Warhol on acid and Rembrandt’s paws - 16. - 20. May 2011: Auction week at the Dorotheum featuring modern and contemporary art, design, Art Nouveau, watches and jewellery
Albin Egger-Lienz, The Family or "The Farmer",
380.000 - 450.000
Alexej Jawlensky, Abstract Head: Pensative,
€ 200.000 - 300.000
Enrico Castellani, Superficie bianca N. 22,
€ 300.000 - 400.000
Feng Zhengjie "Chinese portraits",
€ 50.000 - 70.000
Arnulf Rainer, Rembrandts Paws,
€ 30.000 - 40.000
Tea & Coffee Set Daniel Libeskind for Sawaya
& Moroni, € 70.000 - 80.000
Josef Hoffmann, A sugar bowl
€ 30.000 - 50.000
A lidded tureen of Tsarina Catherine the Great,
St. Petersburg, € 30.000 - 40.000
Austrian and international art are the central focus of this auction week in the middle of May, with modern and contemporary art, design, Art Nouveau, watches and jewellery all going under the hammer.
Auction Week 16 - 20 May 2011:
Silver, Mon 16 May 2011, 2 p.m.
Design, Tue 17 May 2011, 5. p. m.
Jewellery, Weds 18 May 2011, 2. p.m.
Modern Art, Weds 18 May 2011, 5 p.m.
Art Nouveau, 20th Century Arts and Crafts Thurs 19 May 2011, 2 p.m.
Contemporary Art, Thurs 19 May 2011, 6 p.m.
Wrist and pocket watches, Fri 20 May 2011, 6 p.m.
Viewing:
from Sat 7 May 2011
Location:
PALAIS DOROTHEUM, Vienna 1, Dorotheergasse 17
Press Officer:
Doris Krumpl, Tel. + 43-1-515 60-406, doris.krumpl@dorotheum.at
Modern Art Auction, 18 May 2011
Contemporary Art Auction, 19 May 2011
The contemporary art auction at the Dorotheum in Vienna on 19 May 2011 prominently features renowned names from the 1960s Italian avant-garde movement. Heading the list is Enrico Castellani, a participant on numerous occasions at the Venice Biennale and documenta. His monochrome canvases are characterised by a relief structure created by affixing materials to the back of the canvas, known in the trade as “tela estroflessa” or extroflexed canvas, as demonstrated by “Superficie bianca” from 1965 (€300,000 - 400,000). This style of technique leads in turn to the works of Agostino Bonalumi, represented at this Dorotheum auction by “Rosso” (€90,000 - 120,000), a red sculpture in landscape format and “Blu” (€40,000 - 60,000), a deep-blue piece folded lengthways. Piero Manzoni and Enrico Castellani opened the Galleria Azimut in Milan in December 1959. One of the objectives of Azimut was to promote the message that the aim of art is not simply to imitate. Each piece of work should refer solely to itself and present its own reality and authenticity. In this regard, it would be remiss not to mention Luciano Fontana, whose painted, perforated terracotta disk “Concetto spaziale” dating from 1955-60 (€50,000 - 70,000) is included in the auction. In addition to calm surfaces, the auction also features the complete opposite epitomised by the expressive Untitled, in mixed media, by Tandredi Parmeggiani (€180,000 - 250,000), which dates from 1955. Eduoardo Paolozzi, the British artist with Italian origins, has exhibited at documenta no fewer than four times. The auction is proud to offer one of his large-scale sculptures entitled “Parrot” (€70,000 - 100,000).
Valerio Adami enriches the auction with his pop and comic-style large pieces on very modern themes such as night shopping (Shopping notturno, €40,000 - 60,000). Italian antique stereotypes form the inspiration for Fabrizzio Plessi in his 1991 video sculpture “Cariatide Mediterranea” (€60,000 - 90,000) featuring terracotta amphoras among other objects. Leading the charge for classic modern art is a figurine entitled “Cardinale seduto” by Manzù, whose sculptures have been in high demand at Dorotheum for a number of years. This unique piece from 1960 has a guide price of between EUR 50,000 and 70,000.
The auction showcases two excellent examples of the Surrealism art movement. “La couturière”, painted by Oscar Dominguez, whose gouache pressing technique “Decalcomania” was adopted by several surrealists, in 1943 (€120,000 - 180,000) and Victor Brauner’s grey post-war piece “Depolarisation de l'intimité” €70,000 - 100,000).
Contemporary art from China is one of the highlights of the Dorotheum auction with works based on the following themes. New consumerism amid luxury brands and supermodels, with statements made ranging from affirmative admiration to social criticism. Modern commercial China is illustrated by Feng Zhengjie, in one of his “Chinese portraits” from 2005 (€50,000 - 70,000), in a style likened to Andy Warhol on acid. Shopaholics are shown in an unusual perspective by Han Yahuan in his “Karaoke Warehouse” (€15,000 - 20,000), and Huang Yin depicts one of his typical rosy-cheeked figures in “Reading” (€10,000 - 15,000).
The pretty, small town of Wasserburg stretches out to the south of Munich. Alexej Jawlensky, one of the key figures in the Munich-based avant-garde art group “Der Blaue Reiter” (The Blue Rider), depicted it with little houses and meadows in 1907 in a piece estimated at between EUR 180,000 and 280,000, forming part of the Classical Modern auction on 18 May 2011. The “Abstract Head”, which is typical of Jawlensky’s style, originates from the 1920s (€200,000 - 300,000). Perhaps the most significant German water-colourist of the twentieth century, Paul Klee, conjured up a thickly-textured, atmospheric “Seeufer bei Regen” (Lakeshore in the rain) on paper (€180,000 - 280,000) in 1913.
