2000
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Sculpture Koons Yoshitomo Nara Lalanne Animals
See also : Sculpture Koons Yoshitomo Nara Lalanne Animals
2000 Celebrations by KOONS
Intro
The series of Celebrations conceived by Jeff Koons in 1994 is made of about 26 themes, each sub-series being made in five versions of different colors. They have become the most recognizable works of contemporary art.
The sizes are monumental. When a Celebration is exhibited, it is impossible to ignore it. The themes are simple and symbolic enough to be understood anywhere in the world regardless of the culture of the visitor.
Celebrations are made in chromium plated stainless steel covered with a transparent colored coating, a process specially developed to offer an intense reflectivity in a perfect smoothness of all the curves. This finish of pure color interacts with the environment through an intense mirror effect for which the artist seeks perfection.
The monochrome subjects, arguably less difficult to realize, were the first to be completed, in 1999 and 2000. They include the diamond, hanging heart, balloon flower and balloon dog.
The sizes are monumental. When a Celebration is exhibited, it is impossible to ignore it. The themes are simple and symbolic enough to be understood anywhere in the world regardless of the culture of the visitor.
Celebrations are made in chromium plated stainless steel covered with a transparent colored coating, a process specially developed to offer an intense reflectivity in a perfect smoothness of all the curves. This finish of pure color interacts with the environment through an intense mirror effect for which the artist seeks perfection.
The monochrome subjects, arguably less difficult to realize, were the first to be completed, in 1999 and 2000. They include the diamond, hanging heart, balloon flower and balloon dog.
1
Balloon Dog
2013 SOLD for $ 58M by Christie's
In the Celebration series by Koons, the monochrome subjects, arguably less difficult to realize, were the first to be completed, in 1999 and 2000. They are the diamond, hanging heart, balloon flower and balloon dog.
The Balloon Flower and the Balloon Dog are constructed in rounded shapes that reflect their environment in all directions. Looking more like a toy than like the animal that could serve as a model, it appears as a symbol of happy childhood. The bright orange specimen is joyful.
One of the earliest completed opuses was the Balloon Flower (Blue), supplied as early as 1999 to an artistic foundation managed by Daimler. It was sold for $ 17M on 10 November 10, 2010 by Christie's.
Koons also wanted this series to be a break from traditional art and designated his Balloon Dog as a Trojan horse. Almost twenty years later, the prestige of the series shows that he was right.
Balloon Dog (Orange) was sold for $ 58M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie 's on November 12, 2013. Measuring 307 x 363 x 114 cm, this sculpture was completed in 2000. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The Balloon Flower and the Balloon Dog are constructed in rounded shapes that reflect their environment in all directions. Looking more like a toy than like the animal that could serve as a model, it appears as a symbol of happy childhood. The bright orange specimen is joyful.
One of the earliest completed opuses was the Balloon Flower (Blue), supplied as early as 1999 to an artistic foundation managed by Daimler. It was sold for $ 17M on 10 November 10, 2010 by Christie's.
Koons also wanted this series to be a break from traditional art and designated his Balloon Dog as a Trojan horse. Almost twenty years later, the prestige of the series shows that he was right.
Balloon Dog (Orange) was sold for $ 58M from a lower estimate of $ 35M by Christie 's on November 12, 2013. Measuring 307 x 363 x 114 cm, this sculpture was completed in 2000. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
2
Balloon Flower
2008 SOLD for £ 12.9M by Christie's
Jeff Koons loves flowers. Accordingly, the artist expressed this view in 2003: "I have always enjoyed flowers." He also manages that his works display symbolic forms unequivocally recognizable by fans of all countries.
On June 30, 2008, Christie's sold for £ 12.9M the Balloon Flower (Magenta), dated 1995-2000, of towering dimensions (340 x 285 x 260 cm), lot 12. The photo in the catalog shows this cumbersome thing simply laying on water in a park.
