Art 1990-1994
1990 vertigo over the arena
2017 sold for £ 2.95m including premium
A figurative artist, Miquel Barcelo could not prevent his art from becoming minimalist. Long stays in the deserts of Africa convince him that light is more important than the landscape.
The artist born in the island of Majorca of course does not forget his Spanish origin. He compares the smooth surface of sand in the arenas to the dunes of Mali and imagines the bird's-eye view of this perfect circle during a bullfight. He realized approximately 30 paintings in 1990 on this theme with his technique of thick colored mixed media kneaded with saw and knife.
The concentric figure of the arena is designed to be seen as a whirlwind conducive to a vertigo accentuated by the centrifugal force of the outer circle of the tiers. The group made up of the torero and the beast is tiny and can be placed in various places inside the circle but this aficionado ensures a movement without error in all phases of the action. The muleta brings an interesting red spot.
Faena de muleta, 160 x 196 cm, was sold for £ 4M including premium by Christie's on June 28, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 1.5M.
Muletero, 131 x 161 cm, was sold for £ 2.34M including premium by Sotheby's on June 29, 2011. It is for sale by Phillips in London on March 8, lot 17 estimated £ 2.5M. Please watch the video shared by Phillips.
En los medios, 90 x 90 cm, was sold for £ 510K including premium by Sotheby's in London on February 5, 2004 and comes back in the same auction room on March 8, lot 41 estimated £ 500K.
Pase de pecho, 65 x 81 cm, is estimated £ 1M for sale by Christie's on March 7, lot 36.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Phillips : £ 2.95M
Sotheby's : £ 1.15M
Christies : £ 1.15M
The artist born in the island of Majorca of course does not forget his Spanish origin. He compares the smooth surface of sand in the arenas to the dunes of Mali and imagines the bird's-eye view of this perfect circle during a bullfight. He realized approximately 30 paintings in 1990 on this theme with his technique of thick colored mixed media kneaded with saw and knife.
The concentric figure of the arena is designed to be seen as a whirlwind conducive to a vertigo accentuated by the centrifugal force of the outer circle of the tiers. The group made up of the torero and the beast is tiny and can be placed in various places inside the circle but this aficionado ensures a movement without error in all phases of the action. The muleta brings an interesting red spot.
Faena de muleta, 160 x 196 cm, was sold for £ 4M including premium by Christie's on June 28, 2011 over a lower estimate of £ 1.5M.
Muletero, 131 x 161 cm, was sold for £ 2.34M including premium by Sotheby's on June 29, 2011. It is for sale by Phillips in London on March 8, lot 17 estimated £ 2.5M. Please watch the video shared by Phillips.
En los medios, 90 x 90 cm, was sold for £ 510K including premium by Sotheby's in London on February 5, 2004 and comes back in the same auction room on March 8, lot 41 estimated £ 500K.
Pase de pecho, 65 x 81 cm, is estimated £ 1M for sale by Christie's on March 7, lot 36.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
Phillips : £ 2.95M
Sotheby's : £ 1.15M
Christies : £ 1.15M
1990 temptation of the nude
2016 sold for hk$ 18m including premium
The explosion of freedom in the young Chinese painting began in 1985. Canvas and colors are available again, finally. The Chinese art will cease to be submitted to government rules and to censorship.Liu Xiaodong is still a student at that time.
Liu expresses tirelessly his visions of social realism, including sexual appeals and deviances. He is a ruthless and acerbic observer.
In 1996, when he watched in the same day a cart carrying emigrants and a full truck of pigs, he created a masterpiece entitled Disobeying the rules which was sold for HK $ 66M including premium by Sotheby's on October 5, 2014. Men and women are naked, like pigs. Their hope is vain, like pigs going to the slaughterhouse.
On October 2 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells Showered in sunlight, oil on canvas 180 x 195 cm painted in 1990 by Liu, lot 1056 estimated HK $ 15M.
Six very young men are near the sea under an intense sun. Within the new regime of freedom imagined by the artist, they have chosen to be naked or to wear a swimsuit. The composition is bold with the young nude in the foreground who extends far beyond the frame. Two other nudes are full frontal.
These boys look happy under the new dictatorship of the sun. They are rather remote from each other but the homosexual temptation of this exhibitionism is likely. Liu wanted to disturb and he succeeded.
Liu expresses tirelessly his visions of social realism, including sexual appeals and deviances. He is a ruthless and acerbic observer.
In 1996, when he watched in the same day a cart carrying emigrants and a full truck of pigs, he created a masterpiece entitled Disobeying the rules which was sold for HK $ 66M including premium by Sotheby's on October 5, 2014. Men and women are naked, like pigs. Their hope is vain, like pigs going to the slaughterhouse.
On October 2 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells Showered in sunlight, oil on canvas 180 x 195 cm painted in 1990 by Liu, lot 1056 estimated HK $ 15M.
Six very young men are near the sea under an intense sun. Within the new regime of freedom imagined by the artist, they have chosen to be naked or to wear a swimsuit. The composition is bold with the young nude in the foreground who extends far beyond the frame. Two other nudes are full frontal.
These boys look happy under the new dictatorship of the sun. They are rather remote from each other but the homosexual temptation of this exhibitionism is likely. Liu wanted to disturb and he succeeded.
1990 the abstract pond of gerhard richter
2016 unsold
Like all great artists, Gerhard Richter observed his predecessors for doing better and farther. Monet's influence appears regularly in his abstract work, demonstrating how much the earlier artist can be considered as a precursor of contemporary art by the symphony of intermingled colors and the balance of the composition.
Here are two examples. Abstraktes Bild 616, painted in 1986 and sold for $ 26,5M including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 2013, is inspired by the rose garden in Giverny. Abstraktes Bild 643-1, painted in 1987 and sold for £ 14.1M including premium by Sotheby's on July 1, 2015, is a direct evocation of the London Towers by Monet.
In 1990, the technique of the squeegee opens new developments in the abstract expression by Richter, especially when traditional abstract forms come in addition to the rake's drippings.
Richter revisits his favorite inspirations. The series 725 expresses the water materialized by floating objects and localized by reflections. 725-1, sold for £ 7.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 15, 2011, is a first attempt in a dual composition with an overall size of 225 x 200 cm.
725-4, oil on canvas of the same size, appears as the favorite opus of the artist in this series. Richter kept it in his collection until an exhibition of his works in Nîmes in 1996. It is estimated £ 14M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 10, lot 25.
I see in this painting a flotilla of Monet's water lilies that ensures the perception of the invisible water surface, although this interpretation is not proposed by the auction house.
Here are two examples. Abstraktes Bild 616, painted in 1986 and sold for $ 26,5M including premium by Sotheby's on November 13, 2013, is inspired by the rose garden in Giverny. Abstraktes Bild 643-1, painted in 1987 and sold for £ 14.1M including premium by Sotheby's on July 1, 2015, is a direct evocation of the London Towers by Monet.
In 1990, the technique of the squeegee opens new developments in the abstract expression by Richter, especially when traditional abstract forms come in addition to the rake's drippings.
Richter revisits his favorite inspirations. The series 725 expresses the water materialized by floating objects and localized by reflections. 725-1, sold for £ 7.2 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 15, 2011, is a first attempt in a dual composition with an overall size of 225 x 200 cm.
725-4, oil on canvas of the same size, appears as the favorite opus of the artist in this series. Richter kept it in his collection until an exhibition of his works in Nîmes in 1996. It is estimated £ 14M for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 10, lot 25.
I see in this painting a flotilla of Monet's water lilies that ensures the perception of the invisible water surface, although this interpretation is not proposed by the auction house.
1990 & 1994 Made of Wood, Wax and hair by Robert Gober
2009 both unsold
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
On 15 May 2008, at Phillips de Pury in New York, a sculpture by Robert Gober fetched $ 3.6 million charge included from a low estimate of $ 1.2 million. This work of 52 cm long in wax, wood, cotton, leather and human hair shows a lower male leg with the end of the trousers on one side and shoe and sock on the other side.
That is sufficient to excite the art market: there are two other works by the same artist at some places of honor in the next contemporary art sales in New York.
Let us start with Phillips de Pury. This auction house which is very active on the contemporary art market presents onMay 14 an hyperrealist representation in painted wood, 203 x 133 x 61 cm, from a cereal box of Pillsbury brand. Made in 1993-1994, untitled, it is a follower in three dimensions of the Campbell's Soups by Warhol. It is estimated $ 2.5 million.
For the same price at Sotheby's on May 12, here is a sculpture in painted wax, wood and hair of 48 cm high, made in 1990, showing a pair of bare buttocks on which were painted four double staves of a musical score.
On 15 May 2008, at Phillips de Pury in New York, a sculpture by Robert Gober fetched $ 3.6 million charge included from a low estimate of $ 1.2 million. This work of 52 cm long in wax, wood, cotton, leather and human hair shows a lower male leg with the end of the trousers on one side and shoe and sock on the other side.
That is sufficient to excite the art market: there are two other works by the same artist at some places of honor in the next contemporary art sales in New York.
