1977
See also : Holland De Kooning England Bacon Later Bacons Lichtenstein > 1965 Abstract art II Sport in art
1977 Contemplation in Long Island
2016 SOLD for $ 66M including premium
Willem de Kooning was a lover of women and a heavy drinker. His artistic career is uneven, marked by breaks and restarts. The beauty of Long Island offers him a late redemption in his seventies.
De Kooning buys a piece of land near Springs in 1958, two years after Pollock's death. Pollock had his studio in the same village where he was imbued with the richly colorful nature facing the sea. It took 17 years to de Kooning to start a creativity of similar inspiration.
In 1975 the old artist is happy. His art is acclaimed. He is pleased with his young girlfriend Mimi Kilgore. His wife Elaine of whom he had never divorced comes back to him in the following year. He finally takes time to contemplate the nature through observations of very long duration ending in a sudden rush on his canvas, colors and brushes.
The bright colors that cover the entire surface of the canvas were not spontaneous at all. They are made of mixed layers varying from impasto to flowing paint. The visionary artist knows in advance which result he desires and has no doubt that he will succeed. Once finished he considers that what he achieved is impossible to repeat. And he starts again with another canvas.
All these Untitled paintings are different because they are based on other contemplations. Sometimes a figure or a tree arises beyond abstraction by a careful observation. Pollock also was upset when his art was considered abstract.
This new creativity of de Kooning reaches its highest maturity in 1977 and will be immediately followed by his inevitable relapse. Untitled XXV, oil on canvas 196 x 224 cm painted in 1977, was sold for $ 27M by Christie's in New York on 15 November 2006. It returns in the same auction room on November 15, 2016, exactly ten years later, lot 8 A. The press release of September 29 announces an estimate in the region of $ 40M.
De Kooning buys a piece of land near Springs in 1958, two years after Pollock's death. Pollock had his studio in the same village where he was imbued with the richly colorful nature facing the sea. It took 17 years to de Kooning to start a creativity of similar inspiration.
In 1975 the old artist is happy. His art is acclaimed. He is pleased with his young girlfriend Mimi Kilgore. His wife Elaine of whom he had never divorced comes back to him in the following year. He finally takes time to contemplate the nature through observations of very long duration ending in a sudden rush on his canvas, colors and brushes.
The bright colors that cover the entire surface of the canvas were not spontaneous at all. They are made of mixed layers varying from impasto to flowing paint. The visionary artist knows in advance which result he desires and has no doubt that he will succeed. Once finished he considers that what he achieved is impossible to repeat. And he starts again with another canvas.
All these Untitled paintings are different because they are based on other contemplations. Sometimes a figure or a tree arises beyond abstraction by a careful observation. Pollock also was upset when his art was considered abstract.
This new creativity of de Kooning reaches its highest maturity in 1977 and will be immediately followed by his inevitable relapse. Untitled XXV, oil on canvas 196 x 224 cm painted in 1977, was sold for $ 27M by Christie's in New York on 15 November 2006. It returns in the same auction room on November 15, 2016, exactly ten years later, lot 8 A. The press release of September 29 announces an estimate in the region of $ 40M.
1977 The Cult of Everlasting Youth
2018 SOLD for $ 50M including premium
The life of Francis Bacon is dominated and ruined by his existential questioning, but that is why he is one of the most disturbing artists of his time.
In an early phase Francis paints horrible old popes, idols in decay. When George becomes his symbol of handsome youth, he confronts him with himself and the pope. George's death reveals a posteriori to Francis that this young man of whom he had fun had indeed an existence. There is no doubt that Francis's mourning was terrible, deep and lasting.
Despite his ego Francis cannot stop the time. From 1976 he enters a process of re-interesting in old friends including Henrietta but he does not know how to accept and endure the aging of his own body.
On May 17 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 7 B Study for Portrait, oil on canvas 198 x 148 cm painted in 1977.
Francis had then ended his mourning : George is no longer a ghost but the idol of everlasting youth, sitting in underwear from the model of a photo taken in the first phase of their affair by John Deakin. His face is recognizable.
On a lilac surface in front of the idol, a dark form appears, ended by an accumulation of blood. It cannot be George's shadow because it is not consistent with any light. It is a flat selfie figure of Francis in his body that becomes disgusting. This identification is confirmed by the waste that surrounds it, marked by letters in dry transfer, which symbolizes the fabulous rubble in the artist's studio.
