Current Art
2011 Spinach in Art
2014 SOLD 28 M$ including premium
The series of the Celebrations brought to the art of Koons a universal language and a flawless and inimitable technique, with its pure colors in transparent coating onto a perfectly polished stainless steel. A come back to American kitsch was tempting. Koons highlighted Popeye.
This is a clever choice. The image of Popeye, created in 1929, is recognized worldwide. This character has a gruff and whimsical behavior that appeals to Americans. He is never completely caught by his stupidity offset by a large dose of sentimentality.
Popeye would not exist without his spinach box, which provides him with oversized forearms and an invincible strength. Koons notes that spinach transforms this character same as art transforms the reality of life. Popeye is the precursor of these superhuman heroes led by Superman who managed to brighten the Americans at the height of the Great Depression.
His name is an allusion to his pirate eye. Meanwhile, the pop art has gone. Koons offers a sign of connivence to pop art that is indeed a tribute to his predecessors Warhol, Lichtenstein and Mel Ramos.
As for the Celebrations, the statue has two dates, from design to completion. This 2 m high Popeye, dated 2009-2011, was edited in four units plus one artist's proof.
One of them is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 14. The press release issued on April 11 announced an estimate around $ 25M. I invite you to play the short video shared by Sotheby's for introducing this lot.
The above video was only a short preview. I invite you now to play the full length video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very recent work was sold for $ 28M including premium.
This is a clever choice. The image of Popeye, created in 1929, is recognized worldwide. This character has a gruff and whimsical behavior that appeals to Americans. He is never completely caught by his stupidity offset by a large dose of sentimentality.
Popeye would not exist without his spinach box, which provides him with oversized forearms and an invincible strength. Koons notes that spinach transforms this character same as art transforms the reality of life. Popeye is the precursor of these superhuman heroes led by Superman who managed to brighten the Americans at the height of the Great Depression.
His name is an allusion to his pirate eye. Meanwhile, the pop art has gone. Koons offers a sign of connivence to pop art that is indeed a tribute to his predecessors Warhol, Lichtenstein and Mel Ramos.
As for the Celebrations, the statue has two dates, from design to completion. This 2 m high Popeye, dated 2009-2011, was edited in four units plus one artist's proof.
One of them is for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 14. The press release issued on April 11 announced an estimate around $ 25M. I invite you to play the short video shared by Sotheby's for introducing this lot.
The above video was only a short preview. I invite you now to play the full length video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very recent work was sold for $ 28M including premium.
2011 S III Released to France Face 43.14 by Grotjahn
2017 SOLD for $ 16.8M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2018 before the sale of another painting by Christie's (see below)
Inspired by Picasso's art, Mark Grotjahn begins with abstract paintings designed around two vanishing points spread over a central vertical. The radiating lines define triangles that are filled in several monochrome shades of a basic color. This is his series of Butterflies, offering the illusion of these insects with open wings.
He changes his theme in 2007. Vanishing points are now multiple, spread on the canvas to simulate a mouth, a nose and several eyes in a changing quantity. The radiant graphics are now flexible lines that get entangled in a thick impasto of many colors. The figurative elements disappear, as Pollock's preliminary drawings were doing under his dripping.
The colors are carefully chosen so that none of them is dominant. As for Rothko or Gaitonde, the artworks are glossy and their photographic reproductions are dull. Through the folds of the impasto, the viewer looks for the face as he searches for the hidden message with Mark Bradford or the truculent detail with Cecily Brown.
Painted in 2011, Untitled (S III Release to France Face 43.14), oil on cardboard mounted on canvas 257 x 187 cm, was sold for $ 16.8M including premium by Christie's on May 17, 2017, lot 36 B.
An Untitled (Yellow and Green Low Fall Face 41.80), 224 x 124 cm painted in the same year with the same technique, passed at Christie's on October 4, 2018.
He changes his theme in 2007. Vanishing points are now multiple, spread on the canvas to simulate a mouth, a nose and several eyes in a changing quantity. The radiant graphics are now flexible lines that get entangled in a thick impasto of many colors. The figurative elements disappear, as Pollock's preliminary drawings were doing under his dripping.
