“contemporary” About 24
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Press ReleaseEmerging Young Artists Showcased at Bonhams Modern & Contemporary African Art Sale
Proving that Africa is still the hot continent, Bonhams next Modern and Contemporary African Art sale in London on 17 March will showcase a host of exciting young talent, alongside established big names. One of the highlights is Adam and Steve joined by the knee, a study, produced by the 27-year-old Zimbabwean artist, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami. The work has an estimate of £30,000 - £50,000. Born in 1993, Hwami has already received more acclaim in her short career than many artists achieve in a lifetime – and her star is still on the rise. Selected to represent Zimbabwe at the Venice Biennale in 2019, aged only 26, Hwami has already enjoyed successful solo exhibitions at the Tyburn Gallery and Gasworks in London and is represented up by Victoria Miro. Later this year, she will showcase her works at a group exhibition at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Helene Love-Allotey, specialist in Modern and Contemporary African Art at Bonhams, commented: "Hwami is one of the most exciting young artists around right now. Her work asks the viewer to consider weighty topics – such as identity, sexuality, and desire – but her handling is witty and fresh, as is evidenced by the title of the work, Adam and Steve joined by the knee, a study. When asked what precipitated her interest in art, Hwami has often credited her love of cartoons, and in paricular, Manga. As a child, she would sketch her favourite characters, and the influence of these animations is evident in the dynamism of her compositions. Although monumental in size, the work retains a delicate intimacy." Hwami's work starts with a collage of images and photographs, around which she constructs a painted narrative. She says that this approach was partly influenced by the creative sharing of images on social media sites such as Tumblr: "I spent a lot of time on the internet as a pre-teen and, in that socially awkward stage of my life, I found it more comfortable to escape and exist in cyberspace. I started exploring sexuality and gender identity. I was obsessed with the idea of physically living in a different body. All my frustration and confusion was…
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Press ReleaseMonumental Jean Dubuffet Work from Théâtres de mémoire Series to Star in Phillips’ 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale
La féconde journée to be offered in London on 15 April Jean DubuffetLa féconde journée, 16 May 1976acrylic on paper collaged on canvas204.5 x 210.5 cm (80 1/2 x 82 7/8 in.)Estimate: £2,000,000-3,000,000 LONDON – 2 MARCH 2021 – Phillips is pleased to announce Jean Dubuffet’s La féconde journée, executed in 1976, as a star lot of London’s 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 15 April. La féconde journée hails from Dubuffet’s seminal Théâtres de mémoire series andhas featured in the major centenary retrospective at the Centre Pompidou, Paris in 2001. La féconde journée will be virtually on view from 7 to 11 April before a public viewing at Phillips Berkeley Square from 12 to 15 April. Olivia Thornton, Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Europe, said, “La féconde journée is an incredibly radiant and visually immersive work that represents a significant milestone in Dubuffet’s career – his Théâtres de mémoire series. It is a particularly exciting moment for Dubuffet, with the Barbican staging the first major survey of his work in the UK for over 50 years this Spring. The inclusion of La féconde journée in our April Evening Sale marks the first time that the work will be offered at auction.” Dubuffet’s oeuvre comprises a number of celebrated series, including Portraits, Corps de Dame, Paris Circus, L’Hourloupe, and Théâtres de mémoire, to which the present work belongs. He worked on the Théâtres de mémoire series from September 1975 until August 1978. Containing some of the largest compositions Dubuffet ever made, thisseries would be the last sequence of paintings of this magnitude before the artist, suffering from back ailments, would be forced to focus on smaller-scale projects. Rendered in his immediately recognisable palette of reds and blues and on an exceptionally large scale, Dubuffet has built upon the definition of Art Brut that characterised his work of the late 1940s, layering materials (44 sections precisely) to impart the composition with added impressions of movement and tumult. Included in Dubuffet’s major centenary retrospective at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, in 2001 – the first substantial monographic exhibition of the artist’s work in France since his show at the Grand Palais in 1973 – La féconde journée is an exquisite, museum-quality example…
