset, and others, eventually putting on 104 shows. The gallery was also a founding member of Art Berlin Contemporary and Berlin Gallery Weekend, and Klosterfelde was named a member of the Art Basel Miami Beach selection committee. After joining Phillips, he helped open that house’s office and gallery in Berlin, making it the first of the big three auction houses to plant a flag in the city.
He will join the team at Sotheby’s this month, just in time for the contemporary art evening auction in London on October 7.