“contemporary” About 206
-
Auction PreviewContemporary Curated
In the 1950s, Joan Mitchell emerged as a leading Abstract Expressionist at a time when few women artists were recognized. The upcoming Contemporary Curated auction, presented by Sotheby’s, will feature several works by Joan Mitchell. Explaining her expressive art experience in her works, she said, “Abstract is not a style. I simply want to make a surface work. This is just a use of space and form: it's an ambivalence of forms and space.” Rather than creating a recognizable image, her intent was to convey emotions through her palette. Featured in this auction is an untitled piece in shades of blue, green, and cream. Wayne Thiebaud’s oil on canvas piece is another highlight of the auction. Best known for his still lifes of edible treats and everyday objects, he uses an illustrative style and thick impasto in his artworks. Also of interest is a painting by American Abstract Expressionist Helen Frankenthaler. Explore the full listings and register to bid online by visiting Sotheby’s.
-
Auction PreviewThe Contemporary Art Auction
American photographer Sally Mann is best known for her black and white photographs of landscapes and her own family members. The upcoming Contemporary Art Auction, offered by Leland Little, features an untitled 1997 landscape print from Mann’s Mother Land: Virginia Series. The tea-toned, gelatin silver print was captured with damaged old lenses and printed with the wet collodion technique. Award-winning feminist photographer Tomoko Sawada is known for her self-portraits satirizing contemporary stereotypes. She makes use of photo booths and her studio to take portraits that resemble identification cards. The auction presents the Cover/Face series of 20 chromogenic prints by Sawada. The collection explores the influence of Western culture on beauty trends among Japanese youth. The dark tan and contrasting bright makeup shown in the photos was a popular fashion trend among Japanese women during the mid-1990s. Also showcased are works by artists such as Alex Prager, Muzi Quawson, Thomas Daniel, and Tom Fabritius. Interested collectors can explore the complete listings and register to bid online on Leland Little.
-
Auction PreviewContemporary Glass: 1975-Present
Wexler Gallery will offer the upcoming Contemporary Glass auction, featuring works from 1975 to the present. Particularly highlighted is a blown glass piece by William Morris, an American artisan who uses glass to imitate ancient stone and wood carvings. The available 1997 piece is shaped to resemble a carved wooden horse, spotted on its back and missing its head. Speaking to the style of his work, Morris has stated, “Art arrests attention, it is an important service to the soul... Glassblowing is the closest thing to alchemy that I know of.” Morris spent ten years working under Dale Chihuly before launching his own career. Several of Chihuly’s works are on offer as well, including two Seaform sculptures. One of the available pieces is made of clear glass, edged in black. Among the lots of interest is a set of three pieces by Andy Paiko. The contemporary artist is known for his hanging sculptures and his use of glass to recreate old antiques, ranging from bell jars to absinthe fountains and reliquaries. The available triad is made of assembled glass, walnut, maple, copper, brass, poison oak seeds, and woodpecker feathers. Rounding out the sale is a lot from Chicago-based artist Joseph Ivacic. Scarab was made in 2016 and resembles two detailed spray paint cans resting on a corner shelf. Browse the complete catalog for this auction and register to bid on Bidsquare
-
Auction PreviewModern & Contemporary South Asian Art
Raja Ravi Varma, a name that resonates through the history of Indian art, will be featured in the upcoming Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction, offered by Sotheby’s. The available Varma painting depicts Swami Vishvamitra, a prominent sage of Hindu mythology, in a state of meditation. Varma is best known for using European techniques to represent traditional Hindu stories. Maqbool Fida Husain’s work is among the paintings on display as well. Widely known as M.F. Husain, the artist practiced Cubism and other European styles during the 20th century. Two of the artist’s paintings are featured, titled Padmini Mohini Shankhini and Mehndi, respectively. Both oil paintings are signed in Devanagari, a left-to-right script used throughout the Indian subcontinent. Pieces from artists such as Bhupen Khakhar and Prabhakar Barwe are also listed in the auction. To view the complete catalog and register to bid, visit Sotheby’s.
-
Auction PreviewLiving Contemporary
The upcoming Living Contemporary auction, offered by Rago, features a collection of mid-century furniture, folk art, fine art, industrial ephemera, and vintage advertising signs. Among the highlights of the sale are works by German-American graphic artist and designer Tommi Parzinger. The 20th-century designer was considered a key creator of the Hollywood Regency look. Parzinger often used clean lines in his works that involved costly, labor-intensive materials and complex techniques such as brass work and lacquer. His furniture caught the attention of the New York elite, and he soon started catering to Hollywood clients such as Marilyn Monroe. One of his cabinets will be available in this sale. Also highlighted is a sculptural painting by Dustin Yellin. His three-dimensional photo collages, which he describes as ‘frozen cinemas,’ embed paint and printed images between laminated glass to create visual illusions. The available piece, titled Strawberry Skull, shows a skeletal view of the head through many layers of resin, acrylic, and ink. Other notable lots include a wall shelf with a cabinet by George Nakashima. Designed for Ezra Stoller, this custom shelf features one natural edge and a two-door cabinet concealing one shelf. Explore the full listings for this auction and register to bid online on Bidsquare.
-
Auction PreviewContemporary Edition
The upcoming sale presented by Christie's will include 201 lots of contemporary and modern art. Among the top lots of the sale is an oil painting created by Helen Frankenthaler. The piece, titled Guadalupe, was created by staining a solid pigment onto canvas. Frankenthaler’s technique helped shape Abstract Expressionism and post-war art in the mid-20th century. Another highlight of the sale is an untitled painting by Sam Francis, which incorporates elements from Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting, and Impressionism. The painting shows the artist’s interpretation of color and light. Also among the notable lots is a work titled Fallen Easel by John Baldessari. A Los Angeles-based artist, Baldessari was known for his photography and conceptual work. To view the complete collection and register to bid online, visit Christie's.