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Press Release
Monumental, Double-sided Raymond Pettibon Painting Leads Bonhams Post-War & Contemporary Art Auction
A double-sided acrylic painting on Plexiglas by Raymond Pettibon (b. 1957) will be offered in Bonhams Post-War and Contemporary Sale taking place February 19, 2021 in Los Angeles. Among the most highly sought-after artists of today, Pettibon initially came into the art world through music, creating cover art for his brother's rock band Black Flag in the 1970s and later iconic groups Sonic Youth and the Foo Fighters. He has since become a highly coveted name in the world of visual art and leading figure in contemporary culture. Currently living and working in New York City, Pettibon produces thoughtful and engaging artwork imbued with layers of wit, humor, and sociopolitical commentary; he has been collected by leading institutions globally, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. The lot on offer, No Title (Surfer in the Great Wave), 1993 (Estimate: $500,000 - $800,000), is rare for the artist, both in medium and execution. Absolutely unique in Pettibon's oeuvre, this painting on Plexiglas encompasses the excitement and drama of Pettibon's iconic surf imagery with the energy, expression, and passion of an artist at the height of his powers. Laura Bjorstad, Head of Sale, said:"Bonhams consistently seeks to offer not just the finest names in contemporary art, but also uniquely special objects. Coming to auction for the first time, this incredibly important painting has not been exhibited publicly since its creation. Not only is it historically significant to the artist's overall body of work, but viewed from any angle, it is absolutely breathtaking. We're thrilled to have this visual treasure leading our upcoming sale." Additional highlights include: OLGA DE AMARAL (B. 1932), Alquimia XXVIII, 1985, Estimate: $70,000 – 100,000Alquimia XXVIII is constructed of shimmering gold leaf tiles and layers of deep blue and red thread, that imbue the work with a living quality drawn from the natural world. The artist's sculptural weavings are deeply personal, evoking the landscape and history of her native Colombia. Still practicing at age 89, Amaral's first major museum retrospective in the United States will be held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 2021 and travel to Michigan's Cranbrook Art Museum in 2022.…
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Press Release
Cuban Artists Showcased in Modern, Contemporary, and Latin American Online Sale
Modern, Contemporary & Latin American Art26 Jan - 4 Feb 2021Online, New York NEW YORK – Eleven works by three leading artists from the Cuban collective known as Los Diez Pintores Concretos (the Ten Concrete Painters) lead Bonhams Modern, Contemporary & Latin American Art Online Sale which runs from January 26 – February 4, 2021. The 150-lot auction offers a curated selection of work, not only by the most recognized and coveted artists of Modern, Contemporary, and Latin American art, but also by its rising stars. Andrew Huber, Bonhams specialist in Post-War and Contemporary Art in New York said: "At Bonhams, we continually strive to feature the finest work created by sought-after artists from all backgrounds. Los Diez Pintores Concretos have been monumental in reshaping the narrative of art history worldwide; they are finally getting the well-deserved – and in my view long overdue - attention to their exceptional work. This reexamination has pulled back the curtain on other previously underrepresented artists from Latin America." Los Diez Pintores Concretos was an avant-garde Cuban artist collective. It thrived from 1957 through 1961, focusing on Concretism or Concrete art, a movement within geometric abstraction that began in Latin America in the 1930s and came to prominence in the 1940s. The movement has recently gained international recognition; The Ten Concrete Painters were the subject of an exhibition at David Zwirner, in both the London and New York galleries. Among the eleven works is Sin titulo by multidisciplinary Cuban artist Loló Soldevilla (Estimate: US$ 18,000 - 25,000) a founding member of the collective. Her work has been shown at some of the most prestigious galleries throughout Latin America and globally, including the recent and highly celebrated exhibition at Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. Other highlights include five works from the internationally proclaimed and self-taught artist René Portocarrero, as well as works by Amelia Pelaez, Carlos Enriquez and Fidelio Ponce de León, members of modernist group La Vanguardía. During the first half of the 20th century, these artists introduced modernism to Cuba, while also emphasizing an idealized vision of patria. Emotional and enigmatic, vivid and vivacious, their works emphasize the universal themes of change, transformation, and death through a distinctive Cuban lens.