The contemporary art auction on 19 May 2011, includes one of Jörg Immendorff’s large-scale “Café Deutschland” paintings dating from the 1980s “Hörerwunsch” (Listener’s request, €140,000 - 180,000). Works by Anselm Kiefer, Markus Lüpertz and A. R. Penck are also represented. “Das Gesetz des Alltags” (The law of everyday life), an enigmatic work created in the 1960s, reveals the striking proximity of its artist Konrad Klephek to both Realism and Surrealism (€90,000 - 140,000). The installations of the concept artist Cosima von Bonin, born in 1962, provide capricious excitement. Her 2.6 metre-long fence “O.T.” is made of foam among other materials (€28,000 - 35,000).
Gustav Klimt, one of the biggest names in Austrian Modern Art, is represented at the auction on 18 May 2011 by his pencil drawing “Woman reclining on a settee” (€35,000 - 50,000). One of the oil paintings up for auction forms one of three drafts by Albin Egger-Lienz (1868 - 1926) from his last unfinished work. The “Family”, also known as “The Farmer”, painted in brown and black tones, is particularly eye-catching due to its bold composition (€380,000 - 450,000).
Contemporary Austrian Art is represented at the auction on 19 May by Franz West, Bruno Gironcoli and especially Arnulf Rainer, with two works from the 1980s. A red energy bundle entitled “Flight of Prometheus” and the charmingly wild hand-painting ironically named after a painting master “Rembrandt’s Paws”
(€ 30.000 - 40.000).
Give the fans sugar!
Design Auction, 17 May 2011
A cross-section of international design - from Adolf Loos via Jean Prouvé to Tom Dixon, Ross Lovegrove and Daniel Libeskind - is going up for sale once again at the Design Auction on 17 May 2011.
Designers at times resort to unorthodox materials, for example the lamps in the Sugar Lamp series by Julius van der Vaart are made of sugar cubes, the mounting for the mirror piece “Run, Baby, Run” by the Austrian designer duo Off Objects consists of motorway crash barriers and the table leg on Michael Young’s “Mad of Monday” is made of folded bank notes. Tattoos, albeit in digital print, adorn the side table by Reddish Design, Israel, with the denotative Japanese Mafia name “Yakuza”, whose members are renowned for their (coded) tattoos (€6,800 - 7,500).
Contemporary design is once again at the heart of the Dorotheum auction. Of particular note in this regard are four prototypes by the architect Daniel Libeskind, including a gleaming curved armchair and a silver Tea and Coffee Set in matching architecture (€70,000 - 80,000). The designer listening experience forms the subject for Ross Lovegrove with his pair of spaced-age, curved “Muon” loudspeakers - at a height of 2 metres, the aluminium objects are difficult to miss (€60,000 - 80,000). Created for a campaign at the Viennese Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in 2008, “The First Supper Bench” by the Berlin-based experimental concept designer Jerszy Seymour makes quite an impression with its unusual colour combinations and aesthetics. The other two tables received that evening are the property of the MAK and the Vitra Design Museum (€25,000 - 30,000).
Timeless and elegant
Art Nouveau Auction, 19 May 2011
Timeless beauty, elegant materials and a certain simplicity characterise the drafts from the Viennese workshop of Josef Hoffmann up for sale at the Art Nouveau Auction on 19 May. The four-part Ménagère in glass, silver and malachite was created by Hoffmann in 1909 and the star-shaped silver sugar bowl with hammered decoration originates from 1904 (€30,000 - 40,000; €30,000 - 50,000). Also going under the hammer is an amulet in the form of a 7.5cm-tall gold and platinum pendant of a female character with an amethyst by Alfred Benninghoven (including chain €15,000 - 20,000).
Royal Tureens
Silver Auction, 16 May 2011
Two magnificent lidded tureens are among the items at the centre of the silver auction on 16 May 2011, which includes something for every taste. The tureen dating from 1748 from St. Petersburg is unostentatious and is engraved with the imperial Cyrillic monogram of Tsarina Catherine II. The piece weighs almost 4 kg and was made by Johann Fredrik Köpping, one of the most distinguished master silversmiths of the 18th century (€30,000 - 40,000). The second large tureen, standing on pawed feet and ornately decorated, was made by the great English silversmith Paul Storr in 1814/15 for George III. (€ 25.000 - 35.000). The large ceremonial salver, which originates from Birmingham, is adorned with scenes from the Trojan war, intricately worked in the smallest detail, with Zeus the father of the gods on his throne in the centre (€22,000 - 28,000).
Precious items
Jewellery and Watches Auction, 18 and 20 May 2011
Large precious stones, particularly diamonds, are always - and particularly so at present - in great demand. Investment and elegant decoration are combined in the opulent 19th century earrings which together weigh in at 14 carat (€30,000 - 40,000). Highlights among the watches include two cult Omega models (Cosmic from 1952 and Speedmaster Apollo XI, each €10,000 - 16,000) and a gold coin watch, 35mm in diameter, by Patek Philippe. Pressing on the United States of America twenty dollar coin, causes it to spring open and reveal a clock face (€5,000 - 8,000).
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