Proving the art market still has a solid buffer between it and the broader economic reality, Sotheby’s Latin American art auction Wednesday brought in a solid if somewhat uneven $17 million (est. $15.2-20.7 million), bolstered by the work of Rufino Tamayo and a growing interest in kinetic art. The evening sale wrapped up with a respectable 75 percent sell-through rate by lot and 80 percent by value, with many offerings greatly exceeding estimates but other notable lots remaining unsold.

Tamayo’s “Watermelon Slices” (1950), put up for auction by the Museum of Modern Art, was the evening's top lot and the only piece to hammer down above the $1 million threshold. The Mexican artist’s vivid still life fetched $2.2 million — just a touch above its $2 million high estimate — for the MoMA’s acquisition fund. The painting is revealing of both cultural and personal identity: the red, white, and green of the watermelon mimics the color of the Mexican flag, and the subject connects to Tamayo's childhood experience helping his aunt sell tropical fruit at one of Mexico City's largest markets. In addition to the luscious watermelon, two of the artist’s earlier works were highly sought-after and exceeded pre-sale expectations. The 1928 painting “Frutero y domino” nearly doubled its $275,000-375,000 estimate, fetching $530,500, and “La Tenista” (1932) hammered down at $398,500, handily beat its $225,000-275,000 pre-sale estimate.

Another artist receiving lavish attention Wednesday was Venezuelan kinetic and Op artist Jesús Rafael Soto, whose work was 100 percent sold and topped estimates for every lot offered. At the helm of the stellar group was “Escritura Cobalto” (1976), a piece of painted metal and nylon string in cobalt blue, one of the artist’s favorite colors.

The kinetic art of Carlos Cruz-Diez was also hot. Five bidders fought over “Physichromie 2000” (1980), and the eventual winner paid $422,000 (est. $150,000-200,000). The price was a record for the artist at auction — but only for a few minutes. Just a few lots later another collector took home “Physichromie 88” (1962) for $518,500 (est. $200,000-300,000).

Following  the strong demand for Fernando Botero's work Tuesday evening at Christie’s, there were a few notable purchases of the artist’s work, but also some significant buy-ins. “Venus” (1982), which depicts a massive nude towering over a small cupid — Botero’s rather rotund take on the classic image — had one of the highest estimates of the evening at $900,000-1.2 million but went unsold. The failure to find a buyer may be related to the fact that the work was not fresh to market — it was purchased at Sotheby’s Latin American sale in November 2007 for a hammer price of $700,000. However, other piece by Botero did quite well.  The bright, colorful painting “Man and a Horse” (2003) was sold to a Latin American collector for $626,500 (est. $500,000-700,000), and his 2003 sculpture “Seated Woman” hammered down between estimates at $482,500 (est. $400,000-600,000).

There was also considerable interest in Chilean surrealist Matta, whose work is at the center of two major shows at present — one at the Pace Gallery in New York and another at the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda in Santiago, Chile — on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the artist’s birth. “Lispard du Mêdi,” a swirling, blue-green-hued Surrealist work from 1953, soared above estimates and was sold for $566,500 (est. $350,000-450,000). But the grey-and-blue canvas from the same period, "Re-Evolvers (Le Couple)" (1953), which had a slightly lower $250,000-350,000 estimate, was bought in.