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Press Release
Phillips’ 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale Achieves £8.5 Million
London, 21 October 2020 Sale Total: £8,516,592 / $11,120,966 / €9,487,483 COMBINED TOTAL FOR EVENING & DAY SALES: £34,849,441 / $45,506,400 / €38,822,277 Lots Sold: 133 | Lots Offered: 161 Sold by Lot: 83% | Sold by Value: 89% Tamila Kerimova, Head of 20thCentury & Contemporary Art Day Sale, said, “Building on the strong results of our Evening Sale, our Day Sale totaled £8.5 million. The enhanced live auction experience was broadcast worldwide from our purpose-built studio in London, as collectors from 53 countries competed throughout the sale. The number of online registrants reached an unprecedented level, adding to the energy and excitement of the saleroom. The top ten demonstrates our distinctive strategy of positioning key artistic voices of the 20th century alongside leading contemporary names, with notable prices achieved for the group of five Alexander Calder sculptures from an Important Private Parisian Collection. We saw great depth of bidding for Stanley Whitney, as well as Banksy and Loie Hollowell. We look forward to continuing this momentum in the lead up to our sales in Hong Kong and New York.”
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Press Release
Phillips Announces 20th Century & Contemporary Art Sales in New York Featuring Enhanced Digital Experiences and Livestreamed to Bidders Worldwide on July 2, 2020
Highlights Include Exceptional Artworks by Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Matthew Wong, Maxfield Parrish, Gerhard Richter, David Hammons, Julio González, Charles White, and Banksy, and More Joan Mitchell, Noël, 1961-1962Estimate: $9,500,000 - 12,500,000 NEW YORK – 18 June 2020 – Phillips announces its forthcoming 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York City via livestream to bidders worldwide on July 2, 2020 at 5pm EDT. The sale will debut an enriched digital experience on Phillips.com, including augmented multimedia content, enhanced visuals, and art historical and market analysis that will allow for deep viewer engagement. A dynamic live auction streamed on our online platform will bring the live auction experience to collectors and viewers around the world using a virtual international bidding room of Phillips specialists. “Phillips has been at the forefront of identifying the future of the bidding and buying experience online with the ability to bid on our app along with live streaming for nearly half a decade. We’re thrilled to bring our marquee Evening Sale to collectors worldwide in a format that will capture the intimacy and excitement of being in the room,” states Jean-Paul Engelen, Phillips Deputy Chairman and Worldwide Co-Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art. Featuring more than 20 lots, the sale includes works by artists highly sought after in today’s market including Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Gerhard Richter, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Matthew Wong, David Hammons, Amoako Boafo, Albert Oehlen, Lucas Arruda, Christina Quarles, Charles White, Banksy, KAWS and others. “The works presented in our 20th Century & Contemporary Sale mark the bellwether of the art market today, featuring artists who have demonstrated collector demand across the globe with a focus on African American, female, and cutting-edge contemporary artists,” states Robert Manley, Phillips Deputy Chairman and Worldwide Co-Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art.Jean-Michel BasquiatVictor 25448, 1987Valued at $10 million Evening Sale Highlights Two superlative works by artists of the 20th century include Joan Mitchell’s Noël and Helen Frankenthaler’s Head of the Meadow. An exceptional 1994 painting by Gerhard Richter hails from the height of his abstract period coincides with the highly regarded retrospective currently at the Met Breuer, Gerhard Richter: Painting…
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Press ReleaseContemporary Art: At Auction June 25, 2020