Let us start with Phillips de Pury. This auction house which is very active on the contemporary art market presents onMay 14 an hyperrealist representation in painted wood, 203 x 133 x 61 cm, from a cereal box of Pillsbury brand. Made in 1993-1994, untitled, it is a follower in three dimensions of the Campbell's Soups by Warhol. It is estimated $ 2.5 million.
For the same price at Sotheby's on May 12, here is a sculpture in painted wax, wood and hair of 48 cm high, made in 1990, showing a pair of bare buttocks on which were painted four double staves of a musical score.
1991 Bernstein by Donald Judd
2013 SOLD for $ 5.8M by Sotheby's
Donald Judd was both an artist and a theorist. He early conceived that sculpture had to be an art of color, requiringthe best choice of material and optimizing the ambient lighting.
In his columns of stacked elements, started in 1965, the element is a strict cuboid wider than thick, with square corners and without any embellishment of form. Each element is directly plugged into the wall, without base orstructure. Their construction was entrusted to Bernstein Bros. in Long Island.
In its most common version, ten elements are strictly aligned in vertical, with a gap equal to the thickness. Under these conditions, the stage is set to allow the color to play with its reflections and shadows, along with perspective effects.
On November 14, 2012, Christie's sold for $ 10M the 89-24 Bernstein whose elements of large size, 23 x 102 x 79 cm, display two variants of red, the favorite color of the artist: copper for vertical surfaces andPlexiglas top.
The 91-2 Bernstein, made in 1991, has the same dimensions and the same Plexiglas that 89-24 but stainless steel has replaced copper. It was sold for $ 5.8M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2013, lot 10.
In his columns of stacked elements, started in 1965, the element is a strict cuboid wider than thick, with square corners and without any embellishment of form. Each element is directly plugged into the wall, without base orstructure. Their construction was entrusted to Bernstein Bros. in Long Island.
In its most common version, ten elements are strictly aligned in vertical, with a gap equal to the thickness. Under these conditions, the stage is set to allow the color to play with its reflections and shadows, along with perspective effects.
On November 14, 2012, Christie's sold for $ 10M the 89-24 Bernstein whose elements of large size, 23 x 102 x 79 cm, display two variants of red, the favorite color of the artist: copper for vertical surfaces andPlexiglas top.
The 91-2 Bernstein, made in 1991, has the same dimensions and the same Plexiglas that 89-24 but stainless steel has replaced copper. It was sold for $ 5.8M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2013, lot 10.
1991 Auerbach's City
2010 Sold 2.28 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
he oil paintings of Frank Auerbach consist of a thick paste whose weight goes to the limit of collapse. This savage struggle with the materials is used by the artist for both unchanging themes of his work: the heads of his friends and of his female lovers, and the views from the streets in his neighborhood of London.
On June 28 in London, Sotheby's is selling the view of a summer morning in Mornington Crescent. Fairly large for this artist, 132 x 134 cm, it literally brushes the urban landscape in broad strokes, some of which being brightly colored scars. This work of 1991 is illustrated (incomplete, unfortunately) in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
Auerbach could well be a contemporary expressionist. But his continuous come back to similar themes distinguished mostly by the changing light of the day is also close of Impressionism.
In auctions, the prices of Frank Auerbach climb steadily, with a strong boost since 2007. Our Mornington Crescent is estimated 1.5 million pounds.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent result, 2.28 million pounds including premium, for this painting offering an unexpected and very contemporary synthesis between urban landscape and today's painting techniques.
he oil paintings of Frank Auerbach consist of a thick paste whose weight goes to the limit of collapse. This savage struggle with the materials is used by the artist for both unchanging themes of his work: the heads of his friends and of his female lovers, and the views from the streets in his neighborhood of London.
On June 28 in London, Sotheby's is selling the view of a summer morning in Mornington Crescent. Fairly large for this artist, 132 x 134 cm, it literally brushes the urban landscape in broad strokes, some of which being brightly colored scars. This work of 1991 is illustrated (incomplete, unfortunately) in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
Auerbach could well be a contemporary expressionist. But his continuous come back to similar themes distinguished mostly by the changing light of the day is also close of Impressionism.
In auctions, the prices of Frank Auerbach climb steadily, with a strong boost since 2007. Our Mornington Crescent is estimated 1.5 million pounds.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent result, 2.28 million pounds including premium, for this painting offering an unexpected and very contemporary synthesis between urban landscape and today's painting techniques.
1991 Strength and Posture with Ju Ming
2010 SOLD 82 M Tw$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Taoists are practising some gymnastics akin to martial arts, which aim to strengthen the body. The postures are a combination of two qualities that could be thought antagonist, quietness and energy.
Ju Ming, passionate follower of the art of Tai Chi, makes it a thread of his work. His favorite posture is named Single Whip. His sculptures in this series show several positions available in bronze in different sizes.
The garment of the gymnast is represented by a Cubist drape whose folds are used to demonstrate the position. The body is almost completely removed.
I have already noted in this group the interest of the art market for monumental sculptures by Ju Ming. The auction house of Taiwan, Ravenel, included in its spring sale in Hong Kong a great Single Whip, 2.65 m wide, 1.57 m high, sold HK $ 14.4 M.
Another Single Whip is awaited in their sale in Taipei on December 5. Bigger, 3.03 m wide, 1.60 m high, this bronze made in 1991 is wisely estimated Tw $ 58M, a price almost identical to the previous result.
Ju Ming is Taiwanese. I have no doubt that the specimen sold in his home country will exceed the expected price.
POST SALE COMMENT
This large bronze was sold Tw $ 82M including premium, in the upper part of the estimate range.
Ravenel also indicates the price in currencies that are more usual on the art market: U.S. $ 2.7 million, HK $ 21M.
Taoists are practising some gymnastics akin to martial arts, which aim to strengthen the body. The postures are a combination of two qualities that could be thought antagonist, quietness and energy.
Ju Ming, passionate follower of the art of Tai Chi, makes it a thread of his work. His favorite posture is named Single Whip. His sculptures in this series show several positions available in bronze in different sizes.
The garment of the gymnast is represented by a Cubist drape whose folds are used to demonstrate the position. The body is almost completely removed.
I have already noted in this group the interest of the art market for monumental sculptures by Ju Ming. The auction house of Taiwan, Ravenel, included in its spring sale in Hong Kong a great Single Whip, 2.65 m wide, 1.57 m high, sold HK $ 14.4 M.
Another Single Whip is awaited in their sale in Taipei on December 5. Bigger, 3.03 m wide, 1.60 m high, this bronze made in 1991 is wisely estimated Tw $ 58M, a price almost identical to the previous result.
Ju Ming is Taiwanese. I have no doubt that the specimen sold in his home country will exceed the expected price.
POST SALE COMMENT
This large bronze was sold Tw $ 82M including premium, in the upper part of the estimate range.
Ravenel also indicates the price in currencies that are more usual on the art market: U.S. $ 2.7 million, HK $ 21M.
1991 L'Enlèvement d'Europe by Claude Lalanne
2021 SOLD for € 1.24M by Osenat
Osenat, Fontainebleau, October 3, 2021
L'Enlèvement d'Europe by Claude Lalanne (lot 1 est € 600K) Interencheres.
Sale landing page. Invaluable.
L'Enlèvement d'Europe by Claude Lalanne (lot 1 est € 600K) Interencheres.
Sale landing page. Invaluable.
1989-1991 the contentment of a father
2015 unsold
The psychoanalysis is a therapy based on a dialogue between the doctor and the patient. Lucian Freud is a grandson of Sigmund. Following his grandfather, he communicates with human beings.
Lucian is not a doctor. He does not deal with madness, and makes little difference between human and animal. The garment of his model is an obstacle to empathy.
In the 1980s, he approaches his illegitimate daughter Bella, a young adult who begins a great career as a fashion designer. His contentment is exacerbated by the guilt of having been an absent father. He paints portraits of his daughter.
When Bella understands the method of psychological approach of her father, she undresses. As with his other models, the artwork requires posing sessions that extend over several months during which Lucian tirelessly adapts his speech to the reaction of the sitter. He compensates by this process the inconvenience caused by his close viewing. For Bella, it seems that sharing lovely food has been predominant.
On November 9 in New York, Christie's sells a full length diagonal portrait of Bella, lot 17A estimated $ 20M. This small oil on canvas 99 x 91 cm titled Naked portrait on a red sofa is dated 1989-1991. The final result is made in a thick paste which is almost a colored sculpture.
This artwork is a rare feat in the art of the nude : a confident and relaxed figure without erotic or sensual effect.
Lucian is not a doctor. He does not deal with madness, and makes little difference between human and animal. The garment of his model is an obstacle to empathy.
In the 1980s, he approaches his illegitimate daughter Bella, a young adult who begins a great career as a fashion designer. His contentment is exacerbated by the guilt of having been an absent father. He paints portraits of his daughter.
When Bella understands the method of psychological approach of her father, she undresses. As with his other models, the artwork requires posing sessions that extend over several months during which Lucian tirelessly adapts his speech to the reaction of the sitter. He compensates by this process the inconvenience caused by his close viewing. For Bella, it seems that sharing lovely food has been predominant.
