Art 1980-1984
1980 The Swansong of Francis Bacon
2013 SOLD 13.7 M£ including premium
Throughout his career, Bacon questioned the meaning of human life and, of course, of his own life. Hypersensitive and relevant, he makes no concessions to aesthetics. His world is ugly.
He is increasingly haunted by death. Let's be honest: in the evolution offered by Bacon of his own image, we are not interested by himself but rather in the projection of his vision on our own issues. Bacon is a psychologist but not a metaphysician, and all of that fascinates us without leading to anything. He is the most disturbing of modern artists.
In his portrait format standardized by him in triptychs of elements 35 x 30 cm in oil on canvas, Francis Bacon executed eleven triptychs of his own face, starting this drama shortly before the death of George Dyer.
The penultimate tryptic made in this format is estimated £ 10M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 12.
This work was carried out in 1980, when Bacon was 71 years old. His round face is recognizable throughout his work, but this time his triple mirror returns an almost realistic picture without excessive sinister deformation and without the colored spots of the necrosis of flesh. The gaze is chilling : facing an invisible mirror, the character sees only himself. Communication and commiseration are impossible.
By such a realism, Bacon wants to believe that he is not ageing, so his actual age is undefined. The white collar is a sign that he continues his professional activity. Five years later, he will provide in another format the final counterparty to his illusory swansong : he will display himself in the attitude of an old man.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
The informations published before the sale were convincing about the importance of this artwork from the end of the career of Francis Bacon: £ 13.7 million including premium.
He is increasingly haunted by death. Let's be honest: in the evolution offered by Bacon of his own image, we are not interested by himself but rather in the projection of his vision on our own issues. Bacon is a psychologist but not a metaphysician, and all of that fascinates us without leading to anything. He is the most disturbing of modern artists.
In his portrait format standardized by him in triptychs of elements 35 x 30 cm in oil on canvas, Francis Bacon executed eleven triptychs of his own face, starting this drama shortly before the death of George Dyer.
The penultimate tryptic made in this format is estimated £ 10M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 12.
This work was carried out in 1980, when Bacon was 71 years old. His round face is recognizable throughout his work, but this time his triple mirror returns an almost realistic picture without excessive sinister deformation and without the colored spots of the necrosis of flesh. The gaze is chilling : facing an invisible mirror, the character sees only himself. Communication and commiseration are impossible.
By such a realism, Bacon wants to believe that he is not ageing, so his actual age is undefined. The white collar is a sign that he continues his professional activity. Five years later, he will provide in another format the final counterparty to his illusory swansong : he will display himself in the attitude of an old man.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
The informations published before the sale were convincing about the importance of this artwork from the end of the career of Francis Bacon: £ 13.7 million including premium.
1980 De Kooning going Abstract
2012 SOLD 14 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The presentation by Willem de Kooning of female bodies, landscapes, interior scenes, is a figure blurred by lines and spots. The artist expressed his raw emotions and did not want to be included in any school, but how not referring toPollock for whom an artwork could only be completed when all recognizable forms are hidden.
After a period devoted to sculpture, De Kooning returned to painting in 1975, with large canvases, all titled Untitled.He created during six years a new corpus, quite homogeneous.
His dialog of colors has become completely abstract, but the carnal inspiration is still present, as if he had finallyjoined the creative techniques of abstract expressionism.
Currently, the four paintings which recorded the highest auction results belong to this period. Collectors appreciatethe violence of colors, and, as ever for contemporary art, the large sizes.
In the coming days, two very similar works come to auction in New York, in same format: 203 x 178 cm, but realized five years apart, as if the second was a recreation of the earlier emotions.
Untitled VI, 1975, is one of the first in this Untitled series. It is estimated $ 10M, for sale on May 10 by Phillips de Pury. Here is the link to the catalog on the auction platform LiveAuctioneers.
Untitled I, 1980, is estimated $ 8M, for sale by Christie's on May 8. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
It starts well: result above the estimate at Christie's: $ 14M including premium for Untitled I, 1980.
2
No surprise for Untitled VI, 1975, sold $ 12.4 million including premium by Phillips de Pury, a little below the Untitled of Christie's.
The presentation by Willem de Kooning of female bodies, landscapes, interior scenes, is a figure blurred by lines and spots. The artist expressed his raw emotions and did not want to be included in any school, but how not referring toPollock for whom an artwork could only be completed when all recognizable forms are hidden.
After a period devoted to sculpture, De Kooning returned to painting in 1975, with large canvases, all titled Untitled.He created during six years a new corpus, quite homogeneous.
His dialog of colors has become completely abstract, but the carnal inspiration is still present, as if he had finallyjoined the creative techniques of abstract expressionism.
Currently, the four paintings which recorded the highest auction results belong to this period. Collectors appreciatethe violence of colors, and, as ever for contemporary art, the large sizes.
In the coming days, two very similar works come to auction in New York, in same format: 203 x 178 cm, but realized five years apart, as if the second was a recreation of the earlier emotions.
Untitled VI, 1975, is one of the first in this Untitled series. It is estimated $ 10M, for sale on May 10 by Phillips de Pury. Here is the link to the catalog on the auction platform LiveAuctioneers.
Untitled I, 1980, is estimated $ 8M, for sale by Christie's on May 8. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
It starts well: result above the estimate at Christie's: $ 14M including premium for Untitled I, 1980.
2
No surprise for Untitled VI, 1975, sold $ 12.4 million including premium by Phillips de Pury, a little below the Untitled of Christie's.
1980 The javanese Prisoner
2011 SOLD 7.2 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In 1965, the Cold War is turning into a disaster in Indonesia. Caught in the political purges, the artist HendraGunawan spent thirteen years in prison in Java. These difficult circumstances have made him a great artist.
Humanist and passionate about his country, he remembers the celebrations, markets, traditions. Unable to enjoy lifein freedom, he paints the bright colors of Indonesia, in a continuous movement close to Cubist researches half a century before him.
Painted in prison in 1977, the Snake Dancer, oil on canvas 196 x 136 cm, expresses the passion of the dancing girl ofthe village with the venomous beast around her neck, and the intense emotion of the audience between pleasure and danger. It was sold HK $ 16M including premium by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 4, 2011.
Freedom did not undermine the inspiration and passion of Hendra Gunawan. On October 3, the same auction housesells Tuak Manis, on the theme of the wine festival. Everyone participates, there is no main individual character. It is amoment of collective and dynamic happiness. Unfortunately, this period of his life was too short. He died at age 65 in 1983.
This large canvas, 211 x 391 cm, was painted circa 1980. Its estimate, HK $ 1.8 million, is too low.
Here is the link to the catalogue.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price of this painting was largely underestimated. It was sold HK $ 7.2 million including premium.