Highlights by Jackson Pollock, Louise Nevelson, Helen Frankenthaler, Josef Albers, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Ruscha, Robert Indiana, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney & Richard Hambleton Browse Catalogue Lot 218: Andy Warhol, Consommé (Beef), color screenprint, 1968. $20,000 to $30,000. An array of Pop Art includes Roy Lichtenstein’s celebrated Reverie, 1965, one of the artist’s first pop prints, and works by Robert Indiana, James Rosenquist and Andy Warhol. Leading the auction is a stellar group of Abstract Expressionist art from the New York school by the likes of Louise Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson and Jackson Pollock. A selection of recent works from the past three decades includes prints by Sam Gilliam and Julie Mehretu, as well as a run of paintings and prints by Richard Hambleton. Known for painting hundreds of the figure silhouettes around New York in the 1980s, he later transformed this motif to canvas and works on paper, broadening his reach. Other works by postwar and contemporary icons include Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Alex Katz, and Jeff Koons. Lot 232: Roy Lichtenstein, Reverie, color screenprint, 1965. $100,000 to $150,000. Abstract Expressionism, Art Brut & Nouveau Réalisme Lots 1 to 121 Lot 50: Helen Frankenthaler, Southern Exposure, color screenprint, 2005. $8,000 to $12,000. The Second Generation of Abstract Expressionists, Rauschenberg & Johns Lots 122 to 213 Lot 175: Al Held, F Series X, brush and ink, 1967. $7,000 to $10,000. Minimalism & Op Art Lots 147 to 187 Lot 184: Richard Anuszkiewicz, Masked Triad, oil on three-dimensional wood construction, 1993. $30,000 to $50,000. Pop Art Lots 214 to 274 Lot 217: Andy Warhol, Jackie II, color screenprint, 1966. $12,000 to $18,000. Lot 263: Robert Indiana, The American Dream, portfolio with complete text and 30 color screenprints, 1997. $10,000 to $15,000. Lot 264: Ed Ruscha, Sin, color screenprint, 1970. $7,000 to $10,000. Figurative Expressionism, Modern Realism & Photo-Realism Lots 275 to 313 Lot 296: Wayne Thiebaud, Clown, color soft-ground etching, 1979. $7,000 to $10,000. Lot 277: Alex Katz, Bicycle Rider, color lithograph, 1982. $3,000 to $5,000. British Contemporary Lots 314 to 343 Lot 314: Barbara Hepworth, Clinic #3, pencil on card stock with white oil ground, 1947. $70,000 to $100,000. German Contemporary Lots 344 to 351 Lot 344: Joseph Beuys, New York Subway Poster (Creativity=Capital), color lithograph and screenprint, 1983. $5,000 to $8,000. From the 1980s-Present Lots 352 to 415 Lot 372: Mel Bochner, No: The…
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Press Release
Joan Mitchell’s $10 Million Masterwork Noël to be Offered in Phillips’ 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York on 2 July, 2020
Joan Mitchell Noël, 1961-1962 oil on canvas, 80 1/2 x 78 3/4 in. (204.5 x 200 cm) Estimate: $9,500,000-12,500,000 NEW YORK – 22 MAY 2020 – On 2 July, Phillips will offer Joan Mitchell’s Noël in the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York. This uplifting work of explosive color, dripping fields of paint and rapid brushstrokes is exemplary of Mitchell’s rich painterly language, and hails from her highly acclaimed body of work from the early 1960s. Robert Manley, Deputy Chairman and Worldwide Co-Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, said, “Joan Mitchell’s large scale paintings from this period are rarely seen on the auction market, and it is an honor to present Noël as a leading highlight of our July Evening Sale. Appreciation of her work has quickened over the last few years, during which we have seen some of her highest prices ever achieved at auction. As the Baltimore Museum of Art and SFMoMA work to co-organize a major survey of her artistic career, this is a moment of collective and worldwide recognition of Mitchell’s legacy as one of the great artists of the 20th century.” Noël shows the influence of French painters such as Monet and Cezanne, as well as her peers Willem de Kooning, Yves Kline and Jackson Pollock. This master painting is a significant example from the renowned body of work created in her studio on rue Frémicourt between 1960 and 1962. This was a time of great emotional intensity for Mitchell – her mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1960, and her relationship with Jean-Paul Riopelle was volatile. These paintings, some of the most brilliant and expressive of her career, are reflections of both the milieu that surrounded Mitchell in France and the turbulence of her personal life. Jill Weinberg Adams, who worked with Joan Mitchell at Xavier Fourcade’s gallery when the painting was exhibited has said, “Noël is part of an astonishing cycle of work that was first exhibited at Kornfeld and Klipstein in Bern, Switzerland in 1962. Other than Hawks at 3 O’Clock, bought at the time by Mitchell’s friend Sam Francis, the paintings remained in storage…
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Press ReleaseSOTHEBY’S FIRST-EVER ONLINE DAY SALE OF CONTEMPORARY ART ACHIEVES RECORD-SETTING $13.7 MILLION IN NEW YORK
