newsfromphillipsdepury201103

Last evening, at Phillips de Pury, New York, the contemporary art sale resulted in $4,747,500 (against a pre-sale estimate of $4,845,000 - $6,825,000) for 24 lots (31 lots on offer). The top lot was Rudolf Stingel's superb oil on canvas Untitled (After Sam) (signed and dated "Stingel 2007 on the reverse, 38.1x52.1cm), 2007, examining and revealing the role of the artist, sold at $902,500 (estimate between $700,000-$900,000). «To Stingel, a true painting is not simply the result of moving a brush over a piece of canvas, however well, but the result of careful observation. Painting should be used as a means of observing reality in order to fashion a different reality».

Whereas, Detail of the Last Supper / Be a Somebody with a Body, an acrylic on canvas (126.4x153cm), by Andy Warhol, went for $602,500 (estimate $500,000-$700,000):

«Looking both ways, at the highest sacred art and at the lowest commercial design, and fusing them in this hallmark fashion, these late pictures seem to suggest that, for a Pop god, the meek and poor in spirit among artists are no less important than Raphael or Leonardo… The significance of Warhol's late black-and-white works based on advertising images and lettering is perhaps most apparent in these mural scale hybrids of the sacred and profane: the black-and-white images are Warhol's final subversive lexicon of street art images awaiting transposition into art gallery and museum contexts where they will expand post-Pop postmodern taste».

On the other hand, an inkjet print on canvas (edition of three, 236.2x405.8cm) settled a referential price for this kind of works by Thomas Ruff at auctions. The German photographer is well known by his very large views of buildings and passport-style portraits of emotionless friends and acquaintances, with buying prices, at the secondary market, of around $100,000. Zycles 3041 (2008) was bought for $98,500 (estimate $120,000-$180,000).

«Albert Oehlen engages directly with the history of painting. His rebellious, discordant and allusive paintings are driven by an explosive collision of line, color and form». Far exceeding its estimate $70,000-$100,000, Das Gewicht der Ladung a silkscreen, oil and spraypaint on canvas (198.8x167.3cm), from 2002, fetched $230,500 (more than double its pre-sale higher estimate). «At a time when conceptual art had rejected painting, Albert Oehlen re-engaged with the medium».

At the end, and in spite of the high results achieve at the auction by the top lots offered, while considering the estimates done by the auction house, the market showed some resilience to younger artist names, such as: the Gothic artist Banks Violette (1973), Black noise (Ampeg BA - 115) for S.P. (fiberglass, wood, epoxy, polyurethane, tinted epoxy, salt, 61x61x61cm, edition of seven, 2005), with provenance from a private Belgium collection; or by the conceptual artist Adel Abdessemed (1971), Le mythe de Sisyphe (ladder and neon, 205.1x200x7.6cm), signed, titled and dated “'ADEL ABDESSEMED ‘Le mythe de Sisyphe’ 1996 Lyon” on the ladder, 1996), fail to sale (estimate $80,000-$120,000 and $40,000-$60,000 respectively).