In 1965, the Cold War is turning into a disaster in Indonesia. Caught in the political purges, the artist HendraGunawan spent thirteen years in prison in Java. These difficult circumstances have made him a great artist.
Humanist and passionate about his country, he remembers the celebrations, markets, traditions. Unable to enjoy lifein freedom, he paints the bright colors of Indonesia, in a continuous movement close to Cubist researches half a century before him.
Painted in prison in 1977, the Snake Dancer, oil on canvas 196 x 136 cm, expresses the passion of the dancing girl ofthe village with the venomous beast around her neck, and the intense emotion of the audience between pleasure and danger. It was sold HK $ 16M including premium by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 4, 2011.
Freedom did not undermine the inspiration and passion of Hendra Gunawan. On October 3, the same auction housesells Tuak Manis, on the theme of the wine festival. Everyone participates, there is no main individual character. It is amoment of collective and dynamic happiness. Unfortunately, this period of his life was too short. He died at age 65 in 1983.
This large canvas, 211 x 391 cm, was painted circa 1980. Its estimate, HK $ 1.8 million, is too low.
Here is the link to the catalogue.
POST SALE COMMENT
The price of this painting was largely underestimated. It was sold HK $ 7.2 million including premium.
1980 fourteen electric chairs for bischofberger
2016 unsold
The influence of Bruno Bischofberger is fundamental in Warhol's art from 1969. The artist and the gallerist cooperate on media, film production and even choice of themes. Bischofberger, based in Zurich, opens to Warhol a gate to Europe. It was also left to him to introduce Basquiat to Warhol in 1982.
In 1979, Andy revisits his own icons: Marilyn, Campbell's, dollar, flowers, self-portraits. In this new phase, he does not change the reference images which had pushed his earlier fame and keeps the idea of multiples but the technique is now different.
From his former Death and Disaster series, Andy selected the electric chair. The painting made in 1980 for Bischofberger is estimated £ 4M for sale by Bonhams in London on February 11, lot 49.
This artwork 203 x 82 cm is not very large but its composition gives it a striking and monumental effect that may have been ignored by his admirers at that time.
From the image of the chair, Warhol takes the symbol of the object itself without surrounding it any more with the gloomy empty room. The work is a reversal, meaning that it is painted on a black background.
This very vertical format is composed of two non-centered columns, each one consisting of seven serigraphed pictures of the chair, like a double piece of film, with a slow progression of colors executed with a gloss palette in a very thick paste.
Observed from below, it is the most magnificent and the most terrifying among the many electric chairs designed by Warhol to forward his humanistic message. I invite you to watch the videoshared by the auction house.
In 1979, Andy revisits his own icons: Marilyn, Campbell's, dollar, flowers, self-portraits. In this new phase, he does not change the reference images which had pushed his earlier fame and keeps the idea of multiples but the technique is now different.
From his former Death and Disaster series, Andy selected the electric chair. The painting made in 1980 for Bischofberger is estimated £ 4M for sale by Bonhams in London on February 11, lot 49.
This artwork 203 x 82 cm is not very large but its composition gives it a striking and monumental effect that may have been ignored by his admirers at that time.
From the image of the chair, Warhol takes the symbol of the object itself without surrounding it any more with the gloomy empty room. The work is a reversal, meaning that it is painted on a black background.
This very vertical format is composed of two non-centered columns, each one consisting of seven serigraphed pictures of the chair, like a double piece of film, with a slow progression of colors executed with a gloss palette in a very thick paste.
Observed from below, it is the most magnificent and the most terrifying among the many electric chairs designed by Warhol to forward his humanistic message. I invite you to watch the videoshared by the auction house.
1978-1981 A Painting by Hendra Gunawan for 1 billion rupees
2008 SOLD 975 million rupees before fees
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Sidharta Auctioneer announces as the star lot of its sale on August 9 in Jakarta an oil on canvas made between 1978 and 1981 by the Indonesian artist Hendra Gunawan. At number 27 of the sale, this figurative composition shows a woman and a child with a papayas seller. This work is estimated Rp 1 billion. Do not panic, this figure represents approximately U.S. $ 100 K.
Of rather large size (95 x 145 cm), it is a colorful and dynamic image. The composition is bold: the animated conversation between the two young women takes place in the upper left of the painting, and draws the eye to that corner with a change of brightness and with the passionate attitude of one of the characters.
This painting with such a dynamic life subject dates of the later part of the life of the artist, after his release from prison where he spent thirteen years for taking part in a failed coup.
Stayed rather confidential so far on the market, the work of Gunawan has just been revealed by the excellent results obtained on May 24 by Christie's in Hong Kong on two oils on canvas. The larger of the two, showing a restless Balinese dance, perhaps made in prison (though the online catalog does not tell it) was awarded HK $ 5.9 million charge included. The other, closer to the painting that I present to you today, was sold HK $ 4.3 million.
In my opinion, we are in the same case as in my recent article on Shiraga, where an auction house does not dare to take into account in its estimates the latest developments in the market. Hendra Gunawan is an artist who deserves to be better known, anyway.
POST SALE COMMENT
Including charges, one billion rupees has been achieved since our painting was sold 975 million rupees before fees.
Sidharta Auctioneer announces as the star lot of its sale on August 9 in Jakarta an oil on canvas made between 1978 and 1981 by the Indonesian artist Hendra Gunawan. At number 27 of the sale, this figurative composition shows a woman and a child with a papayas seller. This work is estimated Rp 1 billion. Do not panic, this figure represents approximately U.S. $ 100 K.
Of rather large size (95 x 145 cm), it is a colorful and dynamic image. The composition is bold: the animated conversation between the two young women takes place in the upper left of the painting, and draws the eye to that corner with a change of brightness and with the passionate attitude of one of the characters.
This painting with such a dynamic life subject dates of the later part of the life of the artist, after his release from prison where he spent thirteen years for taking part in a failed coup.
Stayed rather confidential so far on the market, the work of Gunawan has just been revealed by the excellent results obtained on May 24 by Christie's in Hong Kong on two oils on canvas. The larger of the two, showing a restless Balinese dance, perhaps made in prison (though the online catalog does not tell it) was awarded HK $ 5.9 million charge included. The other, closer to the painting that I present to you today, was sold HK $ 4.3 million.
In my opinion, we are in the same case as in my recent article on Shiraga, where an auction house does not dare to take into account in its estimates the latest developments in the market. Hendra Gunawan is an artist who deserves to be better known, anyway.
POST SALE COMMENT
Including charges, one billion rupees has been achieved since our painting was sold 975 million rupees before fees.