One of the earliest completed opuses was the Balloon Flower (Blue), supplied as early as 1999 to an artistic foundation managed by Daimler. It was sold for $ 17M on 10 November 2010 also by Christie's.
On June 30, 2008, Christie's sold for £ 12.9M the Balloon Flower (Magenta), dated 1995-2000, of towering dimensions (340 x 285 x 260 cm), lot 12. The photo in the catalog shows this cumbersome thing simply laying on water in a park.
One of the earliest completed opuses was the Balloon Flower (Blue), supplied as early as 1999 to an artistic foundation managed by Daimler. It was sold for $ 17M on 10 November 2010 also by Christie's.
2000 Yoshitomo NARA
1
Knife behind Back
2019 SOLD for HK$ 196M by Sotheby's
2000 is the transition year in the life and career of Yoshitomo Nara who returns to Japan after twelve years in Germany. He did not originally want his art to be political. Yet it was in that year, inspired by his recent visit at Auschwitz. He now considers that his characters can raise their voices to demand that all wars be avoided.
The children of that era are already the Millennials, who desire to influence the evolution of the world against dangers which they cannot analyze and even less control. They feel concerned and do not appreciate how much they are fragile, but they are not dangerous.
The titles in the 2000 series of large size acrylic on canvas transcribe this imaginary fate facing these crazy wars operated by the adults : Last warrior subtitled The Unknown soldier, Missing in Action, The Little ambassador.
By chance this Japanese girl is contemporary with the invention of emoji. Tiny details change completely the meaning of a figure. This trend associated with the expression of a revolt powerfully increases two decades later the power of the 2000 Nara girl.
Knife behind back is one of the strongest messages, increased by a bird's eye view without a visible surrounding. The mouth is severe and stubborn. The right hand is hidden, justifying the interpretation of the title as a threat. This 234 x 208 cm acrylic on canvas was sold for HK $ 196M on October 6, 2019 by Sotheby's, lot 1142.
The suggestion of a hidden object is a fruitful idea which was only latent in the smaller Frog Girl, painted in Germany in 1998, where the child had exactly the same attitude in a left-right reverse position. In Knife, the dress has become an aggressive deep red and the mouth is resolutely hostile.
The character will soon lose her aggressiveness and smile friendly again. Featured in a flesh colored dress, Right hand in back, acrylic on a 180 cm circular canvas painted in 2002 and mounted on fiberglass, was sold for $ 2.17M by Sotheby's on November 17, 2017, lot 420.
The children of that era are already the Millennials, who desire to influence the evolution of the world against dangers which they cannot analyze and even less control. They feel concerned and do not appreciate how much they are fragile, but they are not dangerous.
The titles in the 2000 series of large size acrylic on canvas transcribe this imaginary fate facing these crazy wars operated by the adults : Last warrior subtitled The Unknown soldier, Missing in Action, The Little ambassador.
By chance this Japanese girl is contemporary with the invention of emoji. Tiny details change completely the meaning of a figure. This trend associated with the expression of a revolt powerfully increases two decades later the power of the 2000 Nara girl.
Knife behind back is one of the strongest messages, increased by a bird's eye view without a visible surrounding. The mouth is severe and stubborn. The right hand is hidden, justifying the interpretation of the title as a threat. This 234 x 208 cm acrylic on canvas was sold for HK $ 196M on October 6, 2019 by Sotheby's, lot 1142.
The suggestion of a hidden object is a fruitful idea which was only latent in the smaller Frog Girl, painted in Germany in 1998, where the child had exactly the same attitude in a left-right reverse position. In Knife, the dress has become an aggressive deep red and the mouth is resolutely hostile.
The character will soon lose her aggressiveness and smile friendly again. Featured in a flesh colored dress, Right hand in back, acrylic on a 180 cm circular canvas painted in 2002 and mounted on fiberglass, was sold for $ 2.17M by Sotheby's on November 17, 2017, lot 420.
