Sotheby’s is offering María Berrío’s mixed-media collage "Act II, Scene 4: Threshold" in its "Contemporary Discoveries" online sale with an estimate of $60,000–$80,000. This specific work previously sold for $380,000 at the Two x Two for AIDS and Art charity auction in 2023, far exceeding its then-retail value of $125,000. The current auction serves as a litmus test for the artist's secondary market resilience following a period of intense speculative trading.
The sharp contrast between the work's previous charity price and its current conservative estimate highlights a significant correction in the secondary market for ultra-contemporary artists. While Berrío continues to see strong primary market success and institutional support through her representation by Hauser & Wirth, her auction volume plummeted from $11.8 million in 2022 to negligible figures in 2024. This case study underscores the widening gap between controlled gallery pricing and the volatile nature of speculative auction cycles.