On November 9 in New York, Christie's sells a full length diagonal portrait of Bella, lot 17A estimated $ 20M. This small oil on canvas 99 x 91 cm titled Naked portrait on a red sofa is dated 1989-1991. The final result is made in a thick paste which is almost a colored sculpture.
This artwork is a rare feat in the art of the nude : a confident and relaxed figure without erotic or sensual effect.
1991 Card Players by Botero
2013 unsold
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Populating the world with his often monumental statues of fat people, Fernando Botero developed a unique style which is instantly recognizable. His characters reappear in his paintings, becoming both more active and much integrated into contemporary life.
While remaining independent, Botero actively contributes to postmodernist painting, characterized by recuperating and transforming famous works of art history. The remarkable recent success of the Last Supper by Zeng Fanzhi announces a growing success for this new trend. The public appreciates this kind of complicity.
On 20 November 2006, Sotheby's sold for $ 1.7 million including premium Jugadoras de cartas, oil on canvas 159 x 202 cm painted in 1989 by Botero. Two dressed men and two naked women are playing cards. They blatantly cheat, even the pocketless women !
Tomorrow November 20, a painting on the same theme and same technique executed in 1991, 152 x 181 cm, is estimated $ 1.5 million, for sale by Sotheby's in New York. Here is the link to the catalog.
The surrounding is reminiscent of the brothels in Medellin, hometown of the artist. The game is played by two men and a nude woman. Cigarette butts are littering the ground. The unshaven man on the left is cheating, but more subtly. The same man was already on the 1989 painting referred above. Is it a self-portrait?
It looks obvious that this scene is under the influence of Cézanne, but the Déjeûner sur l'herbe by Manet is not far away. The players are watched by a voyeur priest hidden in the curtain who could have pleased Lichtenstein.
Populating the world with his often monumental statues of fat people, Fernando Botero developed a unique style which is instantly recognizable. His characters reappear in his paintings, becoming both more active and much integrated into contemporary life.
While remaining independent, Botero actively contributes to postmodernist painting, characterized by recuperating and transforming famous works of art history. The remarkable recent success of the Last Supper by Zeng Fanzhi announces a growing success for this new trend. The public appreciates this kind of complicity.
On 20 November 2006, Sotheby's sold for $ 1.7 million including premium Jugadoras de cartas, oil on canvas 159 x 202 cm painted in 1989 by Botero. Two dressed men and two naked women are playing cards. They blatantly cheat, even the pocketless women !
Tomorrow November 20, a painting on the same theme and same technique executed in 1991, 152 x 181 cm, is estimated $ 1.5 million, for sale by Sotheby's in New York. Here is the link to the catalog.
The surrounding is reminiscent of the brothels in Medellin, hometown of the artist. The game is played by two men and a nude woman. Cigarette butts are littering the ground. The unshaven man on the left is cheating, but more subtly. The same man was already on the 1989 painting referred above. Is it a self-portrait?
It looks obvious that this scene is under the influence of Cézanne, but the Déjeûner sur l'herbe by Manet is not far away. The players are watched by a voyeur priest hidden in the curtain who could have pleased Lichtenstein.
1991 How Rover told the Australian Massacres
2009 unsold
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The topic might seem peaceful. Rover Thomas Joolama produced paintings showing the Australian landscape from the sky, vertical, such as maps. A river meanders, separating land that resembles a property land map.
Titles are less happy. The work done in 1991 for sale by Sotheby's in Melbourne on July 20, 100 x 168 cm, is named Massacre Site - Old Texas Downs.
Indeed the artistic will of Rover is quite different from the metaphysical intention behind other Aboriginal artists, including Emily Kame Kngwarreye who was previously discussed in this group. Rover locates killings that remained in the memory of Aborigines during the two centuries of violence that have opposed them to the Whites for the control of land and especially the control of cattle.
The work for sale, situated as I understand close to the village of Texas in Queensland, is accompanied by a sound recording in which the artist recounts the successive movements of the protagonists. So will be perpetuated by the desire of the artist the terrible impressions from painful episodes in the history of Australia.
The material consists of natural pigments and bush gums on linen. The work is estimated 180 KA$.
The topic might seem peaceful. Rover Thomas Joolama produced paintings showing the Australian landscape from the sky, vertical, such as maps. A river meanders, separating land that resembles a property land map.
Titles are less happy. The work done in 1991 for sale by Sotheby's in Melbourne on July 20, 100 x 168 cm, is named Massacre Site - Old Texas Downs.
Indeed the artistic will of Rover is quite different from the metaphysical intention behind other Aboriginal artists, including Emily Kame Kngwarreye who was previously discussed in this group. Rover locates killings that remained in the memory of Aborigines during the two centuries of violence that have opposed them to the Whites for the control of land and especially the control of cattle.
The work for sale, situated as I understand close to the village of Texas in Queensland, is accompanied by a sound recording in which the artist recounts the successive movements of the protagonists. So will be perpetuated by the desire of the artist the terrible impressions from painful episodes in the history of Australia.
The material consists of natural pigments and bush gums on linen. The work is estimated 180 KA$.
1991-1992 THE STAIRCASE OF SZAFRAN
2008 SOLD 206 K€ INCLUDING PREMIUM
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
On July 3 in the Modern Art group, in an article on Soulages, I discussed a small auction house, Versailles Enchères. For over twenty years, this company has become a specialist in sales of French post WWII, especially abstract, art.
The sale of December 14 in Versailles is well introduced on their website by a video. Being guided by the visit presented by Maître Perrin, I recognized the importance of a watercolor and lavis by Sam Szafran, Lot 203 of the sale. Then in Artvalue I found with some pleasure that two of the three best results for Szafran Stairs were recorded by this house in June 2007 and April 2008.
The artist is turning up the stairs to the vertigo, either in diving view or down to top. They are empty of all life, with exaggerated close-ups as if they were photographed through a fish eye.
The drawing that is coming for sale, made in 1991-1992, is one of the most disturbing of the series, and also one of the largest (80 x 131 cm). The staircase, despite its wide angle distortion, is realistic, shown in diving view. The composition is simple and effective.
Versailles Enchères estimates 250 K €, that should be the highest price for a staircase by Szafran (but not for a work of the artist, all topics included). I believe in it.
POST SALE COMMENT
This artwork was sold 206 K € fees included.
On July 3 in the Modern Art group, in an article on Soulages, I discussed a small auction house, Versailles Enchères. For over twenty years, this company has become a specialist in sales of French post WWII, especially abstract, art.
The sale of December 14 in Versailles is well introduced on their website by a video. Being guided by the visit presented by Maître Perrin, I recognized the importance of a watercolor and lavis by Sam Szafran, Lot 203 of the sale. Then in Artvalue I found with some pleasure that two of the three best results for Szafran Stairs were recorded by this house in June 2007 and April 2008.
The artist is turning up the stairs to the vertigo, either in diving view or down to top. They are empty of all life, with exaggerated close-ups as if they were photographed through a fish eye.
The drawing that is coming for sale, made in 1991-1992, is one of the most disturbing of the series, and also one of the largest (80 x 131 cm). The staircase, despite its wide angle distortion, is realistic, shown in diving view. The composition is simple and effective.
Versailles Enchères estimates 250 K €, that should be the highest price for a staircase by Szafran (but not for a work of the artist, all topics included). I believe in it.
POST SALE COMMENT
This artwork was sold 206 K € fees included.
1992 Bruce Bernard by Freud
2007 SOLD for £ 7.9M by Christie's
Lucian Freud required all his models to be beside him, and that could last several months in sessions of typically two hours each. Otherwise, he did not feel himself able to absorb the personality of his subject. Bacon, who poorly supported such sittings, left before the completion of Freud's painstaking work.
Only two oil portraits of Bacon by Freud are known. One of them, painted in 1952, was stolen in 1988 and never reappeared. The other, oil and charcoal on canvas 35 x 35 cm painted in 1956-1957, was sold for £ 5.4M by Christie's on October 19, 2008, lot 19. Only the central part of the face is complete.
Bruce Bernard was another lifelong friend of Lucian. A photographer specialized in the portraits of artists, he was also a picture editor and a writer and worked for magazines. Of course Lucian desired to make his portrait. He had a similar reluctance as Francis's of sitting or standing for the painstaking lengthy periods required by the artist.
Bruce accepted three times after appreciating that Lucian was now able to increase the working speed : in 1985 for an etching limited to the head, in 1992 for a standing portrait and in 1996 for a seated portrait with hands on the knees, after which he narrated this ordeal with much wit.
The 1985 head had required 28 sittings 2 hours each. For the 1992 sessions, he opted for a standing position with the hands concealed in the pockets for escaping an estimated 7 additional sessions. The slightly downwards angle was perfectly matching Bruce's recognizable usual posture. He finally had not considered the experience as a discomfort due to the many breaks for a stretch, and "for about half the time a stream of good gossip, old song lyrics and jokes".