The colors are carefully chosen so that none of them is dominant. As for Rothko or Gaitonde, the artworks are glossy and their photographic reproductions are dull. Through the folds of the impasto, the viewer looks for the face as he searches for the hidden message with Mark Bradford or the truculent detail with Cecily Brown.
Painted in 2011, Untitled (S III Release to France Face 43.14), oil on cardboard mounted on canvas 257 x 187 cm, was sold for $ 16.8M including premium by Christie's on May 17, 2017, lot 36 B.
An Untitled (Yellow and Green Low Fall Face 41.80), 224 x 124 cm painted in the same year with the same technique, passed at Christie's on October 4, 2018.
CUI RUZHUO
1
2011 Lotus
2011 SOLD for HK$ 124M by Christie's
Cui Ruzhuo assembles polyptychs composed of vertical panels painted in line and wash on paper in his signature finger ink technique. A single monumental work may occupy a full wall in an exhibition.
The themes chosen by Cui appeal to the Chinese sensitivity. On the theme of the lotus, a set of eight scrolls 247 x 123 cm each was sold at lot 2237 for HK $ 124M from a lower estimate of HK $ 40M by Christie's on 29 November 2011. The lotus are drawn with distorted shapes.
This work is dated from early summer xinmao year matching 2011 CE, a few months before its auction.
The themes chosen by Cui appeal to the Chinese sensitivity. On the theme of the lotus, a set of eight scrolls 247 x 123 cm each was sold at lot 2237 for HK $ 124M from a lower estimate of HK $ 40M by Christie's on 29 November 2011. The lotus are drawn with distorted shapes.
This work is dated from early summer xinmao year matching 2011 CE, a few months before its auction.
2
2013 The Grand Snowing Mountains
2016 SOLD for HK$ 307M by Poly
The favorite theme of Cui is the unlimited landscape of snowy mountains, eternally indifferent to men.
The Grand Snowing Mountains, inspired by Jiangnan, was painted in ink and color on paper by Cui in 2013.
It was probably unpaid after being sold by Poly on April 7, 2013 for HK $ 236M, lot 2314, just after being prepared as a set of eight mounted panels 292 x 143 cm.
It was sold at the same venue on April 4, 2016 for HK $ 307M from a lower estimate of HK $ 150M as a mounted set of six for an overall 300 x 870 cm, lot 1213.
The similarity between the two lots leaves no doubt that it is the same piece.
The Grand Snowing Mountains, inspired by Jiangnan, was painted in ink and color on paper by Cui in 2013.
It was probably unpaid after being sold by Poly on April 7, 2013 for HK $ 236M, lot 2314, just after being prepared as a set of eight mounted panels 292 x 143 cm.
It was sold at the same venue on April 4, 2016 for HK $ 307M from a lower estimate of HK $ 150M as a mounted set of six for an overall 300 x 870 cm, lot 1213.
The similarity between the two lots leaves no doubt that it is the same piece.
3
2017 Twelve Screens of Landscape
2017 SOLD for RMB 240M by Poly
A set of twelve painted in 2017 by Cui was sold for RMB 240M by Poly in December 2017.
It is illustrated in the post sale report shared by The Value. The reported title, Twelve screens of finger ink landscape, refers to the Cui's signature painting technique.
It is illustrated in the post sale report shared by The Value. The reported title, Twelve screens of finger ink landscape, refers to the Cui's signature painting technique.
2014 Koons on the Mound
2018 SOLD for $ 23M including premium
The original artist is a toddler named Ludwig Koons. He plays to triturate Play-Doh multicolored modeling clay, a trademark of Hasbro. Posterity has forever retained this dialogue with his father : Ludwig: "Daddy !" Jeff: "What ?" Ludwig: "Voilà !".
The story takes place in 1994 when Jeff Koons is conceiving as a whole his series of Celebrations. Ludwig's achievement is a formless mound but composed of bright and varied colors. Jeff is not an abstract artist. It does not matter. He will justify the insertion of Play-Doh in his list of Celebrations by the fact that it is a toy that will remind for the visitor the happiness of childhood.