In an early phase Francis paints horrible old popes, idols in decay. When George becomes his symbol of handsome youth, he confronts him with himself and the pope. George's death reveals a posteriori to Francis that this young man of whom he had fun had indeed an existence. There is no doubt that Francis's mourning was terrible, deep and lasting.
Despite his ego Francis cannot stop the time. From 1976 he enters a process of re-interesting in old friends including Henrietta but he does not know how to accept and endure the aging of his own body.
On May 17 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 7 B Study for Portrait, oil on canvas 198 x 148 cm painted in 1977.
Francis had then ended his mourning : George is no longer a ghost but the idol of everlasting youth, sitting in underwear from the model of a photo taken in the first phase of their affair by John Deakin. His face is recognizable.
On a lilac surface in front of the idol, a dark form appears, ended by an accumulation of blood. It cannot be George's shadow because it is not consistent with any light. It is a flat selfie figure of Francis in his body that becomes disgusting. This identification is confirmed by the waste that surrounds it, marked by letters in dry transfer, which symbolizes the fabulous rubble in the artist's studio.
1977 Body, Soul, Landscape and Colors
2013 SOLD 32 M$ including premium
When Willem de Kooning takes his brushes again in 1975 for expressing his emotions through the full range of colors, observers might think that abstract art had already told everything. The explosion of bright colors by Joan Mitchell had been made fifteen years earlier.
However, De Kooning reuses his previous style of partitioned composition covering all the available surface, as boundless as a Pollock painting. The observer continuously discovers new details by varying the reading trip.
Two years later, De Kooning reaches the top of this final phase of his creativity. He lives in Long Island and he is happy.
His Untitled VIII from 1977, oil on canvas 178 x 203 cm, is estimated $ 20M, for sale by Christie's in New York on November 12.
This painting is a rare synthesis of all the research by De Kooning at the border between biomorphic and abstraction. In the foreground on the right, the structure in the form of inverted S is a woman sitting in nature. This discovery makes in turn perceive another woman and then the perspective of a landscape.
Through the doubts and changes in his career, De Kooning, away from any school, had never given up his goal to express altogether the body, the soul and the landscape. At over 70 years old, he had also become the most skilled colorist of his time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This masterpiece from the later period of the art of De Kooning was sold for $ 32 million including premium.
However, De Kooning reuses his previous style of partitioned composition covering all the available surface, as boundless as a Pollock painting. The observer continuously discovers new details by varying the reading trip.
Two years later, De Kooning reaches the top of this final phase of his creativity. He lives in Long Island and he is happy.
His Untitled VIII from 1977, oil on canvas 178 x 203 cm, is estimated $ 20M, for sale by Christie's in New York on November 12.
This painting is a rare synthesis of all the research by De Kooning at the border between biomorphic and abstraction. In the foreground on the right, the structure in the form of inverted S is a woman sitting in nature. This discovery makes in turn perceive another woman and then the perspective of a landscape.
Through the doubts and changes in his career, De Kooning, away from any school, had never given up his goal to express altogether the body, the soul and the landscape. At over 70 years old, he had also become the most skilled colorist of his time.
POST SALE COMMENT
This masterpiece from the later period of the art of De Kooning was sold for $ 32 million including premium.
1977 The Pastoral Force
2019 SOLD for $ 30M including premium
After many years of difficulties and doubts, Willem de Kooning suddenly recovers the joy of painting in 1975. He lives in Springs on Long Island and often goes to contemplate the ocean. His young mistress Mimi Kilgore encourages his creativity. Elaine, whom he never divorced, will soon be back to help.
For this artist in his seventies, painting is no longer a job but a reason of being. From 1975 to 1977 with a limited prolongation in 1978 and 1979, he paints his universe, as a surrealist would do except that his art is totally abstract. The works from this period are sometimes called "pastoral".
The colors blend in a total diversity. They are brought with apparent violence by industrial brushes of great length. Yet the execution is not at all spontaneous. The artist knows in advance what balance he will manage between the gray of the sea, the green of the trees and the brown of the soil. When one work is finished, the next will be another step in the expression of his world.
In this phase de Kooning's paintings gradually lose their last references to human beings and even to landscape. Before deciding whether a painting suits him, he looks at it from every angle, including by overturning it. With a different technique and other confrontations of colors, he matches the other great abstract artist of Springs, Jackson Pollock.
The most important paintings of this period are named Untitled, with the indication of the year and a serialization per year in Roman numerals. The formats are varied, but the larger ones translate at its best the contemplation of the lush nature by the artist.
