Stockholms Auktionsverk presents: The Modern Art & Design Sale — featuring iconic works by Yves Klein and Andy Warhol

Yves Klein’s “Âge d’or [Golden Age], (MG 36)” executed in 1959, stands as a luminous testament to the artist’s exploration of the immaterial and the eternal. Klein’s fascination with gold — a material he viewed as both spiritual and transcendent — found its purest expression in his Monogold series. Through the delicate application of gold leafs, Âge d’or [Golden Age], (MG 36)” shimmers with an otherworldly vitality, its textured surface animated by light and air.

“In his monochrome paintings, Klein sought to create an experience rather than an image — a surface that depicts nothing, yet vibrates with energy and spirituality,” says Victoria Svederberg, Head of the Art Department at Stockholms Auktionsverk. “Âge d’or [Golden Age], (MG 36)”  is a brilliant example of this: a meditation in gold, where light, reflection and texture become the subject itself. The combination of technical fragility, aesthetic power, and art-historical significance makes these works highly sought-after.”

Andy Warhol’s “Frölunda Hockey Player” (1986) captures the unexpected meeting point of Pop Art and Nordic sports culture, and traces its origins to a remarkable collaboration between Warhol and the Swedish hockey club Västra Frölunda HC. The double portrait, a work that has never been shown publicly before, places the player Christer Kellgren in the same visual universe as Warhol’s depictions of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. With its stark composition and vivid energy, “Frölunda Hockey Player” transforms the intensity of sport into an emblem of modern heroism — an unforeseen yet quintessential Warhol moment.

Together, these works represent two distinct but complementary artistic visions: Klein’s spiritual pursuit of the immaterial, and Warhol’s fascination with fame and cultural icons. Presented side by side, they illuminate the enduring power of modern art to both reflect and transcend its time.

The Modern Art & Design Sale viewing opens on 7 November at Stockholms Auktionsverk, Nybrogatan 32 in Stockholm, and continues until the auction on 19–20 November.