The expectation lasted until 2014 when Play-Doh was released in five copies with different color configurations according to the immutable process for this series. Composed of 27 painted aluminum plates, it measures 315 x 387 x 348 cm, slightly higher than the Balloon Dog.
The delay was long but Jeff Koons turns it to his advantage : it was necessary that the joining of the plates and the surface finish reach perfection. It is true that this surface simulating the impact of touch by the fingers of the toddler is the most complex of the Celebration series. An early trial in polyethylene had not given him satisfaction.
One of the five Play-Dohs will be sold by Christie's in New York on May 17 as lot 12 B. The April 9 press release announces an estimate in the region of $ 20M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house where the lot is discussed by Jeff Koons.
The story takes place in 1994 when Jeff Koons is conceiving as a whole his series of Celebrations. Ludwig's achievement is a formless mound but composed of bright and varied colors. Jeff is not an abstract artist. It does not matter. He will justify the insertion of Play-Doh in his list of Celebrations by the fact that it is a toy that will remind for the visitor the happiness of childhood.
The expectation lasted until 2014 when Play-Doh was released in five copies with different color configurations according to the immutable process for this series. Composed of 27 painted aluminum plates, it measures 315 x 387 x 348 cm, slightly higher than the Balloon Dog.
The delay was long but Jeff Koons turns it to his advantage : it was necessary that the joining of the plates and the surface finish reach perfection. It is true that this surface simulating the impact of touch by the fingers of the toddler is the most complex of the Celebration series. An early trial in polyethylene had not given him satisfaction.
One of the five Play-Dohs will be sold by Christie's in New York on May 17 as lot 12 B. The April 9 press release announces an estimate in the region of $ 20M. Please watch the video shared by the auction house where the lot is discussed by Jeff Koons.
2017 Set of Nine CryptoPunks
2021 SOLD for $ 17M by Christie's
Larva Labs was established in 2005 by two Canadian software developers, Matt and John. Their New York based business is to release art projects to the blockchain.
Nobody can ignore the infinite variety of items generated by the combinations of figures of the utmost simplicity. Barcodes in single line or square supersede the classical labels. Color is welcomed. The quantum for a photo is the pixel whose transfer into a digital code is direct.
The two technologists managed in 2017 the CryptoPunks project. Each image was coded in a 24 x 24, 8 bit pixel square. This size may seem very low but is sufficient to stylize a head with varying attributes. The title is a direct reference to the punk movement when the misfits marked their differences by extravagant hair dressing and make up.
Matt and John created exactly 10,000 CryptoPunks, most of them male or female but also a small population of green skinned zombies, hirsute apes and light blue skinned aliens. Each figure is further defined by its distinctive accessories which bring it a human individuality, from zero for the basic Punks to seven accessories for the most complex.
The CryptoPunks were originally released on the Ethereum blockchain, making it the seminal NFT supported art project. Some of them were immediately offered for trade. Once sold, they do not belong any more to Larva Labs but their website records in the dedicated page of each item its transaction tracking beside the rarity of its accessories.
The CryptoPunks are one of the leading elements of the new craze for blockchain art, which escapes the world health lockdown by its lack of physical existence and as a consequence manages to redefine art.
A set of nine was sold for $ 17M from a lower estimate of $ 7M by Christie's on May 11, 2021, lot 11 A. They have been sorted 'ex factory' for that sale by the two guys at Larva Labs from the unsold items within the sub-1,000 reference number range. The auction house accepts the Ether cryptocurrency for this lot.
This assembly is made of four males, four females and one alien, with one to four accessories, displaying altogether 18 different accessories.
Collectors will be appealed by the Punk 2, a female with wild hair which has the third lowest number in the series after 0 and 1, and by the Punk 635 which is the only alien with a sub-1,000 series number.
