(Drivebycuriosity) - May is not just the month of blossoming flowers & trees, May is also the month of the big art fairs and auctions. Christie`s, one of the global mega art traders, is preparing her spring auctions for
Post War & Contemporary Art in New York City next week (
christies).
Yesterday my wife and I visited their galleries @ Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan to see the exhibition of works will will participate in the auctions. The place looks like a huge museum and could easily compete with New York´s Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) and other prestigious art institutions. It find it very kind to allow humble spectators like us to visit and enjoy all the precious displays. And they didn`t mind that I took a lot pictures there to get my personal collection.
Personal Collection
I present here just my favorites of the show. The selection here is very subjective.
Above this paragraph you can see "Study of the Shades of Mont Saint Victoire" by
Mark Tansey (1989, oil on canvas). I like his work very much because of their surrealistic character.
The next work in this imag collection is "P22" by
Sterling Ruby (2008, spray paint on canvas). Last year I reported about a sole show with Ruby`s works @ Hauser & Wirth in New York (
driveby ). I like his large scaled paintings because they looks so powerful, if they fill a whole wall. I think Ruby´s murals work best with a girl in the foreground.
Christie`s has of course some works by
Gerhard Richter. The German artist is my favorite painter. His ingenious constructions are awsome. Richter is one of these artists who developed new techniques which shaped the whole profession.
If you are a Richter connoisseur too you might visit the Art Institute Chicago which owns a marvelous Richter collection (
driveby). Above you can see "Astraktes Bid" (1986, oil on canvas) and "Kind/Child" (1989, Oil on canvas).
There were more abstracts of course. I really enjoy the colorful labyrinthic quadriptych "Untiltled" by
Sam Francis (1988, acrylic on canvas).
The majestic red of
Lucio Fontana`s "Concetto spaziale, Attese" (1965, waterpaint on canvas) is hypnotic. I didn´t know that waterclors can be so powerful.
The painting "And then, and then and then and then and then" by
Takashi Murakami (1996, acrylic on canvas mounted on panel) own also some thrill.
"Burst #3" by
Adolph Gottlieb (1967, oil on canvas) seems to show some Asian influences. Last year @ Sotheby`s I saw a similar painting by Gottlieb, called "Red and Blue (I like that more
driveby);
"Swamped" by
Peter Doig (1990, oil on canvas) seesm to suck the viewer into its depths,
"Cantanda" by
James Brooks (1958, oil on canvas) fits well into this ensemble.
Similar Ideas
A contemporary art auction isn´t complete if there are no Rothkos. Above
Mark Rothko, Untitled (1969, acrylic on paper laid down on board), the name of the painting, below his "No. 10". It is fascinating how is able to vary a simple idea over many decades and to achieve such awsome images with that.
But Rothko is not alone:
Willem De Kooning has similar ideas. Here his "Untitled (compostion Red, Yellow, Blue) (oil on paperboard mounted on masonite).
Others can paint too:
Alfred Leslie, Noah´s Collage;
Pat Steir´s, Mountain Water Painting (1990, oil on canvas) seems to be inspire by Richter,
Christopher Wool, Untitled (2000, enamel on canvas)
And there are more brandnames, for example:
Robert Rauschenberg, Rose Wrench (1984, acrylic and silkscreen on canvas)
I also like works by artists who are less known. I found 3 great paintings by
Joan Mitchell: Afternoon (1969/1970, oil on canvas); Magnolia (1970, oil on canvas) & Bergerie (1961/62, oil on canvas).
Mark Bradford`s, Ghost Money (2007, mixed media collage on canvas) shows the recent developments in art. It seems artist are getting even more experimental in paying with materials & techniques.
Martin Kippenberger`s weird "Supplementary Proposal For The Improvement of a Backstroke in Rio I (Nachträglicher Entwurf für die Verbesserung des Rückenschwimmers in Rio I)" (1986, acrylic, silicone, sand, plaster on linen canvas and printed fabric) is also something to think about.
A Scene From A Sinister Science Fiction Movie?