-
Auction PreviewPost-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale
Andy Warhol first photographed Muhammad Ali in 1977. The photographs of the heavyweight boxing champion would be used as references for Warhol's 1977 Athletes series. As Warhol lifted his camera, Ali had only one question: “Do I look fearless?” One of Warhol’s original portraits of Ali is highlighted in the upcoming Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, presented by Christie's. The piece comes to auction directly from the collection of Richard L. Weisman. Weisman originally commissioned Andy Warhol to create the 1977 Athletes series, keeping a few, including this portrait, for himself. Warhol collectors can also consider a piece from his Flowers series. It began in the 1960s when curator Henry Geldzahler became disturbed by Warhol's fixation on death. Geldzahler suggested Warhol change his focus and pointed, at random, to a photograph of flowers in a 1964 issue of Modern Photography. The result was more somber than Geldzahler expected. “[T]hey present a distillation of much of the strength of Warhol's art,” wrote curator John Coplans, “the flash of beauty that suddenly becomes tragic under the viewer's gaze.” Several of the auction's lots come from Warhol’s fellow Pop artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. His paper collage piece titled The Mosque is among the key lots. The work includes several references to religion and the afterlife, including the titular mosque and the phrase "GOING TO HEAVEN," with two arrows pointing to the empty space above. Also included is untitled work by Sigmar Polke. The piece available in this auction was created with Polke's raster-dot technique. The artist photographed an image that appeared in a newspaper or magazine, then copied the photograph out on canvas with dots. Imperfections would emerge, including smudges, but Polke left them as-is, acknowledging them as part of the process. View each of these lots and register to bid on Christie’s website.
-
Auction PreviewFirst Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online
The upcoming Post-War and Contemporary Art auction, offered by Christie’s, will offer 97 pieces of fine art from both rising and established artists. One mixed media piece from Miquel Barceló will be particularly highlighted. A seasoned traveler, Barceló spent much of the 1980s in Western Africa observing the dry weather and land. Christie’s quotes his inspiration for the available piece: “The light in the desert is so intense that things disappear, and the shadows are more intense than the things themselves.” The lot, titled PRSPCTV, is thickly textured in shades of cream and gray. Circular objects cast dark shadows on the background, yet lose their definition as the viewer gets closer to the work. The edges of the canvas are light blue. Another key artist featured in the sale is Peter Halley. He uses clearly defined blocks and bars of color to form his Minimalist and geometric compositions. Halley is known for applying the terms “prisons” and “cells” to describe his own work, inviting an association between impartial Minimalism and the concept of imprisonment. One of his works, titled Three Prisons, will be presented in this auction. Three of his units are layered on top of each other, together standing over six feet tall. Contemporary works from emerging artists are also present, including an oil on Plexiglass painting by Evans Mbugua. Originally trained as a graphic designer, the Kenyan artist creates colorful portraits beneath repeating prints that evoke wallpaper. Mbugua’s Spin shows a break-dancer balancing on one arm. Loie Hollowell’s Standing in Light woodcut print will also be presented. Though her works appear abstract, Hollowell’s paintings often use subtle geometry to explore female sexuality. Pace Gallery quotes Hollowell in a recent exhibition: “I want the viewer to come away not necessarily knowing what I was trying to tell them... but absorbing an impression of brightness or richness or radiance that has something to do with their relationship to their own body.” The available piece is arranged in orange and teal concentric circles. View the complete catalog for this auction and register to bid by visiting Christie’s.
-
Auction PreviewModern & Contemporary Art – Online
Featuring artists such as Francis Newton Souza and Banksy, John Moran Auctioneers offers a variety of fine art pieces in the upcoming Winter Modern + Contemporary auction. The sale particularly explores Cubism, Impressionism, and Abstract art alongside more contemporary works. One featured lot in this auction is a painting by Francis Bacon. Britannica describes the artist as “... a painter whose powerful, predominantly figural images express isolation, brutality, and terror.” The available lithograph on paper by Bacon is titled Etude Pour Une Corrida, which translates to Study For A Bullfight No. 1. Also available is a sketch made in the style of Pablo Picasso. An oil on canvas painting by Luis Feito Lopez will be highlighted as well. Throughout his career, Lopez was influenced by informal Cubism, which can be seen in the available lot. An Abstract black-and-white form is positioned off-center on the canvas. For more information, visit John Moran Auctioneers.
-
Auction PreviewPost-War & Contemporary Art
The 1997-98 Woman on Blue Bus Seat sculpture, available in the upcoming Post-War & Contemporary Art Auction presented by Bonhams, is the creation of artist and sculptor George Segal. The inspiration behind Segal’s sculptures often came from his own body and the people surrounding him. In his lifetime, Segal dabbled across Expressionism and Modern Art. However, he was most noted for his work in the Pop Art movement. Beyond the sculpture pieces, bidders will also find a collection of 152 full-sized Supreme skateboard decks. Bonhams explains the success mantra for Supreme, one of the most-recognized skateboard brands: "It was this cross-pollination of styles, designs, and motifs that identified Supreme as a breakthrough presence in the industry." Also presented are works such as Surprised Woman, a sculpture by Viola Frey, and Repose II, an inkjet print by Wolfgang Tillmans. For more information on these lots, visit Bonhams’ official website.
