Phillips Auction Highlights Women Artists in ULTIMATE Sale

By Darren Smith, Arts Reporter

April 5, 2026

LONDON — Phillips Auction House has unveiled previews for its Modern & Contemporary Art sale scheduled for April 16, 2026, in London, with the dedicated ULTIMATE: New Visions section spotlighting the highest number of women artists featured on the platform to date.

The auction, set for 1pm BST at Phillips’ Berkeley Square headquarters, brings together 129 lots spanning painting, sculpture, photography, and new media. While the broader sale includes established names, the ULTIMATE offering stands out for its emphasis on female creative voices across generations and geographies. This programming arrives amid ongoing conversations in the art market about gender representation, collector demand for works by women, and the evolving role of photography and craft-based practices in contemporary auctions.

“ULTIMATE — Phillips’ platform devoted to exclusive works of art, with a particular emphasis on photography — will present a landmark selection of female artists, the platform’s most significant yet,” according to the house’s announcement. The section positions itself as a global mini-survey, highlighting artists who engage with light, materiality, identity, and embodied experience.

Standout works include new pieces created exclusively for the sale. Japanese artist Mika Ninagawa debuts Gathered Silence, Blossoming Light (2026), a luminous suspended sculpture assembled from hand-crafted crystal, glass, and resin. This marks the first time her radiant crystal works have appeared at auction and their UK debut, translating her signature photographic language of intense color and floral motifs into an immersive, light-filled environment.

Auction newcomer Anna Deller-Yee presents The Gathering of the Clouds (2026), her largest painted and embroidered canvas to date. Combining dense mark-making with hand-sewn beadwork, the piece explores tension between materiality and the female experience, reclaiming techniques historically linked to feminine craft.

Other highlights in the ULTIMATE lineup feature Maria Svarbova’s Ball Movement from Pool (2020), Jung Lee’s You, You, You……#2 (2014), Amanda Means’ Light Bulb 00032C (2001), and works by JeeYoung Lee and Noémie Goudal. Twentieth-century anchors include rare prints by Robert Mapplethorpe and Irving Penn.

The broader Modern & Contemporary offerings include additional works by women such as Tracey Emin (Sleeping Wishing and Pop Embryos), Katherine Bradford, Rebecca Warren, Mona Hatoum, Roni Horn, Kimsooja, and Zanele Muholi, among others. These sit alongside pieces by male artists, creating a balanced yet notably female-forward presentation in the ULTIMATE segment.

This focus reflects broader market trends. Recent Phillips sales in London have seen strong results for works by women, including new auction records and competitive bidding for pieces by living female artists. By elevating both established figures and emerging or underrepresented voices — with an emphasis on handwork, vulnerability, and strength — the house signals confidence in sustained collector interest.

Olivia Thornton, Deputy Chairwoman and Head of Modern & Contemporary Art, Europe, has previously noted the resilience of the market for exceptional works, even in selective environments. While no new quote was issued specifically for this preview, the programming aligns with Phillips’ pattern of thematic curation that responds to cultural shifts.

The April 16 sale follows the house’s March 2026 London auctions, which achieved solid results amid cautious bidding, with priority bidding incentives available until April 14 to encourage early participation.

Previews are open to the public in the lead-up to the live auction. Full catalogues and online bidding registration are available on the Phillips website.

In a market where digital art, generative practices, and body-centric works increasingly intersect with traditional media, Phillips’ emphasis on embodied craft and photographic innovation in ULTIMATE: New Visions offers a timely lens on how women artists are reshaping material and visual languages today.

Darren Smith is an Arts Reporter at Art Chain News covering contemporary art, digital art and NFTs, body art, and the intersections between these fields.

This article is based on exhibition/auction statements, direct reporting, and institutional analysis.