"Pie Fight Interio" (oil on canvas) by
Adrian Ghenie is really an eye catcher, even that I have no idea what a "pie fight interio" means;
Michal Krebber`s, Untitled (1997, acrylic and chalk on canvas) is one ofmy favorits of the show, even that it is just black & white. I really enjoy his elegance, looks like a scene from a sinister science fiction movie.
Above to similar paintings:
Wade Guyton, "Untitled" (2008, Epson UltraCrhome inkjet on linen) &
Cheyney Thompson, "Property Owner (M/CM)" (2008, oil on canvas), I think both paintings have to be hanged side by side on the same wall.
Elegance was also the criterium why I choose
Glenn Ligon, No Room (Gold) #7, (oil and acrylic on canvas mounted on board) for this collection.
Who Is Henrietta Moraes?
Above this paragraph you can see one of the stars of the show:
Francis Bacon, Portrait of Henrietta Moraes, (1963, oil on canvas). I am not really a fan of Bacon, but I find this painting impressive
Jack Goldstein`s, Untitled (1985, acrylic on canvas) looks much more traditonal, but I like thunderstorm & lightning strikes and the compositon has its charm;
Kenny Scharf`s, Stormy Weather (1986, oil on canvas in artist´s frame) seems to be the perfect match.
I find
Paulina Olowska`s Diesel (2003, oil on canvas) really cool, like a still from a slick action movie.
Comrade No. 9
I consider
David Salle`s, Still Life with Map (2002, oil on three attached canvases) somewhat funny & entertaining, but I wouldn´t hang it on my walls;
Alfred Katz`s, Ulla (2009, oil on canvas) looks so clean & fresh;
Gary Hume´s, futuristic "Patsy" (1993, ink and acrylic on paper) looks somewhat futuristic
China was a bit underrepresented. But they had at least
Zeng Fanzhi with "Andy Warhol´s Photoshoot" (2004, oil on canvas) plus
Zhang Xiaogang with Bloodline - Big Family: Comrade no. 9 (1998, oil on canvas).
No contemporary art show without pop art:
Roy Lichtenstein`s late and impressive work "Collage for Interior: Perfect Pitcher" (painted and printed paper collage, tape, marker and graphite on board). Really something!
Below that
Tom Wesselmann, Smoker #22 (1975, oil on shaped canvas).
I am not really a fan of
Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose doodles seem childish too mee. I think he is way overrated (political correctness), but this wall-filing mural has something. It`s called: The Field Next to the Other Road (1981, acrylic, enaml spray paint, oilstick, metallc paint and ink on canvas).
Above you can see an image by
Richard Prince, another much hyped artist. The painting is called "The Bomb is Ticking" (1989, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas). Art or not, the expected price range is $700,000 - 900,000.
Here another superstart:
Jeff Koons with "Triple Elvis" (2009, oil on canvas).
Ruling The Room
The show also some nudes of course. Above "Isa" by
Richard Phillips, Isa (2006, oil on canvas, 108x108 inch/274,3 x 274,3cm). Her gorgeous nipples seem to rule the whole room.
John Currin`s, The Collaborator (2010, oilon canvas) on top of this little collection reminds me of Rubens;
John Kacere with "Kathy" (1972, oil on canvas) & below: "Beth ´72" (1972, oil on canvas) ;
Elizabeth Peyton, "Georgia O´Keefe (Nude)" (2006, ink on paper)
There also were a lot of products from the ubiquitous
Warhol Factory of course. Here my favorites:
"Colored Mona Lisa";
"Silver Liz" (1963-65, spray enamel, synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas);
"Knives" (synthetic polymer and silkscreen ink on canvas);
"Gun" (acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas)
I skipped
Lucian Freud´s "Benfits Suprervisor Reclinging", which shows an extremely fat and ugly woman. This image may be the highest valued lot of the show, but it doesn´t have a place on my blog, which is dedicated to beauty. I also ignore
Martin Kippenberger`s "Untitled" with the same criteria and
Jeff Koon`s "Louis XIV".
Enjoy!
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