1981 Richter could not Walk on Water
2012 SOLD 4.3 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In 1972, Gerhard Richter has dark thoughts. Impressed by the tragic landscapes of Caspar David Fridrich, he makes a trip to Greenland to see how nature can crush men.
By photographing the endless sea, Richter ponders the ever changing forms of these floating blocks, their inaccessibility, these shades of gray that hardly separate the three elements : the low sky, the frozen water, the hostile iceberg.
Richter's work is of total variety, and he is everywhere a pioneer. He appears here as a precursor of the minimalist photography of Gursky and Sugimoto, but he is also very close to the apocalyptic world of Yves Tanguy.
In 1981, Richter copies this picture in an oil on canvas of small dimensions for this artist, 70 x 100 cm. This paintingis estimated £ 2M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 15. Here is the link to the catalog.
Thirty years have passed. By the quality of his artistic creation, by the depth of his meditation, Gerhard Richter is now considered as the best painter of current time.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result, £ 4.3 million including premium, for this atypical painting that will have a deep interest for the historians of Richter's art.
In 1972, Gerhard Richter has dark thoughts. Impressed by the tragic landscapes of Caspar David Fridrich, he makes a trip to Greenland to see how nature can crush men.
By photographing the endless sea, Richter ponders the ever changing forms of these floating blocks, their inaccessibility, these shades of gray that hardly separate the three elements : the low sky, the frozen water, the hostile iceberg.
Richter's work is of total variety, and he is everywhere a pioneer. He appears here as a precursor of the minimalist photography of Gursky and Sugimoto, but he is also very close to the apocalyptic world of Yves Tanguy.
In 1981, Richter copies this picture in an oil on canvas of small dimensions for this artist, 70 x 100 cm. This paintingis estimated £ 2M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 15. Here is the link to the catalog.
Thirty years have passed. By the quality of his artistic creation, by the depth of his meditation, Gerhard Richter is now considered as the best painter of current time.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result, £ 4.3 million including premium, for this atypical painting that will have a deep interest for the historians of Richter's art.
1981-1982 Bruce Nauman blurs the Neon Lights
2009 SOLD 4 MS including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Neon lights illuminate the advertisements of the major commercial groups in the dark of night. Their message must be as clear as possible. This new mode of expression inspired text paintings by Ed Ruscha.
In 1981-1982, Bruce Nauman goes further. He chooses contradictory words mixture which he mixes, inverts, imbalances, blurs, in large installations of fluorescent colorful lights that flash in an alternate sequence. When the observer is able to decipher VIOLINS VIOLENT SILENCE, his discomfort grows as the gathering of such words is paradoxical.
This neon installation, 158 x 166 x 15 cm, is estimated $ 2.5 million at Sotheby's in New York on November 11.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent result, among the highest ever achieved for a lettrist artwork, and for a light installation: $ 4 million charge included.
Neon lights illuminate the advertisements of the major commercial groups in the dark of night. Their message must be as clear as possible. This new mode of expression inspired text paintings by Ed Ruscha.
In 1981-1982, Bruce Nauman goes further. He chooses contradictory words mixture which he mixes, inverts, imbalances, blurs, in large installations of fluorescent colorful lights that flash in an alternate sequence. When the observer is able to decipher VIOLINS VIOLENT SILENCE, his discomfort grows as the gathering of such words is paradoxical.
This neon installation, 158 x 166 x 15 cm, is estimated $ 2.5 million at Sotheby's in New York on November 11.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent result, among the highest ever achieved for a lettrist artwork, and for a light installation: $ 4 million charge included.
1982 Gerhard Richter, Simply
2010 SOLD 13 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
I have already introduced Richter as one of the most eclectic artists of his time, always innovative in terms of expressive and pictural research.
What can be imagined more simple and more complex than a lit candle? The candle is a simple and essential object of the past, but its liturgical role projects it into the present. Its geometry also is simple, but the diffusion of its light is a challenge to the colorist and a mystical symbol.
The youth of the 1980s, which sought new paths of knowledge, understood the candle of Richter. The reproduction of a painting of this series made in 1983 was used for the cover of an album by Sonic Youth. The original, 95 x 90 cm, was sold £ 8M including premium by Sotheby's on February 27, 2008.
Richter has varied the number of candles from one painting to another in the series. On November 10 in New York, Christie's sells Zwei Kerzen (Two Candles), an oil on canvas painted in 1982, 150 x 100 cm, estimated $ 12M. They are very cleverly arranged in front of a two-tone background that makes the effect of a window's corner. The image is shown on the release shared by Artdaily.
It is a masterpiece of contemporary art. Simply.
POST SALE COMMENT
Well represented in the evening sales of current week in New York, Gerhard Richter strengthens his position as a major artist of our time, and one of the few non-Americans to be able to occupy a dominant position in such auctions.
The painting of the two candles, sold for $ 13M including premium, met the estimates, no more. Simply.
I have already introduced Richter as one of the most eclectic artists of his time, always innovative in terms of expressive and pictural research.
What can be imagined more simple and more complex than a lit candle? The candle is a simple and essential object of the past, but its liturgical role projects it into the present. Its geometry also is simple, but the diffusion of its light is a challenge to the colorist and a mystical symbol.
The youth of the 1980s, which sought new paths of knowledge, understood the candle of Richter. The reproduction of a painting of this series made in 1983 was used for the cover of an album by Sonic Youth. The original, 95 x 90 cm, was sold £ 8M including premium by Sotheby's on February 27, 2008.
Richter has varied the number of candles from one painting to another in the series. On November 10 in New York, Christie's sells Zwei Kerzen (Two Candles), an oil on canvas painted in 1982, 150 x 100 cm, estimated $ 12M. They are very cleverly arranged in front of a two-tone background that makes the effect of a window's corner. The image is shown on the release shared by Artdaily.
It is a masterpiece of contemporary art. Simply.
POST SALE COMMENT
Well represented in the evening sales of current week in New York, Gerhard Richter strengthens his position as a major artist of our time, and one of the few non-Americans to be able to occupy a dominant position in such auctions.
The painting of the two candles, sold for $ 13M including premium, met the estimates, no more. Simply.
1982 Heads of Mad Men by Basquiat
2013 SOLD for $ 12M including premium by Christie's
2016 SOLD for £ 6.2M including premium
PRE 2016 SALE DISCUSSION
Jean-Michel Basquiat is a virtuoso of oilstick. This technique is mixing the quality of oil painting with the spontaneous line of a pencil if you are happy with only pure colors. He used it in the compositions on large size canvas that launched his fame from 1981. The drawing on paper, often laid down on canvas, allows rapid sketches with which the artist tests his expressive effects.
The staggering figures made by Jean-Michel are never so far from a physical as well as psychological self-portrait. On 1982 alone, fifteen drawings of crazy heads are known.