The Untitled XXV of 1977 is one of the masterpieces of this series by the brightness of the colors and the interwoven complexity of the forms. This 196 x 224 cm oil on canvas was sold for $ 66M including premium by Christie's on November 15, 2016.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells the Untitled XXII from the same year, lot 13 estimated $ 25M. This oil on canvas 178 x 203 cm expresses with high energy the forces of nature by the violence of the brush strokes that constitute a sort of grid over the light background.
For this artist in his seventies, painting is no longer a job but a reason of being. From 1975 to 1977 with a limited prolongation in 1978 and 1979, he paints his universe, as a surrealist would do except that his art is totally abstract. The works from this period are sometimes called "pastoral".
The colors blend in a total diversity. They are brought with apparent violence by industrial brushes of great length. Yet the execution is not at all spontaneous. The artist knows in advance what balance he will manage between the gray of the sea, the green of the trees and the brown of the soil. When one work is finished, the next will be another step in the expression of his world.
In this phase de Kooning's paintings gradually lose their last references to human beings and even to landscape. Before deciding whether a painting suits him, he looks at it from every angle, including by overturning it. With a different technique and other confrontations of colors, he matches the other great abstract artist of Springs, Jackson Pollock.
The most important paintings of this period are named Untitled, with the indication of the year and a serialization per year in Roman numerals. The formats are varied, but the larger ones translate at its best the contemplation of the lush nature by the artist.
The Untitled XXV of 1977 is one of the masterpieces of this series by the brightness of the colors and the interwoven complexity of the forms. This 196 x 224 cm oil on canvas was sold for $ 66M including premium by Christie's on November 15, 2016.
On November 14 in New York, Sotheby's sells the Untitled XXII from the same year, lot 13 estimated $ 25M. This oil on canvas 178 x 203 cm expresses with high energy the forces of nature by the violence of the brush strokes that constitute a sort of grid over the light background.
1977 The Blond Profile
2017 SOLD for $ 24.5M including premium
Roy Lichtenstein creates a new conception of the image with his narrative themes inspired by comics, his text bubbles, his flat areas with sharp outlines and his printing dots. He explores the root nature of imagery by elevating to the rank of major art the disproportionately enlarged picture of a brushstroke or later by observing the abstract metamorphosis of a cow.
Early in his career Roy observes the freedom of composition brought by Picasso with his juxtapositions of perspectives and his effects of mirrors. Imitating a portrait of Dora Maar, Woman with Flowered Hat painted in 1963 was sold for $ 56M including premium by Christie's on May 15, 2013.
On November 16 in New York, Sotheby's sells Female Head, oil and acrylic on canvas 152 x 127 cm painted in 1977, lot 29 estimated $ 10M.
Roy interprets Picasso's signature double perspective with his naturalist style without reversing the binocular vision : the right nostril appears on the left. The face is truncated in an outline close to an oval as in an impossible mirror that does not appear. Roy does not forget the profile but processes it in a surrealist manner by the line of the blond hair on the left. This artwork thus becomes the triple head of a unique woman amalgamated in a single figure.
Early in his career Roy observes the freedom of composition brought by Picasso with his juxtapositions of perspectives and his effects of mirrors. Imitating a portrait of Dora Maar, Woman with Flowered Hat painted in 1963 was sold for $ 56M including premium by Christie's on May 15, 2013.
On November 16 in New York, Sotheby's sells Female Head, oil and acrylic on canvas 152 x 127 cm painted in 1977, lot 29 estimated $ 10M.
Roy interprets Picasso's signature double perspective with his naturalist style without reversing the binocular vision : the right nostril appears on the left. The face is truncated in an outline close to an oval as in an impossible mirror that does not appear. Roy does not forget the profile but processes it in a surrealist manner by the line of the blond hair on the left. This artwork thus becomes the triple head of a unique woman amalgamated in a single figure.
1977 The Two Faces of Disgust
2015 SOLD for £ 14.7M including premium
The suicide of George Dyer in 1971 is the great trauma of Francis Bacon. Francis, who had fun watching the downfall of his friend, loses the model that was used to his psychological fixation. The artist finds himself facing an implacable witness of his age: his own mirror.
His growing fame has no direct effect on his art. Francis condemns himself to continue painting, but he has no subject outside of the post mortem vision of George and the disgust of his own look.
On February 10 in London, Sotheby's sells a double self-portrait painted in 1977 by Francis Bacon, lot 18 estimated £ 13M. Each element has the same size as the images of his triptychs, 35 x 30 cm, chosen to provide a life-size face.