2
Missing in Action
2021 SOLD for HK$ 124M by Phillips in association with Poly
On May 28, 2017, Phillips sold at lot 11 for HK $ 21.7M the portrait of a little girl whose dual title is unambiguous in its condemnation of war : Last Warrior / The Unknown Soldier.
On a light background of great brightness the skin and dress are ethereal, contrasting with the mouth and eyes which express the message. The mouth is authoritarian and stubborn and the divergent strabismus does not invite to negotiation.
Last Warrior has a sequel that provides the key to the artist's hope. The child's attitude is almost identical with three exceptions : a hand appears to offer a single two-leaf seedling, the mouth loses its twist in favor of an expression of seriousness and the strabismus has been offset. Rightly titled The Little Ambassador, this acrylic on canvas 198 x 133 cm was sold for HK $ 24M by Sotheby's on October 2, 2016, lot 1040.
The wording Missing in Action has the same dramatic meaning as the Last Warrior. Painted in the same style also on 2000, this acrylic on canvas 165 x 150 cm was sold for £ 2M by Phillips on October 14, 2015, lot 9, and for HK $ 124M by Phillips in association with Poly on June 8, 2021, lot 17.
On a light background of great brightness the skin and dress are ethereal, contrasting with the mouth and eyes which express the message. The mouth is authoritarian and stubborn and the divergent strabismus does not invite to negotiation.
Last Warrior has a sequel that provides the key to the artist's hope. The child's attitude is almost identical with three exceptions : a hand appears to offer a single two-leaf seedling, the mouth loses its twist in favor of an expression of seriousness and the strabismus has been offset. Rightly titled The Little Ambassador, this acrylic on canvas 198 x 133 cm was sold for HK $ 24M by Sotheby's on October 2, 2016, lot 1040.
The wording Missing in Action has the same dramatic meaning as the Last Warrior. Painted in the same style also on 2000, this acrylic on canvas 165 x 150 cm was sold for £ 2M by Phillips on October 14, 2015, lot 9, and for HK $ 124M by Phillips in association with Poly on June 8, 2021, lot 17.
3
Bad Barber
2023 SOLD for HK$ 52M by Christie's
Bad Barber was painted by Yoshitomo Nara in Germany in 2000 before his come back to his native Japan. The little girl in bust length is bad, as displayed by her red clothing and her mischievous gaze. The word 'barber' marks her foolish ambition to jump into the professional society of the adults.
This larger than life acrylic on canvas 100 x 90 m was sold for HK $ 52M by Christie's on November 28, 2023, lot 33.
This larger than life acrylic on canvas 100 x 90 m was sold for HK $ 52M by Christie's on November 28, 2023, lot 33.
2000 HOCKNEY
1
Guest House Garden
2021 SOLD for £ 6M by Christie's
The Guest House is in its wording an invite to socializing. In 2000 David Hockney executes a Guest House subseries of his domestic landscapes. The bright colors provide a new sense of intimacy to the trivial details of a garden, flattened on the canvas in a deliberate absence of perspective.
Painted in London in the summer 2000, Guest House Wall features the saturated pattern of the red bricks of the garden's wall, behind a variety of trees. This oil on canvas 92 x 122 cm was sold for £ 2.17M by Sotheby's on October 8, 2016, lot 15.
In the Guest House Garden painted in Los Angeles in November 2000, the artist goes further away from a reality with its flamboyant colors in loose brushstrokes : red and pink house walls, dark blue roofs and orange or blue tree trunks. This 152 x 193 cm oil on canvas was sold for £ 6M by Christie's on October 15, 2021, lot 11.
Painted in London in the summer 2000, Guest House Wall features the saturated pattern of the red bricks of the garden's wall, behind a variety of trees. This oil on canvas 92 x 122 cm was sold for £ 2.17M by Sotheby's on October 8, 2016, lot 15.
In the Guest House Garden painted in Los Angeles in November 2000, the artist goes further away from a reality with its flamboyant colors in loose brushstrokes : red and pink house walls, dark blue roofs and orange or blue tree trunks. This 152 x 193 cm oil on canvas was sold for £ 6M by Christie's on October 15, 2021, lot 11.