One of them, 109 x 78 cm, was entirely made in oilstick with five sticks: black, white, red, blue and orange. The mad man is superb with terrible eyes, aggressive fangs and a short but shaggy hair. The blue face and the bright red thick beard reinforce the disturbing and indomitable features of the character.
This drawing was sold for $ 12M including premium on November 12, 2013 by Christie's. On that year, the rating of Basquiat was bursting, pushed by some observers of the art market who identified him as the new Van Gogh. The same piece is now estimated £ 4.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 10, lot 15.
Other drawings of same size also recorded high prices at auction, although they are less colored. A head crowned with the halo, also from 1982, was sold for $ 13.6M including premium by Christie's on 11 May 2015. A head made in 1983 was sold for $ 7.4M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2014.
Jean-Michel Basquiat is a virtuoso of oilstick. This technique is mixing the quality of oil painting with the spontaneous line of a pencil if you are happy with only pure colors. He used it in the compositions on large size canvas that launched his fame from 1981. The drawing on paper, often laid down on canvas, allows rapid sketches with which the artist tests his expressive effects.
The staggering figures made by Jean-Michel are never so far from a physical as well as psychological self-portrait. On 1982 alone, fifteen drawings of crazy heads are known.
One of them, 109 x 78 cm, was entirely made in oilstick with five sticks: black, white, red, blue and orange. The mad man is superb with terrible eyes, aggressive fangs and a short but shaggy hair. The blue face and the bright red thick beard reinforce the disturbing and indomitable features of the character.
This drawing was sold for $ 12M including premium on November 12, 2013 by Christie's. On that year, the rating of Basquiat was bursting, pushed by some observers of the art market who identified him as the new Van Gogh. The same piece is now estimated £ 4.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 10, lot 15.
Other drawings of same size also recorded high prices at auction, although they are less colored. A head crowned with the halo, also from 1982, was sold for $ 13.6M including premium by Christie's on 11 May 2015. A head made in 1983 was sold for $ 7.4M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2014.
1982 the lost emotions of the plains indians
2019 sold for $ 1.4m including premium
Howard Terpning began his career as a designer of posters and an illustrator for movies and army. Traumatized by the Vietnam War, he decided to devote his entire art to the lost civilization of the Plains Indians and moved to Tucson in 1977.
Terpning re-imagines the daily life of the Indians, with sharp drawing and bright colors. Between them or in confrontation with the cavalry, they are generally not engaged in violent actions. He is thus a successor to the Taos school. E.I. Couse, who died in 1936, showed occupations. Terpning tells the emotions.
In July 2013 The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction sold for $ 1.7M including premium one of these picturesque scenes, peaceful and out of date, Telling of Legends, oil on canvas 80 x 130 cm painted in 1989.
On February 8 in Los Angeles, Bonhams sells three paintings, commented at the time of their creation by the artist for his client.
Lot 31, oil on canvas 80 x 130 cm painted in 1982, is estimated $ 600K. Titled Coffee coolers meet the Hostiles, it shows a confrontation of two groups on horseback. The Coffee coolers accept to be integrated into the civilization of the Whites. They seek to convince the other group and bring a pipe of peace.
Subtle differences in clothing and weapons show that this scene is a clash of civilizations. Sitting Bull had told the Coffee coolers : “You are fools to make yourself slaves to a piece of fat bacon, some hardtack, and a little coffee and sugar.”
Blackfeet spectators, oil on canvas 80 x 140 cm painted in 1984, shows three elderly men sitting, watching with great attention an unidentified show. It is estimated $ 500K, lot 41.
One Man's castle, oil on panel 53 x 70 cm painted in 1980, is a humorous scene showing a woman sitting in the shadows while her man is sleeping. It is estimated $ 150K, lot 85.
RESULTS
Lot 31 SOLD for $ 1.4M including premium
Lot 41 SOLD for $ 800K including premium
Lot 85 UNSOLD
Terpning re-imagines the daily life of the Indians, with sharp drawing and bright colors. Between them or in confrontation with the cavalry, they are generally not engaged in violent actions. He is thus a successor to the Taos school. E.I. Couse, who died in 1936, showed occupations. Terpning tells the emotions.
In July 2013 The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction sold for $ 1.7M including premium one of these picturesque scenes, peaceful and out of date, Telling of Legends, oil on canvas 80 x 130 cm painted in 1989.
On February 8 in Los Angeles, Bonhams sells three paintings, commented at the time of their creation by the artist for his client.
Lot 31, oil on canvas 80 x 130 cm painted in 1982, is estimated $ 600K. Titled Coffee coolers meet the Hostiles, it shows a confrontation of two groups on horseback. The Coffee coolers accept to be integrated into the civilization of the Whites. They seek to convince the other group and bring a pipe of peace.
Subtle differences in clothing and weapons show that this scene is a clash of civilizations. Sitting Bull had told the Coffee coolers : “You are fools to make yourself slaves to a piece of fat bacon, some hardtack, and a little coffee and sugar.”
Blackfeet spectators, oil on canvas 80 x 140 cm painted in 1984, shows three elderly men sitting, watching with great attention an unidentified show. It is estimated $ 500K, lot 41.
One Man's castle, oil on panel 53 x 70 cm painted in 1980, is a humorous scene showing a woman sitting in the shadows while her man is sleeping. It is estimated $ 150K, lot 85.
RESULTS
Lot 31 SOLD for $ 1.4M including premium
Lot 41 SOLD for $ 800K including premium
Lot 85 UNSOLD
1982 The Cosmic Powers of Erol Akyavas
2010 sold 2.65 M TL including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Erol Akyavas was Turkish. Geographically, he was thus half-way between Picasso's Guernica and Tyeb Mehta's India.
Painted in 1982, "the Siege" is both his masterpiece and the synthesis of his complex universe. This huge oil on canvas, 266 x 385 cm, plays with time and space. The image is shared by Artdaily.
Two powerful bodies clash, one is dark and the other is bright. They are as free as space ships or as the objects of Léger, bird's eye viewed as in Eastern miniatures, on the night blue and black background. Each of these masses is designed as a medieval fortress, in which tiny creatures lost in the immensity play life and death.
The sale takes place on March 7 in Istanbul, at Antik AS. The artwork is estimated 1.5 million YTL. Press releases in English indicate a price range between 1 and 1.5 million U.S. $. This price is reasonable: this very active auction house regularly obtains outstanding results on Turkish art of all periods.
Thus, the press release quotes the sale of a painting by Burhan Dogancay for U.S. $ 1.9 million. In preparing one of my earliest articles (May 2008), I found a result at 5 million YTL (U.S. $ 3.9 million) for a painting by Hamdy Bey.
