“contemporary” About 206
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Auction PreviewModern and Contemporary Art+Design: Premier Auction
Ismael Al-Sheikhli’s forte was the use of vibrant colors, abstract human figures, and obscured backgrounds. As one of the pioneers of Iraqi Art, Ismael shares the center stage with the likes of Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso at the Modern and Contemporary Art+Design: Premier Auction. Offered by Cowan’s Auction, the 155 lots features renowned contemporary artists along with categories such as furniture, lighting, and more. At the highest estimated value of $50,000 is an aquatint, printed on Guarro paper by Joan Miro. Amongst the featured list, lots like a rare cocktail shaker designed by Paul Lobel and armchairs by Wendell Castle can be found. Picasso’s Jeune Homme Couronné de Feuillage (Young Man Crowned with Foliage) is a noteworthy item in the collection. His linocut in colors is a depiction of a young man with dual faces. For more information, please visit Invaluable.
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Auction PreviewClassic & Contemporary Photographs
The lens of Irving Penn is known to capture a deeper personality of the subjects. Among the highlights of Classic & Contemporary Photographs by Swann Auction Gallery is a photograph by Penn. This photograph portrays a pair of native children who arrived barefoot, dressed in tattered clothing and floppy native hats to his studio. The auction also presents the work of a famous 20th-century photographer, Manuel Álvarez Bravo. Álvarez Bravo’s work sways between dream and reality. His ability to transform everyday life into monumental art has established him as one of the important figures in Latin American Photography. The auction offers a portfolio of photographs by Álvarez Bravo with an estimated value of $30,000. Collectors looking for a means of creative expression can also find photographs by Roy Decarava in the collection. Decarava’s photograph entitled “Boy with Bowed Head” seems to convey a sense of loneliness and isolation. View the catalog and register to bid on Swan Auction Gallery
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Auction PreviewContemporary Art Online | New York
Richard Hambleton started as a graffiti artist. From making street art to painting in his studio, he has come a long way as an artist. He is one of many intriguing artists being featured at Contemporary Art Online by Sotheby's with the piece the “Shadowman”. Hambleton was always famous for the recurring image of a silhouetted figure (Shadowman) in his works. The item is acrylic on paperboard being presented at the highest estimation of $120,000. Along with Hambleton, the curation of 219 features many contemporary artists such as Lee Bontecou and Helen Frankenthaler who represent the true spirit of abstractionism. A simple yet interesting lot in the collection is a pen on paper by David Hockney. As an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer, Hockney is regarded as the most influential British artist of the 20th century. One can find more of such amazing artists whose work ranges from $200 - $120,000 at Sotheby’s.
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Auction PreviewContemporary Photographs
Sotheby’s third annual Contemporary Photographs auction in New York is a showcase of significant contemporary works by the likes of David Hockney, Cindy Sherman, Robert Rauschenberg, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Wolfgang Tillmans, Richard Prince, Annie Leibovitz, and many more. Of the many fine pieces up for bid, those that are likely to fetch the highest final price are two well-known works by Cindy Sherman from her “Complete Untitled Film Stills” series. These are prints from what is considered by many to be Sherman’s breakthrough work: 70 black-and-white photographs of herself in roles from arthouse films and popular B-movies. Sotheby’s estimates that the final hammer price of each of her Film Still lots in this auction will land well above $100,000. Also of interest is a photo assemblage by David Hockney titled “David Watching the Snow Fall, Kyoto.” This particular lot is many photographs of the scene taken from a single spot, then reassembled into a scattershot panorama. The nature of the constructed work is reminiscent of the observed subject, that of snow falling. Hockney is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. He was an important contributor to the pop art movement in the 1960s and is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. As a living artist, he has been honored several times with his pieces bringing in record prices. Some of the most iconic and recognizable images at auction are those by Annie Leibovitz. Leibovitz is best known for her highly-engaging celebrity portraits that often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. One of her best-known portraits (a print of which is on offer here) is that of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, in which a nude Lennon is wrapped around Ono, who is entirely dressed in black, taken just a few hours before Lennon was murdered. The situation under which the photo was captured as well as the striking intimacy of the subjects make this one of the most iconic celebrity photos of its time. There are several more photos by Leibovitz in this sale, including one of R2-D2, the speechless droid…
