80+ Participating Artists in Alphabetical Order:
Ad de Jong, Adriana Joëlle Jochems, Ahmad Mallah, Andrea Imwiehe, André van Bergen, Anika Schwarzlose & Elena Khurtova, Anna Hoetjes, Annaleen Louwes, Anne Wölk, Anni Ruffin, Antoinette Nausikaä, Anuschka Blommers / Niels Schumm, Aurélien Lepetit, Barbara Rink, Charlott Markus, Coralie Vogelaar, Danielle Vorthuys, Dasha Afanaseva, Delta van Melle, Diana Al-Halabi, Emmanuelle Wilhelm, Erik Alkema, Eva Schippers, Floor Meijers, George Korsmit, Gijs Assmann, Giorgos Gripeos, Hanna Mattes, Ine Lamers, Jacopo Calonaci, James Beckett, Jan Timmers, Janneke Raaphorst, Jean-Philippe Paumier, Jessie Yingying Gong, Joep Neefjes / LPI, Johannes Schwartz, Joseph Miceli, Kai Reichert, Kandido Filgueiras, Klara Hobza, Kristine Hymøller, Leyla Sünnenwold, Lieve Hakkers, Lina Ozerkina, Lisa Sudhibhasilp, Lo Yuen Ming, Lotte Reimann, Lotte van Geijn, Manshee Zheng, Marek van de Watering, Mariana Oliveira, Marianne Vierø, Marie Ilse Bourlanges, Marlies Neugebauer, Masaki Komoto, Maud van der Werf, Max van Meeuwen, Mayra Sérgio, Miklos Gaál, Noam Holdengreber, Pantelis Makkas, Paulien Barbas, Peter de Boer, Popel Coumou, Rebecca Sakoun & Florian Göttke, Rob van der Nol, Roman Tkachenko, Ruth van Beek, Sema Bekirovic & Xu XueQin, Seán O’Riordan, Simon Marsiglia, Sofija Lī Virta, Soji Shimizu, Sophie Schreurs, Stéphanie Baechler, Susan Kooi, Susanna Brenner, T Y Gutter, Tania Theodorou, Thomas Monses, Vita Buivid and Anna Buyvid, Yann Vissers, Yiannis Vellis
Dead Darlings turns 20!
We’re thrilled to mark our 20th anniversary with a special exhibition and auction in collaboration with the legendary Amsterdam art space W139.
Come celebrate an auction event like no other!
The Auction Event
Saturday 13 December
Doors Open 12:00
Auction 16:00–21:00
________
Last Preview Days
10, 11, 12 December
12:00–18:00
Two rounds of bidding, with food, drinks, performances, and plenty of surprises. Stay for the whole thing — or drop in whenever you like!
Come early to view the artworks on display, navigate the show with our hand-made catalogue and register for your paddle. Paddle is free with every purchase of the catalogue!
Dutch dinner time? No problem! Getting hangry? We got you! Freshly cooked food will be available throughout the evening by Aslı Hatipoğlu.
Entrance: Free
Sign up in advance
in order to be faster at the auction registration
To bid: Register for a paddle (€2)
Paddle is free with every purchase of the catalogue (€10)
And for the first time ever, we have limited edition silk-screened DD t-shirts for sale! (adorbs)
All sales are anonymous — artists’ names are revealed only after each work is sold! On this special occasion we push the idea of value rooted in community, even further. 70% of sales proceeds will be divided equally among participating artists, regardless of their final selling prices. Dead Darlings and W139 will share the remaining 30% to help cover our costs. Dead Darlings is at its core, a benefit auction both for artists and collectors! Our 20th edition celebrates community, solidarity and collaboration.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Dead Darlings Collective
About Dead Darlings
Dead Darlings started off as a subversive anonymous art auction in Amsterdam in 2005. It has since grown into an international platform with a mission to explore the often fraught, always complex relationship between the price and the value of an artwork. Our events combine elements of performance and exhibition. Our focus is on artefacts whose value is ambiguous: dead darlings. This refers to a work that an artist has created, yet for any variety of reasons, has not brought to light. The name Dead Darlings was inspired by the phrase “kill your darlings”. What becomes of these ambivalent works, and what if we could help artists dig them up from dusty corners of the studio and give them a second chance to live and be seen?
Doing this through an auction makes sense: it’s a format where buried treasures often come to the surface. But since dead darlings are sold anonymously and to make matters worse, have absurdly low starting prices, it serves as a cheeky wink to the art market establishment by adopting and mocking one of its most solemn manifestations. This low threshold is integral to our philosophy, and acts as an important reminder that value is relative, subject to change, and should be up for regular reassessment, as a matter of principle.
We bring something “unseen” into the public eye. Our philosophy around this is to feature established names alongside upcoming or obscure ones. We try to even out the playing field and reflect on why a particular work has been designated in such a way, challenging notions of value, demand, desirability and commerce. There is a list of participating artists, but no one knows who made what until the name is revealed right after the sale is final! Not only does this add an extra layer of excitement and anticipation to our live events, but it invites people to bid for what they love, instead of being dazzled by an artist's name, fame or commercial status.
Why W139?
During the pandemic, the iconic W139 had fallen on hard times, so artists and public banded together to help. Dead Darlings planned a huge exhibition that ended on a very profitable benefit auction, which was one of the contributing factors that allowed W139 to stay afloat long enough to regroup and go on to a fresh start! When they heard we were looking for a location to celebrate our 20th, they didn’t hesitate to provide their full support.