The oil on canvas 114 x 84 cm painted in 1992 was sold for £ 7.9M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5M by Christie's on June 20, 2007, lot 35. The 102 x 81 cm oil on canvas painted in 1996 was sold for £ 3.5M by Sotheby's on February 9, 2006, lot 21.
Only two oil portraits of Bacon by Freud are known. One of them, painted in 1952, was stolen in 1988 and never reappeared. The other, oil and charcoal on canvas 35 x 35 cm painted in 1956-1957, was sold for £ 5.4M by Christie's on October 19, 2008, lot 19. Only the central part of the face is complete.
Bruce Bernard was another lifelong friend of Lucian. A photographer specialized in the portraits of artists, he was also a picture editor and a writer and worked for magazines. Of course Lucian desired to make his portrait. He had a similar reluctance as Francis's of sitting or standing for the painstaking lengthy periods required by the artist.
Bruce accepted three times after appreciating that Lucian was now able to increase the working speed : in 1985 for an etching limited to the head, in 1992 for a standing portrait and in 1996 for a seated portrait with hands on the knees, after which he narrated this ordeal with much wit.
The 1985 head had required 28 sittings 2 hours each. For the 1992 sessions, he opted for a standing position with the hands concealed in the pockets for escaping an estimated 7 additional sessions. The slightly downwards angle was perfectly matching Bruce's recognizable usual posture. He finally had not considered the experience as a discomfort due to the many breaks for a stretch, and "for about half the time a stream of good gossip, old song lyrics and jokes".
The oil on canvas 114 x 84 cm painted in 1992 was sold for £ 7.9M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5M by Christie's on June 20, 2007, lot 35. The 102 x 81 cm oil on canvas painted in 1996 was sold for £ 3.5M by Sotheby's on February 9, 2006, lot 21.
1992 Chapter of a New Century by Zhang Xiaogang
2010 SOLD for HK$ 52M by Sotheby's
2021 withdrawn
After 1988 Zhang Xiaogang deliberately turns to the meaning of life in his country.
In 1992 his pair of paintings Chapter of a New Century - Birth of the People's Republic of China features a naked baby beside an open book in front of a wall covered with photos in black and white from two subsequent phases of Chinese political history. Both are made in oil, cotton tape and collage of photocopies on canvas 150 x 120 cm.
These scenes are conceived as an encouraging transfer of Nietzsche's concept of the worth of the self into families shaken by the Cultural Revolution.
The number I expresses the innocence and fragility of a semi seated half lit reddish baby. The wall photos refer to Mao during the Sino-Japanese war. It was sold for $ 3.07M by Sotheby's on September 20, 2007, lot 11.
The number II refers to the acquisition of knowledge and enlightenment by a bright yellow awaking baby at the time of the Cultural Revolution. It was sold for HK $ 52M from a lower estimate of HK $ 21M by Sotheby's on October 4, 2010, lot 765A. It is estimated HK $ 42M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 9, 2021, lot 1122. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The promising yellow newborn is lying on a cushion cloth on an upper shelf of a sloped wooden desk. His gaze is focusing on an opened manuscript prophetic book which is pointed by the finger of a red gloved cut hand.
In 1992 his pair of paintings Chapter of a New Century - Birth of the People's Republic of China features a naked baby beside an open book in front of a wall covered with photos in black and white from two subsequent phases of Chinese political history. Both are made in oil, cotton tape and collage of photocopies on canvas 150 x 120 cm.
These scenes are conceived as an encouraging transfer of Nietzsche's concept of the worth of the self into families shaken by the Cultural Revolution.
The number I expresses the innocence and fragility of a semi seated half lit reddish baby. The wall photos refer to Mao during the Sino-Japanese war. It was sold for $ 3.07M by Sotheby's on September 20, 2007, lot 11.
The number II refers to the acquisition of knowledge and enlightenment by a bright yellow awaking baby at the time of the Cultural Revolution. It was sold for HK $ 52M from a lower estimate of HK $ 21M by Sotheby's on October 4, 2010, lot 765A. It is estimated HK $ 42M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 9, 2021, lot 1122. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The promising yellow newborn is lying on a cushion cloth on an upper shelf of a sloped wooden desk. His gaze is focusing on an opened manuscript prophetic book which is pointed by the finger of a red gloved cut hand.
1992 The Horrible Martin
2012 SOLD 3.2 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In our time struggling to identify its bases and roots, Martin Kippenberger behaved like the absolute rebel. On hisself-portraits, he is ugly, portly, hostile, unpleasant, alone.
The oil on canvas, 180 x 150 cm, for sale by Christie's in London on October 11 was painted in 1992. It is estimated£ 2.5 M.
The artist shows himself as a pseudo-boxer (heavyweight, of course). The color of the flesh is reminiscent of some postmortem of George Dyer by Francis Bacon. Kippenberger probably knew for long that his excesses would kill him.He died in 1997, aged 44, from liver cancer.
His hair is shaggy like the devil, but he is surrounded by a halo. Let us decipher in the halo, in Greek and Cyrillic characters, the deeper meaning of Kippenberger's art. He is the enfant terrible (Enfant Terrifik).
Martin Kippenberger is alone, but it is his greatest paradox. In his creative impulse, he tries to communicate with those who could override the disgust of his own body. It raises too many questions about the deeper meaning of life.He is one of the greatest masters of contemporary art.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This self-portrait supporting a post-Surrealist message was sold £ 3.2M including premium.
In our time struggling to identify its bases and roots, Martin Kippenberger behaved like the absolute rebel. On hisself-portraits, he is ugly, portly, hostile, unpleasant, alone.
The oil on canvas, 180 x 150 cm, for sale by Christie's in London on October 11 was painted in 1992. It is estimated£ 2.5 M.
The artist shows himself as a pseudo-boxer (heavyweight, of course). The color of the flesh is reminiscent of some postmortem of George Dyer by Francis Bacon. Kippenberger probably knew for long that his excesses would kill him.He died in 1997, aged 44, from liver cancer.
His hair is shaggy like the devil, but he is surrounded by a halo. Let us decipher in the halo, in Greek and Cyrillic characters, the deeper meaning of Kippenberger's art. He is the enfant terrible (Enfant Terrifik).
Martin Kippenberger is alone, but it is his greatest paradox. In his creative impulse, he tries to communicate with those who could override the disgust of his own body. It raises too many questions about the deeper meaning of life.He is one of the greatest masters of contemporary art.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This self-portrait supporting a post-Surrealist message was sold £ 3.2M including premium.
1992 Botero exhibits a Male Torso
2010 unsold
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Painter and sculptor, Fernando Botero focuses his work on the representation of the body, of which he expresses the sensuality by inflating it like a balloon.
According to the contemporary trend, his statues are monumental. Visible from afar, they ensure the presence of his art in these exhibitions in the Avenue des Champs-Elysées (Paris), Park Avenue (New York) or the National Mall (Washington) that familiarize the passersby with current art.
His most famous sculpture is la Mujer fumando (1987). He likes women, but also includes men in his art, more intellectually, sometimes taking in reference some works of ancient art.
4 meters high, the bronze torso of a man edited in 1992 is monumental in every meaning of that word. This athlete with prominent pectorals is inspired by the Belvedere Torso, with a post-Cubist chiseling that makes me think of Bugatti.
One of the three copies is estimated $ 1M, for sale by Phillips de Pury in New York tomorrow, September 29, after an impressive history of public exhibitions. Art is created to be seen: this specimen has remarkably fulfilled its role.
Painter and sculptor, Fernando Botero focuses his work on the representation of the body, of which he expresses the sensuality by inflating it like a balloon.
According to the contemporary trend, his statues are monumental. Visible from afar, they ensure the presence of his art in these exhibitions in the Avenue des Champs-Elysées (Paris), Park Avenue (New York) or the National Mall (Washington) that familiarize the passersby with current art.
His most famous sculpture is la Mujer fumando (1987). He likes women, but also includes men in his art, more intellectually, sometimes taking in reference some works of ancient art.
4 meters high, the bronze torso of a man edited in 1992 is monumental in every meaning of that word. This athlete with prominent pectorals is inspired by the Belvedere Torso, with a post-Cubist chiseling that makes me think of Bugatti.
One of the three copies is estimated $ 1M, for sale by Phillips de Pury in New York tomorrow, September 29, after an impressive history of public exhibitions. Art is created to be seen: this specimen has remarkably fulfilled its role.
1993 The Small Empty Canoes of Peter Doig
2009 SOLD 4.6 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
A few days ago, I expressed that the American Richard Diebenkorn, painter of atmospheres, was constantly moving between figuration and abstraction. We turn now to the next generation, with the British Peter Doig.
In London on 7 February 2007, Sotheby's recorded the exceptional bid of £ 5.7 million fees included for White Canoe, an oil on canvas dated 1990-1991, 2 x 2.4 m, which had been estimated 800 K £. In the middle of colored spots at the center of the image, a small white canoe, very bright, and its reflection are standing out. When inspecting this strong point, the spots take a form to show us a river landscape. The canoe is empty, dehumanizing the subject.