On March 11, 2021, a price of 4,200 ether worth at that date US $ 7.58M was paid twice in separate private transactions : for the Punk 3100, an alien with a headband as its unique accessory, and for the Punk 7804, the unique pipe smoking alien which also has a cap forward and small shades.
Nobody can ignore the infinite variety of items generated by the combinations of figures of the utmost simplicity. Barcodes in single line or square supersede the classical labels. Color is welcomed. The quantum for a photo is the pixel whose transfer into a digital code is direct.
The two technologists managed in 2017 the CryptoPunks project. Each image was coded in a 24 x 24, 8 bit pixel square. This size may seem very low but is sufficient to stylize a head with varying attributes. The title is a direct reference to the punk movement when the misfits marked their differences by extravagant hair dressing and make up.
Matt and John created exactly 10,000 CryptoPunks, most of them male or female but also a small population of green skinned zombies, hirsute apes and light blue skinned aliens. Each figure is further defined by its distinctive accessories which bring it a human individuality, from zero for the basic Punks to seven accessories for the most complex.
The CryptoPunks were originally released on the Ethereum blockchain, making it the seminal NFT supported art project. Some of them were immediately offered for trade. Once sold, they do not belong any more to Larva Labs but their website records in the dedicated page of each item its transaction tracking beside the rarity of its accessories.
The CryptoPunks are one of the leading elements of the new craze for blockchain art, which escapes the world health lockdown by its lack of physical existence and as a consequence manages to redefine art.
A set of nine was sold for $ 17M from a lower estimate of $ 7M by Christie's on May 11, 2021, lot 11 A. They have been sorted 'ex factory' for that sale by the two guys at Larva Labs from the unsold items within the sub-1,000 reference number range. The auction house accepts the Ether cryptocurrency for this lot.
This assembly is made of four males, four females and one alien, with one to four accessories, displaying altogether 18 different accessories.
Collectors will be appealed by the Punk 2, a female with wild hair which has the third lowest number in the series after 0 and 1, and by the Punk 635 which is the only alien with a sub-1,000 series number.
On March 11, 2021, a price of 4,200 ether worth at that date US $ 7.58M was paid twice in separate private transactions : for the Punk 3100, an alien with a headband as its unique accessory, and for the Punk 7804, the unique pipe smoking alien which also has a cap forward and small shades.
2018 Love is in the Bin by Banksy
2021 for sale on October 14 by Sotheby's
waiting for catalogue
Girl with Balloon, stencil painted by Banksy, first appeared in 2002 on a wall in London. Under a strong wind which messes her hair and inflates her skirt, the child has just let go the string of a heart-shaped balloon. A second painting also in London brings the artist's message, "There is always hope", which in some way revisits the traditional theme of the bottle thrown into the sea.
The image is simple and without social aggression and became immediately popular. He often reused it for happenings or other actions to promote his political opinions.
A spray paint and acrylic on canvas 101 x 78 cm was listed by Sotheby's in London in the contemporary art evening sale of October 5, 2018. As the hammer falls for £ 1.04M including premium, the artwork is shredded in the auction room by a mechanism hidden in the 18 cm thick artist's frame.
Banksy claimed this remote-controlled destruction with a convincing evidence. The modified work has been certified by his authentication body Pest Control with a new title, Love is in the Bin. The new owner understood the specific place of her acquisition in the history of art. A collusion between Banksy and Sotheby's for this unprecedented happening is not credible.
The image is simple and without social aggression and became immediately popular. He often reused it for happenings or other actions to promote his political opinions.
A spray paint and acrylic on canvas 101 x 78 cm was listed by Sotheby's in London in the contemporary art evening sale of October 5, 2018. As the hammer falls for £ 1.04M including premium, the artwork is shredded in the auction room by a mechanism hidden in the 18 cm thick artist's frame.
Banksy claimed this remote-controlled destruction with a convincing evidence. The modified work has been certified by his authentication body Pest Control with a new title, Love is in the Bin. The new owner understood the specific place of her acquisition in the history of art. A collusion between Banksy and Sotheby's for this unprecedented happening is not credible.