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Auction PreviewContemporary Curated
Sotheby's Contemporary Curated auction is a powerful exhibition of the post-war period. The auction presents works from The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and The Drawing Center as well as from private collections. It is curated by renowned chef Massimo Bottura. The resulting selection proves that a passion for food can extend to an appetite for painting and sculpture, bridging the gap between mediums. Just as Bottura has pushed the boundaries of what it means to be a chef, pieces so have many of the female artists here. Estimated in the millions, the auction has gathered works from some of the most significant contemporary female artists to date and placed them in like company. Cecily Brown’s triptych Have You Not Known, Have You Not Heard from 2011 is a monumental abstract and figural painting full of flesh-colored movement. The artist has said that viewing her work “should be a pleasurable, even a hedonistic experience” (from a conversation with Lari Pittman in Ibid, p. 27), and this lot wonderfully demonstrates the sentiment. Brown often references a host of sources in her creations, including works by Bosch, Cézanne, and Ruben, infusing her contemporary paintings with meaning and rooting them in the canon of art history. There is also a piece by trailblazing artist Joan Mitchell, Rufus’ Rock: Mistral from 1965. It is a wonderful abstraction of the Côte d'Azur, the artists’ chosen home for a tumultuous period of her life, and is a study on memory and nature. Several soft and tranquil drawings by Elizabeth Peyton are present. And there are other-worldly paintings by Yayoi Kusama that glow from within. Indeed, the auction virtually reads like a who’s who of important contemporary artists and includes works by Robert Rauschenberg, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Josef Albers, Andy Warhol, Kerry James Marshall, and Alex Katz. There are several sculptures and sculptural furniture available with the inclusion of Franz West’s chairs, and there is even a brooch by Alexander Calder. To view the complete catalog and register to bid go to Sotheby's.
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Auction PreviewContemporary
In the upcoming auction, entitled “Contemporary,” Bonhams pushes the limits of modern art. The auction’s 136 lots represent contemporary fine art, furniture, and art installations from numerous countries, from Serbia to America. One of the pieces with a high estimated value is “Polans,” a piece from Hungarian and French artist Victor Vasarely. Considered the founder of optical illusion art, his acrylics create a hypnotizing color experiment. Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović’s “The Spirit in any Condition Does Not Burn” is a photograph of the artist in a straitjacket with the photograph’s title superimposed across the middle. Abramović’s art is known to test the limits of the body. In this piece, the body’s test is restraint. The photograph is one of only fourteen copies of the piece. One lot of interest representing modern America is Willie Cole’s “Gas Snake.” Cole is a postmodern sculptor and conceptual artist, often critiquing the appropriation of African American culture. His art installation “Gas Snake” appears to reference America’s devotion to oil. Produced in 1992, the piece is exactly what it appears to be: a gas pump nozzle, rubber hose, and rebar. View each of these lots and register to bid on Bonhams’s website.
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Auction PreviewContemporary Asian Art Online Only Auction
The Contemporary Asian Art Auction, offered by Heritage Auctions, is a relatively small collection of handpicked art. Of the featured lots creating early interest are two lithographs by Zhang Xiaogang, a contemporary Chinese symbolist and surrealist painter. His stylized portraits—examples of which you will find here—are of Chinese people with large, dark-pupiled eyes posing in a stiff manner, reminiscent of family portraits from the 1950s and 1960s. Also, up for sale is a collection of twelve dye coupler photographs of sculptural performance pieces by Zhang Huan. Huan, a Chinese artist based in Shanghai and New York City is primarily a painter and performance artist. He also makes photographs and sculpture, and all twelve photos offered here, are in a single lot. Among the many provocative pieces at auction is a striking landscape painted on the face of Marilyn Monroe by Huang Yan. Yan is a Chinese multimedia artist and businessman based in Beijing. In 1999, Huang Yan began a series titled Chinese Landscapes in which he made traditional Chinese landscapes using the human body as a canvas. View any of these lots and register to bid at Heritage Auctions.