The painting at Christie's, for sale on May 13 in New York, is titled Night Fishing. The canoe in the center of a landscape of estuary or sea shore merges with its surroundings. We want to see it better, and so its presence is strengthened. We imagine the silhouette of two fishermen.
Painted in 1993, this work of 2 x 2.5 m is estimated $ 3 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot is exciting. Sold $ 4.6 million premium included, this painting fetches an intermediate price between the conservative estimate of Christie's and the unexpected result obtained by Sotheby's in 2007.
A few days ago, I expressed that the American Richard Diebenkorn, painter of atmospheres, was constantly moving between figuration and abstraction. We turn now to the next generation, with the British Peter Doig.
In London on 7 February 2007, Sotheby's recorded the exceptional bid of £ 5.7 million fees included for White Canoe, an oil on canvas dated 1990-1991, 2 x 2.4 m, which had been estimated 800 K £. In the middle of colored spots at the center of the image, a small white canoe, very bright, and its reflection are standing out. When inspecting this strong point, the spots take a form to show us a river landscape. The canoe is empty, dehumanizing the subject.
The painting at Christie's, for sale on May 13 in New York, is titled Night Fishing. The canoe in the center of a landscape of estuary or sea shore merges with its surroundings. We want to see it better, and so its presence is strengthened. We imagine the silhouette of two fishermen.
Painted in 1993, this work of 2 x 2.5 m is estimated $ 3 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot is exciting. Sold $ 4.6 million premium included, this painting fetches an intermediate price between the conservative estimate of Christie's and the unexpected result obtained by Sotheby's in 2007.
1993 The Shaved Heads of Fang Lijun
2012 SOLD for HK$ 28.7M by Sotheby's
After the Tiananmen crisis, young Chinese artists feel that a new era is beginning. Without abandoning typical Chinese themes, they know that an international recognition of their art is now possible. The exhibition "Passage to the East" at the Venice Biennale in 1993 is the catalyst.
It is interesting to note the role attributed to their humble environment by these creators who endeavour to express the new China. There was Yan Pei-Ming, working in France. Zhang Xiaogang, of course. And Zeng Fanzhi, who is known of often hiding himself in his series of masks, started the following year.
Fang Lijun also considers familiar faces. He shaves the heads of men to better express their feelings and hopes. In 1993, suddenly, he dares to use pure colors. The gaudy blue sky, the flowers, the aerial attitudes make him a modern Chagall.
The acrylic on canvas 180 x 230 cm was created specifically for the biennale but has not been exhibited. The dominant figure is that of the artist's father, got rid of his hair !
It was sold twice by Sotheby's, for HK $ 28.7M on April 2, 2012, lot 816, and for HK $ 24.4M on April 19, 2021, lot 1117.
It is interesting to note the role attributed to their humble environment by these creators who endeavour to express the new China. There was Yan Pei-Ming, working in France. Zhang Xiaogang, of course. And Zeng Fanzhi, who is known of often hiding himself in his series of masks, started the following year.
Fang Lijun also considers familiar faces. He shaves the heads of men to better express their feelings and hopes. In 1993, suddenly, he dares to use pure colors. The gaudy blue sky, the flowers, the aerial attitudes make him a modern Chagall.
The acrylic on canvas 180 x 230 cm was created specifically for the biennale but has not been exhibited. The dominant figure is that of the artist's father, got rid of his hair !
It was sold twice by Sotheby's, for HK $ 28.7M on April 2, 2012, lot 816, and for HK $ 24.4M on April 19, 2021, lot 1117.
1993 Redemption by Durga
2018 SOLD for INR 20.5 crores worth US$ 2.93M
During his immersion in the traditional culture of India at Santiniketan from 1983 to 1985, Tyeb Mehta transposes the epic deities into the contemporary world. His reprobation of violence becomes more effective. Faced with the decay of the notions of good and evil, India would need a return of Kali and Durga.
The racial and social riots that began in Mumbai at the end of 1992 and the very deadly attacks of March 1993 unfortunately give him reason. A client commissions him for an image of Durga Mahishasura Mardini, meaning Durga killer of the buffalo demon Mahishasura.
This acrylic on canvas 150 x 105 cm painted in 1993 is a masterpiece of the artist by the intense psychological relationship between the victorious woman and the dying beast, stronger than his desperate body-to-body fights and his endless falls. It is estimated INR 20 crores for sale by Sotheby's in Mumbai on November 29, lot 23. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The buffalo is on the ground, offering its throat to the fatal blow prepared by the goddess with her arrow. It is not so simple. In mythology the monster makes incessant metamorphoses between his bestial and human forms. The imploring human hand raised on his right side belongs to him. Despite his filthy history he also deserves pity, like the ox at the slaughterhouse.
Durga is recognizable by her four arms that symbolize her omnipotence. She won the fight because it was absolutely necessary to do it but her expression is sad, as if she already knew that the death of the buffalo will not be enough for the redemption of modern India.
In his signature style, Tyeb executed a sharp line drawing around monochrome flat areas. He uses here the colors of the national flag as Miro had done in Spain against Franco in 1938. The monster is dark green, its additional arm is saffron and the bare skin of the goddess is almost white.
The racial and social riots that began in Mumbai at the end of 1992 and the very deadly attacks of March 1993 unfortunately give him reason. A client commissions him for an image of Durga Mahishasura Mardini, meaning Durga killer of the buffalo demon Mahishasura.
This acrylic on canvas 150 x 105 cm painted in 1993 is a masterpiece of the artist by the intense psychological relationship between the victorious woman and the dying beast, stronger than his desperate body-to-body fights and his endless falls. It is estimated INR 20 crores for sale by Sotheby's in Mumbai on November 29, lot 23. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The buffalo is on the ground, offering its throat to the fatal blow prepared by the goddess with her arrow. It is not so simple. In mythology the monster makes incessant metamorphoses between his bestial and human forms. The imploring human hand raised on his right side belongs to him. Despite his filthy history he also deserves pity, like the ox at the slaughterhouse.
Durga is recognizable by her four arms that symbolize her omnipotence. She won the fight because it was absolutely necessary to do it but her expression is sad, as if she already knew that the death of the buffalo will not be enough for the redemption of modern India.
In his signature style, Tyeb executed a sharp line drawing around monochrome flat areas. He uses here the colors of the national flag as Miro had done in Spain against Franco in 1938. The monster is dark green, its additional arm is saffron and the bare skin of the goddess is almost white.
1993 Conversation with Munoz
2011 SOLD 940 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Adept of the installation, the sculptor Juan Muñoz is questioning the communication. His characters in papier mâché, polyester or bronze, a little smaller than life, are separated, and the director can dispose them at will. Their use inoutdoor decoration makes them the somehow metaphysical cousins of the Nanas of Saint-Phalle.
Without color or detail, they interact like ghosts, without being able to identify their race, age and time. They are put there by chance, somewhere on our planet, like you and me, and they try to communicate like you and me.
On May 12, 2010, Sotheby's recorded the unexpected result of $ 4.9 million including premium on a Conversation of six bronzes executed in 2001, the year of the premature death of the artist. The figures have a shape of roly-poly toys, or women in crinolines, or pears, or sacks of potatoes : it is left to the viewer to decide it.
Made in 1993, a polyester Conversation is estimated £ 800K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 15. This team of three, 1.48 m high, has a gesture of the arms that reflects the artist's intent to identify himself as a narrator.Other installations by Muñoz also include a mirror. It is no coincidence !
POST SALE COMMENT
One of the pleasures of contemporary art is that it is always full of surprises.
The group of three figures which was the subject of my article was sold £ 940K including premium.
The previous lot, which had been estimated £ 600K, has been sold £ 3M including premium. Made by the same artist, it is a more expressive conversation between two figures : an adult is bent for speaking to a child.
Adept of the installation, the sculptor Juan Muñoz is questioning the communication. His characters in papier mâché, polyester or bronze, a little smaller than life, are separated, and the director can dispose them at will. Their use inoutdoor decoration makes them the somehow metaphysical cousins of the Nanas of Saint-Phalle.
Without color or detail, they interact like ghosts, without being able to identify their race, age and time. They are put there by chance, somewhere on our planet, like you and me, and they try to communicate like you and me.
On May 12, 2010, Sotheby's recorded the unexpected result of $ 4.9 million including premium on a Conversation of six bronzes executed in 2001, the year of the premature death of the artist. The figures have a shape of roly-poly toys, or women in crinolines, or pears, or sacks of potatoes : it is left to the viewer to decide it.
Made in 1993, a polyester Conversation is estimated £ 800K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on February 15. This team of three, 1.48 m high, has a gesture of the arms that reflects the artist's intent to identify himself as a narrator.Other installations by Muñoz also include a mirror. It is no coincidence !
POST SALE COMMENT
One of the pleasures of contemporary art is that it is always full of surprises.
The group of three figures which was the subject of my article was sold £ 940K including premium.
The previous lot, which had been estimated £ 600K, has been sold £ 3M including premium. Made by the same artist, it is a more expressive conversation between two figures : an adult is bent for speaking to a child.