In this artwork, Francis reaches a peak of pessimism. The deformation of the lines and the violence of the colors do not remove the likeness of these self-portraits, but the nose is from an old alcoholic. The eyes are closed, but the mouths express sadness and disgust, in the same way as the mouth of his old popes had expressed helplessness and horror.
Soon after, his self-portraits became more serene when Francis finally realized that his own aging was inevitable.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
His growing fame has no direct effect on his art. Francis condemns himself to continue painting, but he has no subject outside of the post mortem vision of George and the disgust of his own look.
On February 10 in London, Sotheby's sells a double self-portrait painted in 1977 by Francis Bacon, lot 18 estimated £ 13M. Each element has the same size as the images of his triptychs, 35 x 30 cm, chosen to provide a life-size face.
In this artwork, Francis reaches a peak of pessimism. The deformation of the lines and the violence of the colors do not remove the likeness of these self-portraits, but the nose is from an old alcoholic. The eyes are closed, but the mouths express sadness and disgust, in the same way as the mouth of his old popes had expressed helplessness and horror.
Soon after, his self-portraits became more serene when Francis finally realized that his own aging was inevitable.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
1977 Muhammad Ali by Warhol
2019 SOLD for $ 10M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020 before the sale of a 1978 example by Christie's (see below)
In Marilyn's time, film actors and actresses crystallized the admiration and jealousy of the general public. In 1977 the art collector Richard Weisman manages to convince Andy Warhol that times have changed. Viewers now enjoy the live broadcasts of sporting events, and the era of sports marketing has already begun.
Richard selects ten champions who dominate their sport. He will visit them with Andy and their team. Andy takes the photos with his Polaroid. Back in his 'Factory', he has the canvases painted in acrylic by his collaborators, himself adding expressive scratches in the still wet paint, and at the end of the process they do the silkscreen printing.
The Athletes series, completed in 1979, is made up of ten portraits of champions in a standardized 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm) format. 8 series are realized. The images are multicolored, with variations from one series to another. This grouping of ten elements to constitute a series was also standardized by Andy for his editions of prints since 1967.
These encounters between two worlds that were ignoring each other bring some surprises. O.J. Simpson has a five-day beard, Jack Nicklaus is upset against Andy's incompetence in sports. The meeting with Muhammad Ali begins with an interminable preamble during which it seems impossible to stop the champion from speaking.
A set of ten paintings was sold by Christie's for $ 5.7M including premium on May 11, 2011. Two other sets have later been sold from the deceased estate of Weisman, also by Christie's. One of them was separated in New York on November 13 and 14, 2019 and the other one in London on February 12, 2020.
Comparing these groups provides additional information : the first Weisman set included Vitas Gerulaitis, while the other two sets display the ice hockey player Rod Gilbert. Weisman certainly wanted such a substitution to avoid tennis, already illustrated by Chris Evert, to be represented twice.
Muhammad Ali was the only one to control that his portrait matched well the image of himself that he wanted to leave, just as fearless in his activism as in his sport. He is the only one of the eleven whose sport is not symbolized by an artifact : his bare fists are brandished towards the artist.
In 2019, the portrait of Muhammad Ali was sold for $ 10M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 5 B. The piece for sale in 2020 was completed in 1978. It was sold for £ 5M over a lower estimate of £ 3M, lot 8. Behind the boxing champion, the greatest is Pelé, fetching $ 860K including premium in 2019 and £ 580K including premium in 2020.
Richard selects ten champions who dominate their sport. He will visit them with Andy and their team. Andy takes the photos with his Polaroid. Back in his 'Factory', he has the canvases painted in acrylic by his collaborators, himself adding expressive scratches in the still wet paint, and at the end of the process they do the silkscreen printing.
The Athletes series, completed in 1979, is made up of ten portraits of champions in a standardized 40 x 40 inches (102 x 102 cm) format. 8 series are realized. The images are multicolored, with variations from one series to another. This grouping of ten elements to constitute a series was also standardized by Andy for his editions of prints since 1967.
These encounters between two worlds that were ignoring each other bring some surprises. O.J. Simpson has a five-day beard, Jack Nicklaus is upset against Andy's incompetence in sports. The meeting with Muhammad Ali begins with an interminable preamble during which it seems impossible to stop the champion from speaking.
A set of ten paintings was sold by Christie's for $ 5.7M including premium on May 11, 2011. Two other sets have later been sold from the deceased estate of Weisman, also by Christie's. One of them was separated in New York on November 13 and 14, 2019 and the other one in London on February 12, 2020.
