Billings Presents Claude Conover Vessel and Modern Furniture This March

A Cleveland-based artist, Claude Conover worked as a commercial designer for decades before embracing art as a second career. He dedicated himself to large clay pots covered in stripes, hatch marks, and other symbols. One of Conover’s large vessels will come to auction with Billings this March. Measuring 21 inches high, this glazed stoneware vessel was created in 1981 and titled Ahau. The two-toned piece features innumerable dots and scratches, adding texture and visual interest. The upcoming Billings sale also features fine artworks by noted 20th-century artists such as Raymond Pettibon and Keith Haring. The catalog features a printer’s proof silkscreen of Pettibon’s Untitled (Play Ball) from 1989. This minimalist composition shows a baseball player swinging his bat under a sardonic statement: “Life is a misery and I do not know when death may come. ‘Play ball!’” 

The auction catalog also includes a selection of furniture by designers such as Pierre Jeanneret, Lina Bo Bardi, and Viggo Boesen. Among the top lots is a set of two circa 1953 Committee chairs by Jeanneret for the planned city Chandigarh. Made with a teak base, these chairs feature black fabric upholstery. Additional lots of interest include a stoneware mural by Stan Bitters, a Karl Springer-style Atlantic sofa, and a Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe daybed. Interested collectors can visit Billings for more information on the Spring 2023 Modern Art + Design sale.