Sotheby’s is bringing iconic works by blue-chip masters like the highest-grossing American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and American Abstract Expressionist painter Joan Mitchell to Hong Kong this autumn sales. They will be on public display before the Contemporary Art Evening Sale, which will be held on 30 September.
Basquiat (left) and Mitchell (right)
Estimated at HK$50m-70m, Syrtis was created by Joan Mitchell in 1961, two years after she moved to France. Joan Mitchell relocated from New York to Paris and she was deeply inspired by European post-Impressionist influences. She forged her own unique visual lexicon by synthesizing these diverse influences with her schooling and artistic roots from New York.
Syrtis
The painting is titled after the legendary Syrtis Sands – two perilous sand gulfs in the Mediterranean just off the coast of Libya where the waters are shallow and dangerous. The present work encapsulates the raw ferocious beauty – at once great and terrible – of nature, sand and sea. Mitchell spent the summer of 1961 in Cap d’Antibes, and the palette in Syrtis invokes the rich colours of the French Riviera – bright golden sunshine, terracotta tiles, and the glistening cerulean waters of the Mediterranean.
Jean Michel Basquiat's LOGO
LOGO from 1984 is a powerful example of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s oeuvre. Some of his most famous signatures are here: the three-pointed crown, the skull with self-styled dreadlocks, and the anatomical references are all visible.
The central motif of LOGO is inspired by the logo of a popular cigarette brand, Player’s Navy Cut.
The central motif of the present work is inspired by the logo of a popular cigarette brand, Player’s Navy Cut. Basquiat transformed it into a direct confrontation of African American history. He replaced the blonde, bearded sailor in the original design by a black figure, shown in unmistakably tribal dress, with necklaces and piercings, mounted on a pedestal and surrounded by a ring emblazoned with the word “TOBACCO.”
Basquiat’s Untitled was sold for US$110.5m at Sotheby’s New York last year
Works by Basquiat have been highly sought after in the market. His painting Untitled was sold for US$110.5m at Sotheby’s New York in May last year, becoming the most expensive work by any American artist.
The Contemporary Art Evening Sale offers a total of 41 lots, nine of them are estimated at more than HK$10m. Here is a short summary of these nine works.
Lots with an estimate above HK$10m
Joan Mitchell (1925 - 1992). Syrtis
Lot no: 1080
Created in: 1961
Size: 130 x 162cm
Provenance:
- Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet, Stockhom
- Private Collection, Sweden
- Private Collection, London
- Levy Gorvy Gallery
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$50,000,000 - 70,000,000
Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960 - 1988). LOGO
Lot no: 1058
Created in: 1984
Size: 155 x 122cm
Provenance:
- Gagosian Gallery, Los Angeles
- Galerie Beaubourg, Paris
- Marciano Art Collection, USA
- Christie's, New York, 19 November 1992, lot 445
- Private Collection, New York
- Private Collection, USA
- Sotheby's, Paris, 7 December 2010, lot 11
- Private Collection, New York
- Opera Gallery, Hong Kong
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$24,000,000 - 38,000,000
Gerhard Richter. Abstraktes Bild 802-3
Lot no: 1079
Created in: 1994
Size: 112 x 102cm
Provenance:
- Wako Works of Art, Tokyo
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$18,000,000 - 28,000,000
Kusama Yayoi. Infinity Flower Petals (Triptych)
Lot no: 1082
Created in: 1992
Size: 194 x 390.9cm
Provenance:
- Private Collection
- Seoul Auction, Hong Kong, 5 October 2015, lot 42
- Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
- This work is accompanied with an artwork registration card issued by the artist's studio
Estimate: HK$18,000,000 - 22,000,000
Nara Yoshitomo. Ready to Scout
Lot no: 1068
Created in: 2001
Size: 177.8 x 25.4cm
Provenance:
- Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
- Acquired from the above by the present owne
Estimate: HK$15,000,000 - 20,000,000
Nara Yoshitomo. Portrait of AE
Lot no: 1069
Created in: 2009
Size:80 x 65cm
Provenance:
- Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York
- Private Collection
- Sotheby's, New York, 12 November 2015, lot 425
- Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$15,000,000 - 20,000,000
Antony Gormley. Building 6-10
Lot no: 1077
Created in: 2015
Provenance:
- White Cube
- Acquired by the present owner from the above
Estimate: HK$12,400,000 - 18,400,000
Kusama Yayoi. Pumpkin (Ploe)
Lot no: 1055
Created in: 2013
Size: 130.3 x 162cm
Provenance:
- Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
- This work is accompanied with an artwork registration card issued by the artist's studio
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 20,000,000
Zeng Fanzhi. Meat
Lot no: 1072
Created in: 1992
Size: 130 x 95cm
Provenance:
- Private Collection
- Cheng Xuan Auctions Co., Beijing, 7 November 2005, lot 266
- Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Auction details
Auction house: Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Sale: Contemporary Art Evening Sale
Lots offered: 41
Viewing:
2018/9/28｜10am - 5:30pm
2018/9/29｜10am - 8:00pm
2018/9/30｜10am - 4:30pm
Sale date: 2018/9/30｜7pm