Dead Darlings turns 20!
We’re thrilled to mark our 20th anniversary with a special exhibition and auction in collaboration with the legendary Amsterdam art space W139.
Come celebrate an auction event like no other!
The Auction Event
Saturday 13 December
Doors Open 12:00
Auction 16:00–21:00
________
Last Preview Days
10, 11, 12 December
12:00–18:00
Two rounds of bidding, with food, drinks, performances, and plenty of surprises. Stay for the whole thing — or drop in whenever you like!
Come early to view the artworks on display, navigate the show with our hand-made catalogue and register for your paddle. Paddle is free with every purchase of the catalogue!
Dutch dinner time? No problem! Getting hangry? We got you! Freshly cooked food will be available throughout the evening by Aslı Hatipoğlu.
Entrance: Free
Sign up in advance
in order to be faster at the auction registration
To bid: Register for a paddle (€2)
Paddle is free with every purchase of the catalogue (€10)
And for the first time ever, we have limited edition silk-screened DD t-shirts for sale! (adorbs)
All sales are anonymous — artists’ names are revealed only after each work is sold! On this special occasion we push the idea of value rooted in community, even further. 70% of sales proceeds will be divided equally among participating artists, regardless of their final selling prices. Dead Darlings and W139 will share the remaining 30% to help cover our costs. Dead Darlings is at its core, a benefit auction both for artists and collectors! Our 20th edition celebrates community, solidarity and collaboration.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Dead Darlings Collective
80+ Participating Artists in Alphabetical Order:
Ad de Jong, Adriana Joëlle Jochems, Ahmad Mallah, Andrea Imwiehe, André van Bergen, Anika Schwarzlose & Elena Khurtova, Anna Hoetjes, Annaleen Louwes, Anne Wölk, Anni Ruffin, Antoinette Nausikaä, Anuschka Blommers / Niels Schumm, Aurélien Lepetit, Barbara Rink, Charlott Markus, Coralie Vogelaar, Danielle Vorthuys, Dasha Afanaseva, Delta van Melle, Diana Al-Halabi, Emmanuelle Wilhelm, Erik Alkema, Eva Schippers, Floor Meijers, George Korsmit, Gijs Assmann, Giorgos Gripeos, Hanna Mattes, Ine Lamers, Jacopo Calonaci, James Beckett, Jan Timmers, Janneke Raaphorst, Jean-Philippe Paumier, Jessie Yingying Gong, Joep Neefjes / LPI, Johannes Schwartz, Joseph Miceli, Kai Reichert, Kandido Filgueiras, Klara Hobza, Kristine Hymøller, Leyla Sünnenwold, Lieve Hakkers, Lina Ozerkina, Lisa Sudhibhasilp, Lo Yuen Ming, Lotte Reimann, Lotte van Geijn, Manshee Zheng, Marek van de Watering, Mariana Oliveira, Marianne Vierø, Marie Ilse Bourlanges, Marlies Neugebauer, Masaki Komoto, Maud van der Werf, Max van Meeuwen, Mayra Sérgio, Miklos Gaál, Noam Holdengreber, Pantelis Makkas, Paulien Barbas, Peter de Boer, Popel Coumou, Rebecca Sakoun & Florian Göttke, Rob van der Nol, Roman Tkachenko, Ruth van Beek, Sema Bekirovic & Xu XueQin, Seán O’Riordan, Simon Marsiglia, Sofija Lī Virta, Soji Shimizu, Sophie Schreurs, Stéphanie Baechler, Susan Kooi, Susanna Brenner, T Y Gutter, Tania Theodorou, Thomas Monses, Vita Buivid and Anna Buyvid, Yann Vissers, Yiannis Vellis
About Dead Darlings
Dead Darlings started off as a subversive anonymous art auction in Amsterdam in 2005. It has since grown into an international platform with a mission to explore the often fraught, always complex relationship between the price and the value of an artwork. Our events combine elements of performance and exhibition. Our focus is on artefacts whose value is ambiguous: dead darlings. This refers to a work that an artist has created, yet for any variety of reasons, has not brought to light. The name Dead Darlings was inspired by the phrase “kill your darlings”. What becomes of these ambivalent works, and what if we could help artists dig them up from dusty corners of the studio and give them a second chance to live and be seen?
Doing this through an auction makes sense: it’s a format where buried treasures often come to the surface. But since dead darlings are sold anonymously and to make matters worse, have absurdly low starting prices, it serves as a cheeky wink to the art market establishment by adopting and mocking one of its most solemn manifestations. This low threshold is integral to our philosophy, and acts as an important reminder that value is relative, subject to change, and should be up for regular reassessment, as a matter of principle.
We bring something “unseen” into the public eye. Our philosophy around this is to feature established names alongside upcoming or obscure ones. We try to even out the playing field and reflect on why a particular work has been designated in such a way, challenging notions of value, demand, desirability and commerce. There is a list of participating artists, but no one knows who made what until the name is revealed right after the sale is final! Not only does this add an extra layer of excitement and anticipation to our live events, but it invites people to bid for what they love, instead of being dazzled by an artist's name, fame or commercial status.
Why W139?
During the pandemic, the iconic W139 had fallen on hard times, so artists and public banded together to help. Dead Darlings planned a huge exhibition that ended on a very profitable benefit auction, which was one of the contributing factors that allowed W139 to stay afloat long enough to regroup and go on to a fresh start! When they heard we were looking for a location to celebrate our 20th, they didn’t hesitate to provide their full support.