POST SALE COMMENT
With this powerful work of Erol Akyavas, the auction house Antik AS had been certain to present a masterpiece of modern Turkish art, and we were convinced.
The result meets the height of expectation: 2.1 million YTL excluding fees, 2.65 million YTL including premium. Congratulations.
Erol Akyavas was Turkish. Geographically, he was thus half-way between Picasso's Guernica and Tyeb Mehta's India.
Painted in 1982, "the Siege" is both his masterpiece and the synthesis of his complex universe. This huge oil on canvas, 266 x 385 cm, plays with time and space. The image is shared by Artdaily.
Two powerful bodies clash, one is dark and the other is bright. They are as free as space ships or as the objects of Léger, bird's eye viewed as in Eastern miniatures, on the night blue and black background. Each of these masses is designed as a medieval fortress, in which tiny creatures lost in the immensity play life and death.
The sale takes place on March 7 in Istanbul, at Antik AS. The artwork is estimated 1.5 million YTL. Press releases in English indicate a price range between 1 and 1.5 million U.S. $. This price is reasonable: this very active auction house regularly obtains outstanding results on Turkish art of all periods.
Thus, the press release quotes the sale of a painting by Burhan Dogancay for U.S. $ 1.9 million. In preparing one of my earliest articles (May 2008), I found a result at 5 million YTL (U.S. $ 3.9 million) for a painting by Hamdy Bey.
POST SALE COMMENT
With this powerful work of Erol Akyavas, the auction house Antik AS had been certain to present a masterpiece of modern Turkish art, and we were convinced.
The result meets the height of expectation: 2.1 million YTL excluding fees, 2.65 million YTL including premium. Congratulations.
1982 the ambiguous figures of tyeb mehta
2015 sold for Rs 11.5 crore including premium
An untitled standing figure by Tyeb Mehta is estimated Rs 10 crore equivalent to US $ 1.54M for sale by Saffronart in New Delhi on September 10, lot 23. I discussed it as follows in March 2013 when it went unsold at Sotheby's.
The great artistic impulse of Tyeb Mehta exploded from 1981. His human figures question the meaning of life.
The artist is aware of the trends in international modern art. His purpose is figurative but he admires the pure colors of Barnett Newman and the details of his drawing may refer to the simple compositions by Mondrian.
The figures by Mehta are androgynous, or more precisely asexual even when they are naked. He wanted it because his actual message is elsewhere. The real issue is discomfort and suffering, translated through physical abnormalities, splitting limbs, merging figures who lose their proper identity.
Dated 1981, a figure in two colors with three arms is one of the earliest examples of this new art by Mehta. This oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm, was sold for Rs 7.1 crore including premium by Saffronart on September 21, 2011.
The painting in the next sale is an oil on canvas 175 x 119 cm dated 1982. The female figure looks almost normal excepted for her three breasts and for the doubling of her greeting hand. It is a very good example of Mehta's deliberately naive period of relearning.
Two years later, Mehta's artistic residence in Santiniketan will revolutionize his art. He shall appropriate the use of bright colors to enhance his message, and know how to exploit the link between his modern philosophy and the roots of Indian mythology.
The great artistic impulse of Tyeb Mehta exploded from 1981. His human figures question the meaning of life.
The artist is aware of the trends in international modern art. His purpose is figurative but he admires the pure colors of Barnett Newman and the details of his drawing may refer to the simple compositions by Mondrian.
The figures by Mehta are androgynous, or more precisely asexual even when they are naked. He wanted it because his actual message is elsewhere. The real issue is discomfort and suffering, translated through physical abnormalities, splitting limbs, merging figures who lose their proper identity.
Dated 1981, a figure in two colors with three arms is one of the earliest examples of this new art by Mehta. This oil on canvas, 150 x 120 cm, was sold for Rs 7.1 crore including premium by Saffronart on September 21, 2011.
The painting in the next sale is an oil on canvas 175 x 119 cm dated 1982. The female figure looks almost normal excepted for her three breasts and for the doubling of her greeting hand. It is a very good example of Mehta's deliberately naive period of relearning.
Two years later, Mehta's artistic residence in Santiniketan will revolutionize his art. He shall appropriate the use of bright colors to enhance his message, and know how to exploit the link between his modern philosophy and the roots of Indian mythology.
1983 The Journey of Zao Wou-Ki in China
2013 SOLD 37 MHK$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The journey of Zao Wou-Ki in China in 1983 is of course not the first, but for the first time he is recognized as a major artist in his home country.
He was very fortunate to meet Zhang Daqian, in extremis because the old master died on April 2, 1983, aged 84. Their approaches had been parallel. While Zao submitted to the observer his psychic landscapes, Zhang spread his most expressive colors on identified landscapes.
The diptych 10.3.83 by Zao is influenced by Zhang's technique of splashed color (although I have not understood whether it had been painted before or after the meeting of the two masters). This oil on canvas, 200 x 325 cm, is estimated HK $ 25M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 6. Here is the link to the catalog.
Contrast is violent between the brightly lit ground and the night sky, and the horizon is not a line but a diffuse area in the best style of Zao. For once, although the title is a simple date, the landscape seems identifiable. It would be Mount Tai, one of the five sacred mountains of China.
The new admiration of China for the art of Zao was dazzling. Before the end of 1983, this diptych was exhibited both in Beijing and Hangzhou.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, HK$ 37M including premium, for this painting made in a key year of Zao's later career.
The journey of Zao Wou-Ki in China in 1983 is of course not the first, but for the first time he is recognized as a major artist in his home country.
He was very fortunate to meet Zhang Daqian, in extremis because the old master died on April 2, 1983, aged 84. Their approaches had been parallel. While Zao submitted to the observer his psychic landscapes, Zhang spread his most expressive colors on identified landscapes.
The diptych 10.3.83 by Zao is influenced by Zhang's technique of splashed color (although I have not understood whether it had been painted before or after the meeting of the two masters). This oil on canvas, 200 x 325 cm, is estimated HK $ 25M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 6. Here is the link to the catalog.
Contrast is violent between the brightly lit ground and the night sky, and the horizon is not a line but a diffuse area in the best style of Zao. For once, although the title is a simple date, the landscape seems identifiable. It would be Mount Tai, one of the five sacred mountains of China.
The new admiration of China for the art of Zao was dazzling. Before the end of 1983, this diptych was exhibited both in Beijing and Hangzhou.
POST SALE COMMENT
Good price, HK$ 37M including premium, for this painting made in a key year of Zao's later career.