1993 The Chinese Laughter
2013 unsold
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In China, 1993 is the year of the creative burst of social art. The new freedom invites to all the questions and all the derision. This is the beginning of the endless laughter of Yue Minjun.
Two years earlier, Yue was a young Chinese serious and even grumpy, occupying a secondary place in the Portrait of the artist with his friends. This oil on canvas, 188 x 198 cm, was sold HK $ 23M including premium at Christie's onNovember 26, 2011.
In 1993, the art of Yue takes a tremendous force. His multiplied characters laugh out loudly, without explanation,without a relation to the scene. They have lost any individual identification, even mediocre, at the opposite of theelements of Zhang Xiaogang's Big Family.
Their world has gone mad. They have lost all sense of horizontality and verticality, all sensible contact with a real and livable world. With his inextinguishable laughter, Yue goes extremely far into derision.
In the oil on canvas titled Gweong Gweong, the crowd of identical laughing men travels on the back above the clouds.This oil on canvas, 182 x 250 cm, was sold HK $ 54M including premium at Christie's on May 24, 2008. In Red Boat, the Chinese is aligned as six logs on the boat. This oil on canvas of the same size as above was sold HK $ 15.2 million including premium on November 26, 2011, also at Christie's.
Also dated 1993, Flying is another example of this universe without reference. The triple Chinese is in flight in thecloudy sky but the horizon of Tiananmen Square is reversed upside down. This young man has the face of one of thebulky friends of the 1991 painting.
Flying, oil on canvas 170 x 170 cm, is estimated HK $ 9M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 5. Here is the link to the catalog.
In China, 1993 is the year of the creative burst of social art. The new freedom invites to all the questions and all the derision. This is the beginning of the endless laughter of Yue Minjun.
Two years earlier, Yue was a young Chinese serious and even grumpy, occupying a secondary place in the Portrait of the artist with his friends. This oil on canvas, 188 x 198 cm, was sold HK $ 23M including premium at Christie's onNovember 26, 2011.
In 1993, the art of Yue takes a tremendous force. His multiplied characters laugh out loudly, without explanation,without a relation to the scene. They have lost any individual identification, even mediocre, at the opposite of theelements of Zhang Xiaogang's Big Family.
Their world has gone mad. They have lost all sense of horizontality and verticality, all sensible contact with a real and livable world. With his inextinguishable laughter, Yue goes extremely far into derision.
In the oil on canvas titled Gweong Gweong, the crowd of identical laughing men travels on the back above the clouds.This oil on canvas, 182 x 250 cm, was sold HK $ 54M including premium at Christie's on May 24, 2008. In Red Boat, the Chinese is aligned as six logs on the boat. This oil on canvas of the same size as above was sold HK $ 15.2 million including premium on November 26, 2011, also at Christie's.
Also dated 1993, Flying is another example of this universe without reference. The triple Chinese is in flight in thecloudy sky but the horizon of Tiananmen Square is reversed upside down. This young man has the face of one of thebulky friends of the 1991 painting.
Flying, oil on canvas 170 x 170 cm, is estimated HK $ 9M, for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 5. Here is the link to the catalog.
1994 The Culmination of the Squeegee
2012 SOLD 10 M£ including premium
2017 withdrawn
PRE 2017 SALE DISCUSSION
Abstraktes Bild 811-1 painted in 1994 by Gerhard Richter was sold for £ 10M including premium by Christie's on February 14, 2012. It is now estimated $ 15M for sale by Phillips in New York on May 18, lot 23.
1994 marks a culmination in the continuous progress of the Abstraktes Bild. The artworks display a magnificent mingling of rare colors providing to the viewer an illusion of easiness and fluidity ignoring the painstaking process applied by the artist.
811-1 is dominated by wide vertical and horizontal curtain-like stripes in emerald green and azure blue over a background of mauve, red and white.
The 2012 sale was in the period of spectacular increased value of Richter's art. My essay before the sale positioned this artwork within the career of the artist :
'In the late 1980s, Gerhard Richter developed a new artistic language in very large sizes. Colors are arranged in complicated networks made up of rows, columns and obliques.
'Claudius, 2.50 x 4 m, which had been discussed in this column but remained unsold in October 2008, is a good example. Gudrun, 2.50 x 2.50 m, dated 1987, was sold for $ 18M including premium at Sotheby's on November 9, 2011.
'His style changed in the early 1990s. His color bleeding using a squeegee for raking large areas is conducive to artistic achievement. The gesture is repeated until the color balance desired by the artist is reached.
'Although each of them is unique in its harmony of colors, these paintings are the result of similar techniques, and the estimates must take into account the dimensions.'
I concentrated later on auction results for that specific 1994 year when 811-2 was catalogued for an auction (it was withdrawn just before its sale). Here is the list (including premium) :
806 (Wand), 240 x 240 cm, sold for £ 17.5M by Sotheby's on February 12, 2014.
809-1, 225 x 200 cm, sold for $ 21M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
809-4, 225 x 200 cm, sold for £ 21,3M by Sotheby's on October 12, 2012.
810-1 (Karmin), 200 x 200 cm, sold for £ 9.6M by Christie's on February 11, 2015.
811-1, discussed above, 250 x 200 cm, sold for £ 10M by Christie's on February 14, 2012.
Abstraktes Bild 811-1 painted in 1994 by Gerhard Richter was sold for £ 10M including premium by Christie's on February 14, 2012. It is now estimated $ 15M for sale by Phillips in New York on May 18, lot 23.
1994 marks a culmination in the continuous progress of the Abstraktes Bild. The artworks display a magnificent mingling of rare colors providing to the viewer an illusion of easiness and fluidity ignoring the painstaking process applied by the artist.
811-1 is dominated by wide vertical and horizontal curtain-like stripes in emerald green and azure blue over a background of mauve, red and white.
The 2012 sale was in the period of spectacular increased value of Richter's art. My essay before the sale positioned this artwork within the career of the artist :
'In the late 1980s, Gerhard Richter developed a new artistic language in very large sizes. Colors are arranged in complicated networks made up of rows, columns and obliques.
'Claudius, 2.50 x 4 m, which had been discussed in this column but remained unsold in October 2008, is a good example. Gudrun, 2.50 x 2.50 m, dated 1987, was sold for $ 18M including premium at Sotheby's on November 9, 2011.
'His style changed in the early 1990s. His color bleeding using a squeegee for raking large areas is conducive to artistic achievement. The gesture is repeated until the color balance desired by the artist is reached.
'Although each of them is unique in its harmony of colors, these paintings are the result of similar techniques, and the estimates must take into account the dimensions.'
I concentrated later on auction results for that specific 1994 year when 811-2 was catalogued for an auction (it was withdrawn just before its sale). Here is the list (including premium) :
806 (Wand), 240 x 240 cm, sold for £ 17.5M by Sotheby's on February 12, 2014.
809-1, 225 x 200 cm, sold for $ 21M by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
809-4, 225 x 200 cm, sold for £ 21,3M by Sotheby's on October 12, 2012.
810-1 (Karmin), 200 x 200 cm, sold for £ 9.6M by Christie's on February 11, 2015.
811-1, discussed above, 250 x 200 cm, sold for £ 10M by Christie's on February 14, 2012.
1994 The Carmine Veil
2015 SOLD for £ 9.6M including premium
By specializing in abstraction in the mid-1980s, Gerhard Richter wanted to draw the viewer into an expressive reality that escapes the figurative.
He however continued to improve his palette through specific experiences such as Blau, painted in 1988, sold for $ 28,7M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2014.
Karmin, opus 810-1 painted in 1994, 2 x 2 m, is one of those experimental oils on canvas. The purpose of the study is the transparent layers of carmine offering a new spectacular variant into the art of the best colorist of our time.
The strict horizontal and vertical lines created by the squeegee bring to that curtain-like painting the glowing shades of incandescence.
Karmin is estimated £ 9M, for sale by Christie's in London on February 11, lot 31.
He however continued to improve his palette through specific experiences such as Blau, painted in 1988, sold for $ 28,7M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2014.
Karmin, opus 810-1 painted in 1994, 2 x 2 m, is one of those experimental oils on canvas. The purpose of the study is the transparent layers of carmine offering a new spectacular variant into the art of the best colorist of our time.
The strict horizontal and vertical lines created by the squeegee bring to that curtain-like painting the glowing shades of incandescence.
Karmin is estimated £ 9M, for sale by Christie's in London on February 11, lot 31.
1994 A Pier to the Rockies
2013 SOLD 7.3 M£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
In a landscape by Peter Doig, it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and imagination. Working from photographs, he however likes to be inspired by the countries he visited.
In 1994, he reached his full artistic maturity and Jetty, oil on canvas 200 x 250 cm, is one of his most complex artworks.
It is easy to recognize the texture of the Canadian Rockies. Indeed, the work was inspired by a picture of a lake in Alberta. However, the tangle of colors leads to a dreamlike atmosphere in the warm tones of a sunset.