HIGHEST TOTAL FOR AN ONLINE SALE AT SOTHEBY’S*MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PREVIOUS RECORD*SOTHEBY’S GLOBAL ONLINE SALES CROSS $100 MILLION TO-DATE IN 2020UP 370% OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 2019International Bidding Across 35 Countries 29% of All Buyers New to Sotheby’s 2 LOTS EXCEED $1 MILLION: Christopher Wool’s Untitled,An Exceptional Example of the Artist’s ‘Pattern Paintings’,Achieves $1.2 Million**Brice Marden’s Window Study No. 4 from 1985,Executed After Nearly a Decade of Conceptual Development,Fetches $1.1 MillionRichard Estes’s Broadway and 64thDepicting New York’s Lincoln CenterSets a New World Auction Record for the ArtistAchieving $860,000*More than Double its $400,000 High Estimate*Matthew Wong’s Watercolor UntitledAchieves $62,500Over 4x Its $15,000 High EstimateFollowing a Bidding Battle Between 8 Bidders*Auction Debut and World Auction Record for the Artist*ADDITIONAL WORLD AUCTION RECORDS FOR:Claire Tabouret | Katherine Bradford | Kengo TakahashiSOTHEBY’S IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART DAY AUCTION ONLINEOPEN FOR BIDDING THROUGH 18 MAY NEW YORK, 15 May 2020 – Sotheby’s first ever Contemporary Art Day Auction Online concluded yesterday, totaling $13.7 million – the highest total ever for an online sale at Sotheby’s and more than double the previous record. The sale marks more than $100 million total in global online sales at Sotheby’s in 2020, nearly 5 times the total for online sales during the same period in 2019. The auction saw competitive bidding, with international bidding across 35 countries and 29% of all buyers new to Sotheby’s. Nicole Schloss, Co-Head of Sotheby’s Day Auctions of Contemporary Art in New York, commented: “We are thrilled with the results of our first ever Online Day sale of Contemporary Art, which was a major test of the market for online sales at this value level, and was resoundingly successful. To set a new record for an online sale as Sotheby’s is a testament to the strength of market at all levels right now and the quality of the works on offer. We were especially proud to see two works achieve more than $1 million, which rank among our top prices ever for works sold in online sales, and is a very strong sign that the top end of the market will continue to find a place in bigger and…
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Press ReleaseOver $1 Million Achieved | Modern & Contemporary Art Auction
We are delighted to announce the results of our highly successful Modern & Contemporary Art auction—our first online fine art sale of 2020. With an impressive sell-through rate of 95%, the 58-lot sale achieved over $1 million, just shy of its pre-sale high estimate. Strong prices were achieved for Latin American, English, and iconic American Pop artists. With many consignments from private New York collectors, the auction included notable works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, and Andy Warhol. “We were delighted to see that the market remains competitive for top works by blue chip artists, and to achieve an enviable sell-through rate in our first online fine art sale,” Said Dunham Townend, Head of our Modern & Contemporary Art Department. With this most recent success, we raise our average sell-through rate for our 2020 fine auctions to 93.5%. SECOND HIGHEST PRICE ACHIEVED AT AUCTION FOR “CHANEL” BY ANDY WARHOL The sale was led by Chanel, an iconic print from Andy Warhol’s, Ads series, which sold for $175,000—nearly the high end of its pre-sale estimate. This price is the second highest ever fetched at auction for this important screenprint. Robust pre-sale interest and spirited bidding from the East and West Coasts, as well as from Europe, culminated in one of the highest auction prices ever achieved for this iconic Pop image. ROBUST PRICES ACHIEVED FOR BRITISH MODERNISTS Skoob Assemblage by British Modernist John Latham was a runaway success. Bidders from the United Kingdom, Europe and America competed vigorously for this fresh-to-market assemblage by one of England’s most celebrated Conceptual artists. The work more than quintupled its pre-sale low estimate, realizing $27,500. Similar spirited bidding drove Lynn Chadwick’s Pair of Cloaked Figures to sell for $43,750. This quintessential example by the revered British sculptor had been in a private New York collection since 1978. These robust results continue our long-established history of success with Modern British artists including William Scott, Henry Moore and John Hoyland. GROUP OF OSWALDO VIGAS WORKS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTION EXCEED PRE-SALE ESTIMATES Two paintings and two works on paper by renowned Venezuelan artist Oswaldo Vigas drew significant attention from bidders worldwide. These works were acquired over many years of friendship…