1983 Fight against Silence
2019 sold for $ 4.2m including premium
In 1980 Keith Haring became known for his graffitis in the New York subway. He has an exacerbated social sensitivity and is openly gay. The large format of the posters in public places suits him because everyone can see his message from a distance. He is 22 years old.
The big sanitary disaster of his time begins in the same year. A contagious disease with a high mortality rate primarily attacks homosexuals and drug addicts. Its name is defined in 1982 : it is AIDS.
The gay community is bravely trying to cope. Until the end of 1982 the mayor of New York refuses to receive the activists. Haring's art becomes an illustration of the assimilation between silence and death. Scientific research responds to this tragedy : in 1984 the AIDS virus is identified.
On May 15 in New York, Bonhams sells as lot 9 an acrylic on vinyl tarpaulin 302 x 306 cm painted by Haring in October 1983. Please watch the video shared by the auction house on Twitter.
Like the Surrealists, Haring stages the fantastic characters created by his imagination, leaving the viewer with the identification of meaning. Here the main role is played by a figure of Mickey Mouse who shows his buttocks and pulls the tongue to a tall demon with a pedunculate neck, recognizable by his trident. Both characters have disproportionate sexes.
This scene is played in front of a background of multiple figures including dancers and a tiny angel brought by two hands. The use of black in the contours makes it very readable despite the mingling of the figures. The colors are dynamic while being limited to a fluorescent pink and an effervescent yellow.
Mickey is impertinent and exuberant, careless of the risk of illness. The demon takes a shocked attitude towards this fellow, as to state that gays must now better control their sexual activities. The angel is also displayed to Mickey for bringing him back to his senses.
The big sanitary disaster of his time begins in the same year. A contagious disease with a high mortality rate primarily attacks homosexuals and drug addicts. Its name is defined in 1982 : it is AIDS.
The gay community is bravely trying to cope. Until the end of 1982 the mayor of New York refuses to receive the activists. Haring's art becomes an illustration of the assimilation between silence and death. Scientific research responds to this tragedy : in 1984 the AIDS virus is identified.
On May 15 in New York, Bonhams sells as lot 9 an acrylic on vinyl tarpaulin 302 x 306 cm painted by Haring in October 1983. Please watch the video shared by the auction house on Twitter.
Like the Surrealists, Haring stages the fantastic characters created by his imagination, leaving the viewer with the identification of meaning. Here the main role is played by a figure of Mickey Mouse who shows his buttocks and pulls the tongue to a tall demon with a pedunculate neck, recognizable by his trident. Both characters have disproportionate sexes.
This scene is played in front of a background of multiple figures including dancers and a tiny angel brought by two hands. The use of black in the contours makes it very readable despite the mingling of the figures. The colors are dynamic while being limited to a fluorescent pink and an effervescent yellow.
Mickey is impertinent and exuberant, careless of the risk of illness. The demon takes a shocked attitude towards this fellow, as to state that gays must now better control their sexual activities. The angel is also displayed to Mickey for bringing him back to his senses.
1983 vanities by richter
2018 unsold
Turning 50 in 1982, Gerhard Richter tries to redefine his life and his art. The titles of his paintings, limited to one or two words, do not bring comprehension and coherence. Abstraktes Bild and Ohne Titel are titles like any other.
The Kerzen (candles) are a technical feat with the colorful transition of the halo between flame and abstraction. These vanities also match the metaphysical questions of the artist.
Is it a coincidence ? The highly spectacular skulls by Jean-Michel Basquiat are painted in the same year.
Twenty years earlier in Düsseldorf, Richter had received from a friend a model of human skull. He had not used it yet. In 1983 he photographed this artifact with top or down upside. He makes a small series of paintings while projecting the photographic image on the canvas. The blurring of outlines brings a transition to abstraction. The evanescent image floats somewhere between here and the beyond.
The first series of Schädel (skull) is made of four opus, 545-1 to 545-4, the latter entitled 'Schädel, abstrakt' confirming the desire of the artist to ensure the overall coherence of his work. 546-1 and -2 is a return to Kerzen, probably to maintain the knack. 547-1 shows the skull in the inverted position. In the same position, it is associated with a candle in 547-2.
The series of skulls is finished with 548-1 and -2, as if suddenly the artist had overcome a temporary anguish of death by integrating together the skull, the abstraction and the candle.
These Schädel are extremely rare on the art market. 545-3 was sold for $ 1.5M including premium by Christie's on May 16, 2000. 545-1, oil on canvas 80 x 65 cm, will be sold by Christie's in London on October 4, lot 11. The estimate at £ 12M to £ 18M is unveiled by Christie's in the Auction preview of September 6. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The Kerzen (candles) are a technical feat with the colorful transition of the halo between flame and abstraction. These vanities also match the metaphysical questions of the artist.
Is it a coincidence ? The highly spectacular skulls by Jean-Michel Basquiat are painted in the same year.
Twenty years earlier in Düsseldorf, Richter had received from a friend a model of human skull. He had not used it yet. In 1983 he photographed this artifact with top or down upside. He makes a small series of paintings while projecting the photographic image on the canvas. The blurring of outlines brings a transition to abstraction. The evanescent image floats somewhere between here and the beyond.
The first series of Schädel (skull) is made of four opus, 545-1 to 545-4, the latter entitled 'Schädel, abstrakt' confirming the desire of the artist to ensure the overall coherence of his work. 546-1 and -2 is a return to Kerzen, probably to maintain the knack. 547-1 shows the skull in the inverted position. In the same position, it is associated with a candle in 547-2.
The series of skulls is finished with 548-1 and -2, as if suddenly the artist had overcome a temporary anguish of death by integrating together the skull, the abstraction and the candle.
These Schädel are extremely rare on the art market. 545-3 was sold for $ 1.5M including premium by Christie's on May 16, 2000. 545-1, oil on canvas 80 x 65 cm, will be sold by Christie's in London on October 4, lot 11. The estimate at £ 12M to £ 18M is unveiled by Christie's in the Auction preview of September 6. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1983 the primordial energy of sh raza
2015 unsold
Syed Haider Raza, like Gaitonde, expresses the Earth, source and support of life. Also like Zao Wou-ki he slips from landscape to abstraction for better observing the sumptuous arrangements of colors.
His life is divided between India and France. From 1980, he is inspired by the Hindu philosophy in a quest for the creation of the world, beyond the simple balance of the elements. His now resolutely non-figurative art includes various geometric symbols. The artist compares his paintings to temples, designed to offer to the visitor a mystical ecstasy.
On December 15 in Mumbai, Christie's sells Bindu, acrylic on canvas 150 x 150 cm painted in 1983, lot 39 estimated Rs 10 crore equivalent to US $ 1.5M.