The man is very small in such a grand environment, but he occupies in silhouette the highlight of the picture, straighton the pier. The trees in the foreground are ghosts so little focused that they look like huge drips. The canoe at mid distance is for Doig a kind of signature.
Jetty is estimated £ 4M, for sale by Christie's in London on June 25. The video shared by Christie's displays some close up views of the painting, showing how this figurative artist is the successor of the best abstract colorists of the twentieth century.
In a landscape by Peter Doig, it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and imagination. Working from photographs, he however likes to be inspired by the countries he visited.
In 1994, he reached his full artistic maturity and Jetty, oil on canvas 200 x 250 cm, is one of his most complex artworks.
It is easy to recognize the texture of the Canadian Rockies. Indeed, the work was inspired by a picture of a lake in Alberta. However, the tangle of colors leads to a dreamlike atmosphere in the warm tones of a sunset.
The man is very small in such a grand environment, but he occupies in silhouette the highlight of the picture, straighton the pier. The trees in the foreground are ghosts so little focused that they look like huge drips. The canoe at mid distance is for Doig a kind of signature.
Jetty is estimated £ 4M, for sale by Christie's in London on June 25. The video shared by Christie's displays some close up views of the painting, showing how this figurative artist is the successor of the best abstract colorists of the twentieth century.
1994 The Endless Family of Zhang Xiaogang
2011 SOLD 66 MHK$ including premium
2016 sold for $ 5m including premium
PRE 2011 SALE DISCUSSION
Zhang Xiaogang seeks the individual in the midst of the multitude, and never finds it. The ego is an illusion. There are physical differences and also differences in age, but the family is an indistinguishable suite of similar and inexpressive characters. His psychological analysis is in fact similar to the masks of Zeng Fanzhi the laughs of Yue Minjun.
The first exhibition of the artist outside of China, at Sao Paulo in 1994, included two versions of Comrades and two versions of Big Family, illustrating the theme of inbreeding (Bloodline). These groups of two, three or four characters play the same game, in fact an insignificant one, whether within family or enlisted in the Maoist militancy.
One of these two Big Family, oil on canvas 150 x 179 cm, is for sale by Sotheby's on October 3 in Hong Kong, lot 970.
The father is surrounded by his son and daughter, all three in Mao suits. Both children carry a badge bearing the image of the Great Helmsman, which adds nothing to their personality. Only the red or too yellow faces disfigured by pale spots give a surreal aspect to that scene deliberately banal.
On October 4, 2008, this painting was sold HK $ 23M including premium by Sotheby's to a European collector. The Chinese art market was still sleeping. There is little doubt that the next buyer will be an Asian. This lot is now estimated HK $ 58M.
POST 2011 SALE COMMENT
This painting is historically important, because it was one of the first in one the best known and most recognizable series of contemporary Chinese art. The price obtained, HK $ 66 million including premium, shows the progress made since the 2008 auction sale.
I anticipated in the above discussion that "the next buyer will be an Asian". It went to be wrong as ARTINFO reports that the buyer is a "European private collector". Just to remind that the art market is really global!
LATER COMMENT
I did not see it before the sale :
This painting was estimated $ 5M and sold for $ 5M including premium by Sotheby's in New York on May 11, 2016, lot 35..
Zhang Xiaogang seeks the individual in the midst of the multitude, and never finds it. The ego is an illusion. There are physical differences and also differences in age, but the family is an indistinguishable suite of similar and inexpressive characters. His psychological analysis is in fact similar to the masks of Zeng Fanzhi the laughs of Yue Minjun.
The first exhibition of the artist outside of China, at Sao Paulo in 1994, included two versions of Comrades and two versions of Big Family, illustrating the theme of inbreeding (Bloodline). These groups of two, three or four characters play the same game, in fact an insignificant one, whether within family or enlisted in the Maoist militancy.
One of these two Big Family, oil on canvas 150 x 179 cm, is for sale by Sotheby's on October 3 in Hong Kong, lot 970.
The father is surrounded by his son and daughter, all three in Mao suits. Both children carry a badge bearing the image of the Great Helmsman, which adds nothing to their personality. Only the red or too yellow faces disfigured by pale spots give a surreal aspect to that scene deliberately banal.
On October 4, 2008, this painting was sold HK $ 23M including premium by Sotheby's to a European collector. The Chinese art market was still sleeping. There is little doubt that the next buyer will be an Asian. This lot is now estimated HK $ 58M.
POST 2011 SALE COMMENT
This painting is historically important, because it was one of the first in one the best known and most recognizable series of contemporary Chinese art. The price obtained, HK $ 66 million including premium, shows the progress made since the 2008 auction sale.
I anticipated in the above discussion that "the next buyer will be an Asian". It went to be wrong as ARTINFO reports that the buyer is a "European private collector". Just to remind that the art market is really global!
LATER COMMENT
I did not see it before the sale :
This painting was estimated $ 5M and sold for $ 5M including premium by Sotheby's in New York on May 11, 2016, lot 35..
1994 Women viewed by One of Them
2019 SOLD for £ 5.4M including premium
During her studies, Jenny Saville naively researched the role of women in art. She saw pretty bodies created to please the gentlemen and lamented the absence of the creative woman. Nowhere has she seen the real aversion of women to the risk of obesity. Excessive sportswomen or anorexics, they still seek to be considered by men.
Taboos fall in front of this very young woman. She implants her own head on an obese body that is not hers. She adds ridiculous words that are only the language by men to talk about women. The oil on canvas Propped, prepared for her degree show in 1992, includes in a hermetic superposition a mirror writing that quotes a feminist psychoanalyst. Propped was sold for £ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on October 5, 2018.
Jenny Saville then takes as theme the intimacy of the female nude reinterpreted on a monumental scale, with a humor both sordid and scathing. She wraps the observer in a flood of flabby flesh, consciously inspired by Rothko's abstract stagings.
The head remains a secondary element, intruder and incongruous. In a self-portrait 270 x 210 cm painted in 1993, the head is bent, but not enough to avoid being truncated at the top of the image. This frontal nude body titled Plan is not too inflated but includes the incisions preparing the cosmetic surgery, a useless and psychologically degrading action according to the feminist conceptions of the artist.
Intimate details call for even larger sizes. In an oil on canvas titled Juncture painted in 1994, the seated flabby nude is seen from behind. The head is stuck in the top left of the image and the nose is painfully crumbling on the left edge as if the format 305 x 168 cm was too narrow to express the monumentality desired by the artist.
Juncture is estimated £ 5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on March 5, lot 5. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Taboos fall in front of this very young woman. She implants her own head on an obese body that is not hers. She adds ridiculous words that are only the language by men to talk about women. The oil on canvas Propped, prepared for her degree show in 1992, includes in a hermetic superposition a mirror writing that quotes a feminist psychoanalyst. Propped was sold for £ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on October 5, 2018.
Jenny Saville then takes as theme the intimacy of the female nude reinterpreted on a monumental scale, with a humor both sordid and scathing. She wraps the observer in a flood of flabby flesh, consciously inspired by Rothko's abstract stagings.
The head remains a secondary element, intruder and incongruous. In a self-portrait 270 x 210 cm painted in 1993, the head is bent, but not enough to avoid being truncated at the top of the image. This frontal nude body titled Plan is not too inflated but includes the incisions preparing the cosmetic surgery, a useless and psychologically degrading action according to the feminist conceptions of the artist.
Intimate details call for even larger sizes. In an oil on canvas titled Juncture painted in 1994, the seated flabby nude is seen from behind. The head is stuck in the top left of the image and the nose is painfully crumbling on the left edge as if the format 305 x 168 cm was too narrow to express the monumentality desired by the artist.
Juncture is estimated £ 5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on March 5, lot 5. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1994 The Modern Mythology of Tyeb Mehta
2013 SOLD for INR 19.8 crores (worth US $ 3.2M) including premium
In 2009, less than three months after the death of the artist, Christie's sold for $ 1.28 million including premium a painting by Mehta on the theme of Mahishasura. This artwork is now listed in the inaugural auction by Christie's in Mumbai on December 19. The estimate, INR 75M, is consistent with the previous result.
I republish below my post from 2009 :
Tyeb Mehta died on July 2, aged 84. In the last twenty years, his main theme was the human figure unbalanced against its surroundings. Gradually, his works have become stronger, with an increased simplification, strident colors and the loss of vertical marks.
I previously discussed here a masterpiece of 2003, Fallen Figure with Bird. This acrylic on canvas, 182 x 149 cm, was sold for $ 1.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on 18 September 2008.
The Indian mythology provides examples of the struggle of man and beast, and the episode of the warrior goddess Durga killing the buffalo demon Mahisha has repeatedly inspired Mehta. The struggle of these two mythical beings is a suitable theme for representing an imbalance of tangled bodies.
On September 16, 2009 in New York, Christie's sells one of these "Mahishasura". Dated 1994, 150 x 120 cm, this acrylic on canvas pioneers the use of color to exacerbate violence. Both characters, human and monster, have the mouth wide open in their heroic effort. The estimate, $ 600 K, is reasonable.