Comparing these groups provides additional information : the first Weisman set included Vitas Gerulaitis, while the other two sets display the ice hockey player Rod Gilbert. Weisman certainly wanted such a substitution to avoid tennis, already illustrated by Chris Evert, to be represented twice.
Muhammad Ali was the only one to control that his portrait matched well the image of himself that he wanted to leave, just as fearless in his activism as in his sport. He is the only one of the eleven whose sport is not symbolized by an artifact : his bare fists are brandished towards the artist.
In 2019, the portrait of Muhammad Ali was sold for $ 10M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 5 B. The piece for sale in 2020 was completed in 1978. It was sold for £ 5M over a lower estimate of £ 3M, lot 8. Behind the boxing champion, the greatest is Pelé, fetching $ 860K including premium in 2019 and £ 580K including premium in 2020.
1977 No Title for De Kooning's Art
2009 SOLD 6.1 M$ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
The work of Willem de Kooning is typical of the twentieth century, of which he was one of the most outstanding artists. After the Second World War, he waves continuously between figuration (often vulgar characters, and also landscapes) and abstraction. The subject of the artwork is mostly a pretext for big colorful strokes by which the artist expresses his emotions.
In the early 1970s, he devotes himself to sculpture. When he takes his brushes again in 1975, his fiery colors and materials are the best achievement of abstract expressionism. There is no need for words to describe the art in his series of Untitled, which include thirty numbers in two years.
These paintings are well received on the art market. Thus Untitled XXV, 196 x 224 cm, particularly bright, has been sold $ 24.2 million hammer price at Christie's on November 15, 2006.
Untitled XV, 1977, is estimated $ 5 million in the sale at Sotheby's in New York on November 11. Its size is not indicated in the press release, but it is likely that it is a conservative estimate due to the current difficulties of the art market.
In the same sale and from the same collection, a bronze of 1974 titled Large Torso is estimated $ 4 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
Amidst the exceptional results of this sale, the two works of De Kooning have obtained satisfactory prices, without exaggeration when comparing with the estimates.
The untitled painting was sold $ 6.1 million and the Large Torso sculpture $ 5.7 million, both figures including premium.
The work of Willem de Kooning is typical of the twentieth century, of which he was one of the most outstanding artists. After the Second World War, he waves continuously between figuration (often vulgar characters, and also landscapes) and abstraction. The subject of the artwork is mostly a pretext for big colorful strokes by which the artist expresses his emotions.
In the early 1970s, he devotes himself to sculpture. When he takes his brushes again in 1975, his fiery colors and materials are the best achievement of abstract expressionism. There is no need for words to describe the art in his series of Untitled, which include thirty numbers in two years.
These paintings are well received on the art market. Thus Untitled XXV, 196 x 224 cm, particularly bright, has been sold $ 24.2 million hammer price at Christie's on November 15, 2006.
Untitled XV, 1977, is estimated $ 5 million in the sale at Sotheby's in New York on November 11. Its size is not indicated in the press release, but it is likely that it is a conservative estimate due to the current difficulties of the art market.
In the same sale and from the same collection, a bronze of 1974 titled Large Torso is estimated $ 4 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
Amidst the exceptional results of this sale, the two works of De Kooning have obtained satisfactory prices, without exaggeration when comparing with the estimates.
The untitled painting was sold $ 6.1 million and the Large Torso sculpture $ 5.7 million, both figures including premium.
1977 The Hometown of the Mentor
2016 SOLD for HK$ 40M including premium
Lu Xun was a dissident writer. Influenced by Western cultures, he wished China's entry into the modern world and fought the sterile traditions. He loved his hometown of Shaoxing, with its small white houses in the narrow streets and with its boats that glide on lakes and canals like gondolas in Venice.
Wu Guanzhong was 17 when Lu Xun died of tuberculosis in 1936. He could not have the opportunity of a direct meeting with the polemicist but this mentor was to influence his remarkable artistic career. Wu knew to resist the political persecution and to introduce the techniques and styles of the West into the Chinese art world.
One of Wu's specialties was the landscape, away from traditional Chinese art by a compliance to perspective, the observation of the geometrical structure and the use of oil paint. Compared to Europeans, he brings the Chinese taste for sharp lines and brightly contrasting colors.
Wu was also a provincial, born in Yixing in the Yangzi Delta. In 1974, a government commission shared with three other artists to illustrate the scenery along that river is a proof of his return to favor.