The bindu is a black dot that concentrates the primordial energy. This symbol of wisdom is the third eye worn by Hindus as a makeup in the forehead. In the artwork for sale, the intense black bindu occupies the exact center of the image and transmits its power to the surrounding world.
This painting can be analyzed as an abstract landscape with warm colors, a dominance of horizontal lines and a gradual bottom up brightening that evokes the light of day. In the region at the level of the bindu, triangles in opposite directions expose the male and female duality of life.
On 10 June 2010, Christie's sold for £ 2.4 million including premium Saurashtra, 200 x 200 cm, painted in the same year with a similar range of glowing colors, slightly clearer. This geographic title confirms that Raza's mysticism remains attached to the physical beauty of the Indian landscapes.
His life is divided between India and France. From 1980, he is inspired by the Hindu philosophy in a quest for the creation of the world, beyond the simple balance of the elements. His now resolutely non-figurative art includes various geometric symbols. The artist compares his paintings to temples, designed to offer to the visitor a mystical ecstasy.
On December 15 in Mumbai, Christie's sells Bindu, acrylic on canvas 150 x 150 cm painted in 1983, lot 39 estimated Rs 10 crore equivalent to US $ 1.5M.
The bindu is a black dot that concentrates the primordial energy. This symbol of wisdom is the third eye worn by Hindus as a makeup in the forehead. In the artwork for sale, the intense black bindu occupies the exact center of the image and transmits its power to the surrounding world.
This painting can be analyzed as an abstract landscape with warm colors, a dominance of horizontal lines and a gradual bottom up brightening that evokes the light of day. In the region at the level of the bindu, triangles in opposite directions expose the male and female duality of life.
On 10 June 2010, Christie's sold for £ 2.4 million including premium Saurashtra, 200 x 200 cm, painted in the same year with a similar range of glowing colors, slightly clearer. This geographic title confirms that Raza's mysticism remains attached to the physical beauty of the Indian landscapes.
1983 Richter between Flame and Squeegee
2012 unsold
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In 1982, Gerhard Richter makes his series of paintings on the arrangements of candles. His method of reworking thecolor tirelessly up to perfection allows him to overcome one of the top difficulties in painting, the halo of flame.
No doubt encouraged by this result, Richter restarts resolutely in the following year towards abstraction, which had always attracted him. His idea, again, is revolutionary: art must guide the artist and not the contrary, only the result counts, but it can only come from a meticulous work.
Today Richter is considered with no real competitor as the best abstract painter of our time. Christie's is selling onNovember 14 in New York a key work in the evolution of his art, expected in the region of $ 15M. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
This oil on canvas, 250 x 250 cm, shows a beautiful contrast of bright colors, punctuated by oblique lines and large stains. Richter has not yet developed his technique of the squeegee which will cease to delineate the colors, getting in a larger scale a comparable effect as in the halo of the candles.
Although rehabilitated at the same period by de Kooning, abstract art no longer excites so much the art world in 1983. Richter positions this work by providing it with a title, as Miro would have done. It is named Prag 1883 by reference to the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great writer of inextricable labyrinths, Franz Kafka.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate available in the catalog, $ 9M, was less ambitious than the first release, but this decrease was not enough. Unsold.
In 1982, Gerhard Richter makes his series of paintings on the arrangements of candles. His method of reworking thecolor tirelessly up to perfection allows him to overcome one of the top difficulties in painting, the halo of flame.
No doubt encouraged by this result, Richter restarts resolutely in the following year towards abstraction, which had always attracted him. His idea, again, is revolutionary: art must guide the artist and not the contrary, only the result counts, but it can only come from a meticulous work.
Today Richter is considered with no real competitor as the best abstract painter of our time. Christie's is selling onNovember 14 in New York a key work in the evolution of his art, expected in the region of $ 15M. It is illustrated on the press release shared by Artdaily.
This oil on canvas, 250 x 250 cm, shows a beautiful contrast of bright colors, punctuated by oblique lines and large stains. Richter has not yet developed his technique of the squeegee which will cease to delineate the colors, getting in a larger scale a comparable effect as in the halo of the candles.
Although rehabilitated at the same period by de Kooning, abstract art no longer excites so much the art world in 1983. Richter positions this work by providing it with a title, as Miro would have done. It is named Prag 1883 by reference to the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great writer of inextricable labyrinths, Franz Kafka.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate available in the catalog, $ 9M, was less ambitious than the first release, but this decrease was not enough. Unsold.
1984 The Head of the Pyramid
2018 sold for £ 3.95m including premium
Politically and socially, Keith Haring is an idealist. Inspired by his graffiti debut in the subway, he wants his message to be seen by crowds. From 1982 he obtains public commissions as a muralist in cities all over the world.
Haring works very quickly and without preliminary drawing, constantly reusing the pictograms of his own surreal world. His art pleases the public because it is populated by strange beings that interconnect. Stylized humanoids who dance in groups with raised arms for revering their false gods are promoting joy, hope and naivety.
The artist also integrates his own time. A new technology has landed : the personal computer. It is the head of a huge caterpillar in a vinyl on tarpaulin 307 x 302 cm painted in 1983. The monster is dangerous but can be tamed : the character who rides it has kept his head, which is not the case of the three dancers. This artwork was sold for £ 860K including premium by Sotheby's on October 12, 2012.
On October 4 in London, Christie's sells an acrylic on an assembly of four canvases dated April 18, 1984 of total size 305 x 305 cm, lot 3 estimated £ 3M. The line painting is performed on a psychedelic bright yellow background.
The main figure is an empty triangle bordered at the bottom by a row of enthusiast believers. By the subterfuge of the two-dimensional representation, this figure offers three interpretations. It is the Pyramid that symbolizes ancient mysticisms. It is an esplanade blocking the access to various monsters that move with frenzy and earthiness up to its edges. It is anthropomorphic by its extension in two raised arms which hold a flying saucer and a brain. The head of the Pyramid is the new god, the personal computer.
Please watch the video prepared by Christie's to introduce three lots of the next sale discussed by their consignor, the former gallery owner Paul Maenz.
Haring works very quickly and without preliminary drawing, constantly reusing the pictograms of his own surreal world. His art pleases the public because it is populated by strange beings that interconnect. Stylized humanoids who dance in groups with raised arms for revering their false gods are promoting joy, hope and naivety.
The artist also integrates his own time. A new technology has landed : the personal computer. It is the head of a huge caterpillar in a vinyl on tarpaulin 307 x 302 cm painted in 1983. The monster is dangerous but can be tamed : the character who rides it has kept his head, which is not the case of the three dancers. This artwork was sold for £ 860K including premium by Sotheby's on October 12, 2012.