2
The Gate
2023 SOLD for $ 14.7M by Christie's
A domestic landscape could hardly be an exciting theme for a painter. For David Hockney in 2000, it was nevertheless a great theme to display the most stunning colors. Such a picture got rid of the reality.
The flattened perspective of these large scale dense compositions embeds the viewer in the scenery, adding somehow its figuration to the visual effect of the abstract expressionism. It is no coincidence that the artist also worked on stage sets in the same period.
The Gate, oil on canvas 152 x 193 cm, was conceived after the artist visited a Monet exhibition at the Royal Academy. The view without the presence of figures is an amalgam from the sun bathed Hollywood Hills and from the quieter atmosphere of his native England where this work was completed.
It was sold for $ 7M by Phillips on November 16, 2016, lot 12, and for $ 14.7M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 39A.
The flattened perspective of these large scale dense compositions embeds the viewer in the scenery, adding somehow its figuration to the visual effect of the abstract expressionism. It is no coincidence that the artist also worked on stage sets in the same period.
The Gate, oil on canvas 152 x 193 cm, was conceived after the artist visited a Monet exhibition at the Royal Academy. The view without the presence of figures is an amalgam from the sun bathed Hollywood Hills and from the quieter atmosphere of his native England where this work was completed.
It was sold for $ 7M by Phillips on November 16, 2016, lot 12, and for $ 14.7M by Christie's on May 11, 2023, lot 39A.
2000-2002 House of Pictures by Doig
2018 SOLD for $ 9.1M by Sotheby's
One day in a street in Vienna, Peter Doig was fascinated by the wide frontage of a gallery inscribed in huge letters as HAUS DER BILDER. What a good appeal for art lovers! And highly frustrating as it was not a shop but a studio with only some empty frames visible through the glass window. He took photographs.
He transferred that scenery in 2000 to an oil on canvas 195 x 295 cm. The geometric rendering was too perfect, not even needing an impasto. Doig added a single character from a photo taken by him in Vancouver of an unidentified man, arguably an artist, viewed from back with a long hair falling over a strange cloak, also with incongruous cowboy boots.
Indeed the intrusion of the man within that minimalist scenery joins the 1942 questioning by Hopper in Nighthawks about the meaning of human life.
House of Pictures was first exhibited in 2001 and dated again in 2002 by the artist. It was sold for $ 9.1M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018, lot 6T and for £ 6.1M by Christie's on October 13, 2023, lot 14.
He transferred that scenery in 2000 to an oil on canvas 195 x 295 cm. The geometric rendering was too perfect, not even needing an impasto. Doig added a single character from a photo taken by him in Vancouver of an unidentified man, arguably an artist, viewed from back with a long hair falling over a strange cloak, also with incongruous cowboy boots.
Indeed the intrusion of the man within that minimalist scenery joins the 1942 questioning by Hopper in Nighthawks about the meaning of human life.
House of Pictures was first exhibited in 2001 and dated again in 2002 by the artist. It was sold for $ 9.1M by Sotheby's on November 14, 2018, lot 6T and for £ 6.1M by Christie's on October 13, 2023, lot 14.
2000 Ane Planté by Lalanne
2022 SOLD for $ 8.4M by Christie's
The animal shaped furniture of the Lalanne is a fertile conception that brings a rare humor in art and in furnishing. Nothing prevents from shaping a lamp like a pigeon, or from transforming a bar into a fish or a grasshopper, or from hiding a safety box in a gorilla's torso, or from sitting on a sheep like on a bench. They also pioneered in zoomorphic topiary art.
In 1989 Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne realized six monumental fountains in stainless steel and copper for a public promenade in Santa Monica. Each one is another model of dinosaur with however some liberty from the scientific truth. Each sculpture is also used as a flower box, allowing a seasonal decoration covering the entire surface excepted head, crest and claws in accordance with the gardener's fantasy.