The similarities between Shaoxing and Yixing are delighting Wu, excited to realize a landscape painting in honor to Lu Xun. Wu climbs a hill above Shaoxing and chooses a bird's view of an island accessible by boat that has retained its authenticity. A study in oil on board 46 x 61 cm painted in 1977 is estimated HK $ 30M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 2, lot 1024.
Beyond a scenery Wu wished to express the human life. Shaoxing is enlivened in this painting by the presence of small colored spots and a few boats. His views of traditional villages are highly appreciated. The Zhou Village inscribed in a bold oval was sold for HK $ 236M including premium by Poly in April 2016.
Wu Guanzhong was 17 when Lu Xun died of tuberculosis in 1936. He could not have the opportunity of a direct meeting with the polemicist but this mentor was to influence his remarkable artistic career. Wu knew to resist the political persecution and to introduce the techniques and styles of the West into the Chinese art world.
One of Wu's specialties was the landscape, away from traditional Chinese art by a compliance to perspective, the observation of the geometrical structure and the use of oil paint. Compared to Europeans, he brings the Chinese taste for sharp lines and brightly contrasting colors.
Wu was also a provincial, born in Yixing in the Yangzi Delta. In 1974, a government commission shared with three other artists to illustrate the scenery along that river is a proof of his return to favor.
The similarities between Shaoxing and Yixing are delighting Wu, excited to realize a landscape painting in honor to Lu Xun. Wu climbs a hill above Shaoxing and chooses a bird's view of an island accessible by boat that has retained its authenticity. A study in oil on board 46 x 61 cm painted in 1977 is estimated HK $ 30M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 2, lot 1024.
Beyond a scenery Wu wished to express the human life. Shaoxing is enlivened in this painting by the presence of small colored spots and a few boats. His views of traditional villages are highly appreciated. The Zhou Village inscribed in a bold oval was sold for HK $ 236M including premium by Poly in April 2016.
1977 Studies of the Earth
2019 SOLD for $ 3M including premium
Established in Paris since 1950, Sayed Haider Raza expresses the beauty of the Provençal villages. A heavy impasto is used for the confrontation of bright colors. Unlike Riopelle, the topographic elements are interpretable, although stylized.
The artist is not satisfied. In the 1970s he makes frequent and long stays in India to seek the source of his emotions. When he finds the forests of his childhood in Madhya Pradesh, his art becomes abstract.
The play of colors and forms is now based on the promise of dawn, when a beneficial light succeeds the anxieties of the dark. In 1972 Tapovan, acrylic on canvas 160 x 189 cm, brings a mystical dimension with some figures that can be interpreted as stylized faces. This painting was sold for $ 4.45M including premium by Christie's on March 21, 2018.
The expression of La Terre is the major quest in Raza's art. A 189 x 189 cm acrylic painted in 1973 was sold for $ 3.1M including premium by Christie's on March 18, 2014.
On September 11 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 182 an acrylic on canvas 175 x 260 cm painted in 1977, also titled La Terre. This painting in a large scale for this artist appears as a culmination of this phase. In the dark atmosphere enlivened by flashes of light, the figure in the foreground is reminiscent of Tapovan's ghosts.
In the 1980s Raza introduces structuring geometries into his compositions now dominated by sumptuous colors and Indian mystic symbols such as the Bindu. La Terre remains a regularly used title, assessing that the fundamental quest of the artist is still the same despite the radical change of style.
The artist is not satisfied. In the 1970s he makes frequent and long stays in India to seek the source of his emotions. When he finds the forests of his childhood in Madhya Pradesh, his art becomes abstract.
The play of colors and forms is now based on the promise of dawn, when a beneficial light succeeds the anxieties of the dark. In 1972 Tapovan, acrylic on canvas 160 x 189 cm, brings a mystical dimension with some figures that can be interpreted as stylized faces. This painting was sold for $ 4.45M including premium by Christie's on March 21, 2018.
The expression of La Terre is the major quest in Raza's art. A 189 x 189 cm acrylic painted in 1973 was sold for $ 3.1M including premium by Christie's on March 18, 2014.
On September 11 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 182 an acrylic on canvas 175 x 260 cm painted in 1977, also titled La Terre. This painting in a large scale for this artist appears as a culmination of this phase. In the dark atmosphere enlivened by flashes of light, the figure in the foreground is reminiscent of Tapovan's ghosts.
In the 1980s Raza introduces structuring geometries into his compositions now dominated by sumptuous colors and Indian mystic symbols such as the Bindu. La Terre remains a regularly used title, assessing that the fundamental quest of the artist is still the same despite the radical change of style.