This work has already gone through Christie's. It was sold $ 107 K in 2002, including premium. Contemporary art is so: an unknown artist becomes a star in a few years. Mehta was fortunate that the success came to him during his lifetime.
Additional information: a Mahishasura of same size painted in 1996 was sold for £ 1.38 million including premium at Christie's on 11 June 2012.
POST SALE COMMENT
Tyeb Mehta was a master of modern Indian art and this painting is remarkable for its strength. It was sold for Rs 19.8 crore including premium, corresponding to U.S. $ 3.2 million, far beyond the result obtained by the same auction house in New York in 2009.
I republish below my post from 2009 :
Tyeb Mehta died on July 2, aged 84. In the last twenty years, his main theme was the human figure unbalanced against its surroundings. Gradually, his works have become stronger, with an increased simplification, strident colors and the loss of vertical marks.
I previously discussed here a masterpiece of 2003, Fallen Figure with Bird. This acrylic on canvas, 182 x 149 cm, was sold for $ 1.5 million including premium by Sotheby's on 18 September 2008.
The Indian mythology provides examples of the struggle of man and beast, and the episode of the warrior goddess Durga killing the buffalo demon Mahisha has repeatedly inspired Mehta. The struggle of these two mythical beings is a suitable theme for representing an imbalance of tangled bodies.
On September 16, 2009 in New York, Christie's sells one of these "Mahishasura". Dated 1994, 150 x 120 cm, this acrylic on canvas pioneers the use of color to exacerbate violence. Both characters, human and monster, have the mouth wide open in their heroic effort. The estimate, $ 600 K, is reasonable.
This work has already gone through Christie's. It was sold $ 107 K in 2002, including premium. Contemporary art is so: an unknown artist becomes a star in a few years. Mehta was fortunate that the success came to him during his lifetime.
Additional information: a Mahishasura of same size painted in 1996 was sold for £ 1.38 million including premium at Christie's on 11 June 2012.
POST SALE COMMENT
Tyeb Mehta was a master of modern Indian art and this painting is remarkable for its strength. It was sold for Rs 19.8 crore including premium, corresponding to U.S. $ 3.2 million, far beyond the result obtained by the same auction house in New York in 2009.
1994 The Sick Brain of Martin Kippenberger
2009 sold 430 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Martin Kippenberger is mostly known for his statues of crucified frogs. One of them has prompted protests from the pope during an exhibition last year. Some of them are occasionally sold in auctions.
He was also a very prolific painter, showing with derision a wide range of topics (too many?) of contemporary life, sometimes in very large sizes.
On February 12, Phillips de Pury in London sells an unusual but revealing work, entitled "Portrait of Paul Schreber", a mixed technique on canvas 2 x 2.40 m painted in 1994. It is a brain viewed from above, some of the protrusions are highlighted with color to represent a kind of ugly face.
Schreber was a personality of the nineteenth century who published an autobiography to describe his own nervous breakdown. This case was of great interest for the founders of psychoanalysis. Kippenberger expresses here both attraction and repulsion of madness.
The artist was not sick of the brain but of the liver. This hard drinker died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 44. Phillips de Pury sells his works often. They estimate this one at £ 400 K.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result at 430 K £ including premium rewarded the disturbing nature of this work. This was the best result of this evening sale.
Martin Kippenberger is mostly known for his statues of crucified frogs. One of them has prompted protests from the pope during an exhibition last year. Some of them are occasionally sold in auctions.
He was also a very prolific painter, showing with derision a wide range of topics (too many?) of contemporary life, sometimes in very large sizes.
On February 12, Phillips de Pury in London sells an unusual but revealing work, entitled "Portrait of Paul Schreber", a mixed technique on canvas 2 x 2.40 m painted in 1994. It is a brain viewed from above, some of the protrusions are highlighted with color to represent a kind of ugly face.
Schreber was a personality of the nineteenth century who published an autobiography to describe his own nervous breakdown. This case was of great interest for the founders of psychoanalysis. Kippenberger expresses here both attraction and repulsion of madness.
The artist was not sick of the brain but of the liver. This hard drinker died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 44. Phillips de Pury sells his works often. They estimate this one at £ 400 K.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result at 430 K £ including premium rewarded the disturbing nature of this work. This was the best result of this evening sale.
1994 An Aboriginal Dream
2014 sold 130 K$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was one of the artists met in the early 1970s in the deserts of northern Australia by Geoffrey Bardon. He accepted to use synthetic pigments brought by white people and was a remarkable pioneer of the dotted style in contemporary Aboriginal art.
Clifford Possum painted his dreams, with a nice balance of shapes and with bright colors.
A canvas painted in 1977, 202 x 338 cm, composed of eight dreams around a central story, was sold for AUD 2.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on 24 July 2007. It was purchased in that sale by the National Gallery of Australia, proud to have prevented the export of this masterpiece of Aboriginal art.
In 1994, about 62 years old, Clifford Possum continues to dream. On February 16 in Oakland CA, Clars Auction Gallery sells a Possum Dreaming, 83 x 133 cm, where the artist positioned small flowers on a pointillist background.
After completing this painting, Clifford Possum had obligingly posed for a video where he discussed that work and rythmed his singing by banging his paint sticks. He signed and dated the work live on video on the back of the canvas.The sticks are included in the lot for sale by Clars.
I invite you to play the video shared by Clars on YouTube.
POST SALE COMMENT
This brightly colored painting was sold for $ 130K including premium.
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was one of the artists met in the early 1970s in the deserts of northern Australia by Geoffrey Bardon. He accepted to use synthetic pigments brought by white people and was a remarkable pioneer of the dotted style in contemporary Aboriginal art.
Clifford Possum painted his dreams, with a nice balance of shapes and with bright colors.
A canvas painted in 1977, 202 x 338 cm, composed of eight dreams around a central story, was sold for AUD 2.4 million including premium by Sotheby's on 24 July 2007. It was purchased in that sale by the National Gallery of Australia, proud to have prevented the export of this masterpiece of Aboriginal art.
In 1994, about 62 years old, Clifford Possum continues to dream. On February 16 in Oakland CA, Clars Auction Gallery sells a Possum Dreaming, 83 x 133 cm, where the artist positioned small flowers on a pointillist background.
After completing this painting, Clifford Possum had obligingly posed for a video where he discussed that work and rythmed his singing by banging his paint sticks. He signed and dated the work live on video on the back of the canvas.The sticks are included in the lot for sale by Clars.
I invite you to play the video shared by Clars on YouTube.
POST SALE COMMENT
This brightly colored painting was sold for $ 130K including premium.
1994 Iridescent Abstraction by Richter
2018 unsold
Abstraktes Bild 811-2 is a large size oil on canvas 250 x 200 cm painted by Gerhard Richter in 1994. It is estimated $ 12M for sale by Phillips in New York on May 17, lot 13. In the same size 811-1 was sold for £ 10M including premium by Christie's on February 14, 2012.
811-2 had been withdrawn just before its scheduled auction at Christie's on June 29, 2016, lot 15. I discussed it as follows in 2016 :
During the first three decades of his career Gerhard Richter manages a continuous improvement of his control of colors. He has no equivalent in his strategy to use simultaneously the whole color spectrum in his abstract art.
He belatedly recognized a similarity with Rothko but without sharing the spiritual quest. Both chose large formats that wrap the viewer into their mental world. Richter's dissolution of multiple iridescent colors in a rigorous arrangement without lines meets a composition plan that may evoke Zao Wou-Ki.
Richter's squeegee offers new possibilities of composition. In 1994 he reaches the culmination of his art by using the extreme fluidity of his oil paint, obtaining a transparency of the layers that evokes the Zen art by Gaitonde. The artist knows that his wide squeegee could generate chance but in fact his skilled hand retains a full control of his art.
Richter would like also that his art is not influenced by emotion. However it is no coincidence that his most spectacular and most balanced abstract works were produced in 1994 in a time of joy and happiness : he had just decided to stop teaching and will marry his student Sabine, younger by 37 years.
811-2 had been withdrawn just before its scheduled auction at Christie's on June 29, 2016, lot 15. I discussed it as follows in 2016 :
During the first three decades of his career Gerhard Richter manages a continuous improvement of his control of colors. He has no equivalent in his strategy to use simultaneously the whole color spectrum in his abstract art.
He belatedly recognized a similarity with Rothko but without sharing the spiritual quest. Both chose large formats that wrap the viewer into their mental world. Richter's dissolution of multiple iridescent colors in a rigorous arrangement without lines meets a composition plan that may evoke Zao Wou-Ki.
Richter's squeegee offers new possibilities of composition. In 1994 he reaches the culmination of his art by using the extreme fluidity of his oil paint, obtaining a transparency of the layers that evokes the Zen art by Gaitonde. The artist knows that his wide squeegee could generate chance but in fact his skilled hand retains a full control of his art.
Richter would like also that his art is not influenced by emotion. However it is no coincidence that his most spectacular and most balanced abstract works were produced in 1994 in a time of joy and happiness : he had just decided to stop teaching and will marry his student Sabine, younger by 37 years.