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Auction PreviewContemporary Glass featuring Dan Dailey: From the Barbara Tarleton Collection
Single-artist profiles are truly unlike other auctions, giving the viewer an unparalleled glimpse into that artist’s development and individual career. A segment of Rago’s upcoming Contemporary Glass Auction features the work of Dan Dailey. It is a comprehensive profile of Dailey’s works collected by the artist’s mother. One of his finest pieces is a floor lamp modeled after the female body, nearly life size and exquisite in its details. One of only six made from a limited edition, this lot is equal parts sculptural art and functional décor. Other notable artists supporting this auction include Dale Chihuly and Stephen Rolfe Powell, major figures in the development of modern glasswork. Astonishing works from Dale Chihuly are instantly recognizable in their imaginative shapes and vivid colors. Particular focus is given to his early works, which were less exploratory but laid the foundation for his later masterpieces. From Richard Marquis comes a glass sculpture with an unusual subject—a full set of pool balls, beautifully lifelike and unprecedented. The artists and works featured in this auction push the boundaries of what glass can be. Dailey formed a satiny violin as part of a music series, with proceeds benefiting a non-profit education center in New Hampshire. To view these items and explore more of this high-quality auction, visit Bidsquare and register to bid.
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Auction PreviewNLM Contemporary Glass Art Auction
Glass manufacturing commenced at the time of crusade, and Venice became the glassmaking center of the western world. It is said that as the Roman empire fell, glassmaking reached new heights in decorative forms in the 10th and 11th centuries. With such an extensive history, glass art has come a long way to this day, with incredible decorative forms. This September, presenting an opportunity for auction buyers to bid for a variety of such glass arts is National Liberty Museum at NLM Contemporary Glass Art Auction. Davin Ebanks, Martin Blank, and Janusz Walentynowicz are few coveted makers from the 19th and 20th century in the collection. Walentynowicz’s once said, “For me, art -among many other things, is about curiosity, exploration, risk-taking and the dare to challenge both oneself and also the viewers”. Cello is one of his items displayed in the auction, exploring similar views. It is the center of attraction for the onlookers at the highest estimation of $35,000. The piece is made out of Kiln-cast glass and cast aluminum. Similarly, Ricky Bernstein is as creative as anyone with his narrative sculptures and portraying the language of humor throughout his artworks. Hey...Where'd you go? is an oil and acrylic paint on glass, wood and mixed media along with the use of oil crayon and colored pencil. Find more on Bidsquare.
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Auction PreviewSouth Asian Modern + Contemporary Art
Christie's South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction is an important collection of over 100 works by early pioneers of modern South Asian art as well as contemporary artists from the region. Present are a group of early paintings by members of the Progressive Artists’ Group including Sayed Haider Raza, Francis Newton Souza, Maqbool Fida Husain, and Hari Ambadas Gade. These works sought to define what modern Indian art could and should be, and often combine styles and elements from a host of sources including folklore, cave fresco, and European influences like Cubism. The results remain masterful experimentations on form, color, and composition; a sublime chapter in modern art. An auction highlight from the Progressive Artists’ Group are two Francis Newton Souza portraits, Head in Landscape and Head of a Woman. Both borrow from primitivism and feature hints of Catholicism in their subject’s vestments, and are from a moment in the artist’s career that is widely viewed as his seminal. Christie’s holds Head of a Woman to be “perhaps one of the finest examples of the genre to come to auction,” and another Souza painting from this era is part of the Tate’s permanent collection. Also included are a magical Sayed Haider Raza painting of a French village at night; a voluptuous reclining female nude by Sri Lankan painter George Keyt. Indian artist Bikash Bhattacharjee’s oil painting, The Visitors straddles realism and surrealism in a photorealistic image of a young woman. It complements the collection alongside other contemporary artists like Zarina and Mrinalini Mukherjee. Their work includes several photographs and sculptures. For the complete auction catalogue and to register to bid go to Christie's.
