Owning a collection of Supreme's iconic skateboards is perhaps every Supreme fan's dream. At Bonhams London's Modern and Contemporary sale, a rare collection of 131 Supreme full-sized Skateboard decks will be offered as a single lot. The decks feature works by renowned contemporary artists such as The Chapman Brothers, Urs Fischer as well as pictures of icons of popular culture such as Bruce Lee.
Collection of Supreme Skateboard decks, estimate £100,000-150,000
Supreme, established in 1994, began as a skateboard and clothing shop in downtown New York City. Supreme's trademark line of skateboards was produced in 1998 which featured collaborations with famous artists, using their decks as the canvas. This sale offers Supreme skateboards created between 2011-2019 with an estimate of £100,000-150,000. Let's take a look at some of the most notable designs.
The Chapman Brothers, 2012, Set of Five
Jake Chapman (b.1966) and Dinos Chapman (b.1962) are English visual artists, commonly known as the Chapman Brothers. They have been working as a duo since 1991 and are a part of the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s. Their work has also featured decapitated and mutilated bodies, as well as pornographic themes, nazism, death, sex, religion, and commercialism. The decks feature the Chapman Brothers' 1995 work "FUCKFACE" and their 2002 work "Drawing III from the Chapman Family Collection”.
Urs Fischer, 2016, Set of Three.
Swiss contemporary visual artist Urs Fischer (b.1973) worked with Supreme on three separate skate decks in March 2016. Fischer, known for using everyday objects to depict the passing of time, displays a cigarette butt on each skate deck. The works are entitled Fried, Toasted and Baked.
Cindy Sherman, 2017, Set of two.
The skateboard decks feature Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #181 and Untitled #175 from her ‘Grotesque Series’ of photo stills. Sherman is an American photographer whose work depicts women stereotypes in films. The set includes two skateboard decks with the original artwork on each underside and the artist’s signature on the opposites.
Dash Snow, 2016, Set of Three.
A set of three decks, produced in 2016, honour the late Dash Snow, who died in 2009 from a drug overdose at the age of 27. Snow was a graffiti artist who was originally known for his photography and worked under the moniker SACE as part of the celebrated IRAK crew. His decks show a reproduction of his most controversial pieces featuring a tabloid image of Saddam Hussein.
Bruce Lee, 2013.
The Supreme Bruce Lee Skateboard was a part of the Supreme Fall/Winter 2013 collection, released on 24th October 2013. This collaboration between Supreme and Bruce Lee, which is considered one of the best collaborations, also featured two Bruce Lee t-shirts. The deck had a retail price of US$60 when it was first released but is now selling for over US$400 online.
The Killer, 2018.
The deck, released in 2018 as part of Supreme's Fall/Winter collection, features the 1989 action thriller film The Killer directed by John Woo starring Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh. The skateboard features one of the most famous scenes in the Hong Kong film- Hitman Ah Jong (played by Chow) and Detective Li Ying (played by Lee) pointing their guns at each other.
Mike Hill Runner Deck, 2017.
This Mike Hill Runner deck is part of a collaborative set of T-shirts and skate decks. Hill, co-founder of OG skate company Alien Workshop in 1990, incorporated the use of mâché, everyday objects, and image manipulation for the icons and imagery seen within this collection. The imagery features a rabbit chasing a carrot in Hill’s signature paper mache.
Nan Goldin Misty Paulette, 2018.
This deck is part of Supreme's collaboration with renowned American photographer Nan Goldin. The collaboration included t-shirts, jackets, hoodies, and skateboards. This particular deck, titled "Misty and Jimmy Paulette", showcases Goldin's portraits of two subjects in the back of a car.
As the leading lot of the sale, the collection of 131 Supreme skateboards will be offered along with other exciting works by contemporary artists such as Oscar Murillo, Roberto Marcello Baldessari, and Damien Hirst.
A Collection of 131 Supreme Skateboard Decks
Lot no.: 39
Provenance:
- Supreme, London
- Acquired directly from the above by the present owner between 2011 and 2019
Estimate: £100,000-150,000 (US$130,000 - 190,000)
Auction details
Auction house: Bonhams London
Sale: Modern & Contemporary Art
Date: 27 June 2019