On October 4 in London, Christie's sells an acrylic on an assembly of four canvases dated April 18, 1984 of total size 305 x 305 cm, lot 3 estimated £ 3M. The line painting is performed on a psychedelic bright yellow background.
The main figure is an empty triangle bordered at the bottom by a row of enthusiast believers. By the subterfuge of the two-dimensional representation, this figure offers three interpretations. It is the Pyramid that symbolizes ancient mysticisms. It is an esplanade blocking the access to various monsters that move with frenzy and earthiness up to its edges. It is anthropomorphic by its extension in two raised arms which hold a flying saucer and a brain. The head of the Pyramid is the new god, the personal computer.
Please watch the video prepared by Christie's to introduce three lots of the next sale discussed by their consignor, the former gallery owner Paul Maenz.
1984 Waiting for Durga
2017 SOLD for INR 17.8 crores (worth US $ 2.96M) including premium
A hypersensitive artist, Tyeb Mehta perceives and rejects the impulses of violence. He sees the sufferings and even looks for them not without some sadomasochism : a man stoned to death by the crowd in front of him in 1947, a report filmed by him in a slaughterhouse in 1970.
His painting is minimalist while remaining figurative. The simple lines of the naked bodies border the flat planes in pure pastel-type hues. Beyond the character, woman, man or androgynous, his art invites for a meditation on human condition and meaning of life.
After a serious illness Mehta becomes an artist in residence in 1983 in Santiniketan in Bengal for a period of two years. In the intellectual and cultural environment of this city founded by Rabindranath Tagore his art changes forever when he mixes the Hindu mysticism with his own metaphysical quest.
The rickshaw has long been for Mehta an abject symbol both by the enslavement of the puller and by the confinement of the seated character. In 1984 the figure in the shadow of the machine is no longer a naked woman but a divinity who exhibits her three legs in sunlight. This oil on canvas 150 x 120 cm was sold for £ 1,97M including premium by Christie's on June 9, 2011.
Mehta begins to express that humanity needs more than ever the return of Durga, the primordial warrior goddess who uses violence to offer peace with her eight to sixteen arms.
The nude female creature sitting on the floor with two heads, two bodies, four arms and two legs is a peaceful Annunciation of Durga. The bull's head in front of her is both an emanation of the slaughterhouse and a memory of Durga's ultimate victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura.
This oil on canvas 150 x 105 cm also painted in 1984 prefigures the epic themes of the later career of Mehta. It was sold for $ 1.76M including premium by Christie's on March 21, 2012 and had been discussed at that time in this column. It is estimated INR 14 to 18 crores worth US $ 2.3 to 3M for sale on August 23 online from Mumbai by AstaGuru, lot 20. The full catalog of the sale is linked in the tweet.
His painting is minimalist while remaining figurative. The simple lines of the naked bodies border the flat planes in pure pastel-type hues. Beyond the character, woman, man or androgynous, his art invites for a meditation on human condition and meaning of life.
After a serious illness Mehta becomes an artist in residence in 1983 in Santiniketan in Bengal for a period of two years. In the intellectual and cultural environment of this city founded by Rabindranath Tagore his art changes forever when he mixes the Hindu mysticism with his own metaphysical quest.
The rickshaw has long been for Mehta an abject symbol both by the enslavement of the puller and by the confinement of the seated character. In 1984 the figure in the shadow of the machine is no longer a naked woman but a divinity who exhibits her three legs in sunlight. This oil on canvas 150 x 120 cm was sold for £ 1,97M including premium by Christie's on June 9, 2011.
Mehta begins to express that humanity needs more than ever the return of Durga, the primordial warrior goddess who uses violence to offer peace with her eight to sixteen arms.
The nude female creature sitting on the floor with two heads, two bodies, four arms and two legs is a peaceful Annunciation of Durga. The bull's head in front of her is both an emanation of the slaughterhouse and a memory of Durga's ultimate victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura.
This oil on canvas 150 x 105 cm also painted in 1984 prefigures the epic themes of the later career of Mehta. It was sold for $ 1.76M including premium by Christie's on March 21, 2012 and had been discussed at that time in this column. It is estimated INR 14 to 18 crores worth US $ 2.3 to 3M for sale on August 23 online from Mumbai by AstaGuru, lot 20. The full catalog of the sale is linked in the tweet.
1984 Alighiero Boetti stops the Passing Time
2013 unsold
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
When an artwork is too unusual, so do not expect too high a price. Bonhams was passionate about Anno 1984 by Alighiero Boetti, but failed to sell it on 13 October 2011.
Anno 1984 is now estimated £ 600K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on October 17. Here are the link to the new catalog and to an interesting video shared in 2011 by Bonhams.
And below, as usual in such cases, please find my previous text:
The art of Boetti is varied, but everything he did is unclassifiable. His first name, which is authentic, was itself an invitation to metaphysics or cosmography.
By his strange studies of letters and words and through his Mappas, he wants to express the world and its global knowledge. He is not the only Italian modern artist wanting to achieve a conceptual art. He may be considered in the following of Fontana, Burri and Manzoni.
1984: Boetti chose that year to also try to stop the passing time. The year of the legendary novel by Orwell was awaited by the intellectuals. Boetti made a one-of-a-kind work, a missing link that contributes to build the history ofart between Warhol's Campbell's Soups and the recuperations of Richard Prince.
Throughout that year, the artist and his collaborators buy magazines. Each month, with great regularity, Boetti redrawsin pencil on paper 18 covers, not removing their titles. The whole of the year, arranged in two registers, is a work of 2x 9 m, assembled on linen and coated.
When an artwork is too unusual, so do not expect too high a price. Bonhams was passionate about Anno 1984 by Alighiero Boetti, but failed to sell it on 13 October 2011.
Anno 1984 is now estimated £ 600K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on October 17. Here are the link to the new catalog and to an interesting video shared in 2011 by Bonhams.
And below, as usual in such cases, please find my previous text:
The art of Boetti is varied, but everything he did is unclassifiable. His first name, which is authentic, was itself an invitation to metaphysics or cosmography.
By his strange studies of letters and words and through his Mappas, he wants to express the world and its global knowledge. He is not the only Italian modern artist wanting to achieve a conceptual art. He may be considered in the following of Fontana, Burri and Manzoni.
1984: Boetti chose that year to also try to stop the passing time. The year of the legendary novel by Orwell was awaited by the intellectuals. Boetti made a one-of-a-kind work, a missing link that contributes to build the history ofart between Warhol's Campbell's Soups and the recuperations of Richard Prince.
Throughout that year, the artist and his collaborators buy magazines. Each month, with great regularity, Boetti redrawsin pencil on paper 18 covers, not removing their titles. The whole of the year, arranged in two registers, is a work of 2x 9 m, assembled on linen and coated.