Dimetrodon II was made with the same materials on a commission from a collector in 1998 and can also be used as a fountain. With its 5.30 m long it is larger than the prehistoric animal which did not exceed 3.50 m. It is adding to the seductive power of the original beast an elegant frontal horn. Numbered 1/1 this topiary installation was sold for $ 540K by Sotheby's on June 6, 2017, lot 127.
The âne planté is another example of topiary art by François-Xavier. The title is a triple pun for the double meaning of planté, altogether planted and standing stiff, and for the closeness to âne bâté describing its popular figure of a pack donkey.
From the collection of Marie Lalanne, the âne planté 5/8 in patinated bronze 142 x 111 x 155 cm from the 2000 edition was sold for $ 8.4M from a lower estimate of $ 300K by Christie's on December 7, 2022, lot 18.
From the collection of Dorothée Lalanne, the artist's proof EA 3/4 black patinated bronze from the 2002 edition by Bocquel was sold for € 3.2M from a lower estimate of € 400K by Sotheby's on November 3, 2022, lot 61.
In 1989 Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne realized six monumental fountains in stainless steel and copper for a public promenade in Santa Monica. Each one is another model of dinosaur with however some liberty from the scientific truth. Each sculpture is also used as a flower box, allowing a seasonal decoration covering the entire surface excepted head, crest and claws in accordance with the gardener's fantasy.
Dimetrodon II was made with the same materials on a commission from a collector in 1998 and can also be used as a fountain. With its 5.30 m long it is larger than the prehistoric animal which did not exceed 3.50 m. It is adding to the seductive power of the original beast an elegant frontal horn. Numbered 1/1 this topiary installation was sold for $ 540K by Sotheby's on June 6, 2017, lot 127.
The âne planté is another example of topiary art by François-Xavier. The title is a triple pun for the double meaning of planté, altogether planted and standing stiff, and for the closeness to âne bâté describing its popular figure of a pack donkey.
From the collection of Marie Lalanne, the âne planté 5/8 in patinated bronze 142 x 111 x 155 cm from the 2000 edition was sold for $ 8.4M from a lower estimate of $ 300K by Christie's on December 7, 2022, lot 18.
From the collection of Dorothée Lalanne, the artist's proof EA 3/4 black patinated bronze from the 2002 edition by Bocquel was sold for € 3.2M from a lower estimate of € 400K by Sotheby's on November 3, 2022, lot 61.
2000 Basketball by Hammons
2013 SOLD for $ 8M by Phillips
David Hammons was a student at the time of the struggles that culminated in 1968 with the prohibition of racial discrimination in the United States. He will forever be a social activist.
He provides his artistic message by assembling various objects ranging from foil to trash. He does not accept the established bourgeois system of art galleries, preferring the street and not hesitating to provoke happenings.
Basketball is one of his recurring themes. He hates basketball because it seems to offer to the teenagers an outlet to fame and wealth that, for almost all of them, is only an illusion.
In 2000, Hammons executed three assemblies where the basketball panel is reused as a support for a suite of chandeliers, a luxury furnishing out of our time and socially incongruous.
One of these assemblies of fake luxury, 196 x 221 x 64 cm, illuminated by light bulbs within the chandeliers, was sold for $ 8M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Phillips on November 8, 2013.
He provides his artistic message by assembling various objects ranging from foil to trash. He does not accept the established bourgeois system of art galleries, preferring the street and not hesitating to provoke happenings.
Basketball is one of his recurring themes. He hates basketball because it seems to offer to the teenagers an outlet to fame and wealth that, for almost all of them, is only an illusion.
In 2000, Hammons executed three assemblies where the basketball panel is reused as a support for a suite of chandeliers, a luxury furnishing out of our time and socially incongruous.
One of these assemblies of fake luxury, 196 x 221 x 64 cm, illuminated by light bulbs within the chandeliers, was sold for $ 8M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Phillips on November 8, 2013.