Banksy's shredded painting is on sale again -- and it may be worth six times as much https://t.co/zuyaQdVOFM pic.twitter.com/ZWl2WCeTHf
— CNN International (@cnni) September 3, 2021
2020 A Gift for the Hospital
2021 SOLD for £ 16.8M including premium
In the spring of 2020, in each country, everyone discovers the existence of superheroes, people like you and me, very keen of doing their daily work with perseverance and abnegation : the frontline health staff, which was until then mostly distinguished by the press for social and wage demands.
On May 6, 2020, Banksy hangs at the University Hospital Southampton an oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm, clearly visible to staff and patients. This work incorporates the artist's social humor, but without his usual irreverence. It is the message of hope that people increasingly need, one year after the global expansion of the pandemic.
The work is named Game Changer. This title is descriptive. It features a kneeling kid brandishing his new toy, a Superman-inspired masked nurse flying to our rescue. The outdated toys, Batman and Spiderman, are in the bin. The visual effect is not forgotten. In this freehand painting in black line, the only color is the Red Cross clearly visible on the nurse's uniform.
Banksy promised that this work would be sold to benefit the National Health Service. He keeps his word. Game Changer is estimated £ 2.5M for sale by Christie's in London on March 23, lot 6. At Southampton Hospital, hope will not be lost : a replica has been installed in place of the original.
The lot was offered with a saleroom notice :
"The artist wishes to thank the British Red Cross for authorising the use of the Red Cross emblem in this work. The red cross symbol is restricted by law in order to preserve its protective function during armed conflicts."
On May 6, 2020, Banksy hangs at the University Hospital Southampton an oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm, clearly visible to staff and patients. This work incorporates the artist's social humor, but without his usual irreverence. It is the message of hope that people increasingly need, one year after the global expansion of the pandemic.
The work is named Game Changer. This title is descriptive. It features a kneeling kid brandishing his new toy, a Superman-inspired masked nurse flying to our rescue. The outdated toys, Batman and Spiderman, are in the bin. The visual effect is not forgotten. In this freehand painting in black line, the only color is the Red Cross clearly visible on the nurse's uniform.
Banksy promised that this work would be sold to benefit the National Health Service. He keeps his word. Game Changer is estimated £ 2.5M for sale by Christie's in London on March 23, lot 6. At Southampton Hospital, hope will not be lost : a replica has been installed in place of the original.
The lot was offered with a saleroom notice :
"The artist wishes to thank the British Red Cross for authorising the use of the Red Cross emblem in this work. The red cross symbol is restricted by law in order to preserve its protective function during armed conflicts."
2021 Beeple the New Bard
2021 SOLD for $ 69M including premium
His website says it clearly : Beeple is Mike Winkelmann. He is a graphic designer who produces digital art in the form of short films and concert visuals and complacently offers some animated images under the Creative Commons license.
Beeple uses the most advanced techniques of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This acquisition of skills did not happen overnight. On May 1, 2007, he made the very clever decision to publish one image per day on the Internet. This visibility obliges him to maintain a professional level in all his experiences.
He never stopped. The 5,000th opus was released on the 5,000th day, January 7, 2021. This set shows a fruitful evolution, in the political sensibility and in the futuristic vision. The characteristic of an artist is to reveal his conception of the universe : Beeple has become a digital artist.
The first 5,000 daily releases were put together as a 21,069 x 21,069 pixel mosaic, which is about 300 x 300 pixels per item. The most current techniques, driven by cryptocurrencies, make it possible to provide a guarantee of authenticity in the form of forgery-proof marks with an NFT protocol in a jpg format.
This unique compilation was prepared on February 16, 2021. Titled Everydays: The first 5000 days, it will be sold by Christie's in an online sale that ends on March 11, lot 1.
There is no antecedent in the history of art and a fortiori in the history of auctions. Bids are in US dollars but the hammer price must be paid in a cryptocurrency defined by Christie's and Beeple, on a wallet address defined in the catalog. The auction fees must be paid separately in dollars.
How much can it be worth ? Christie's responds: "estimate unknown". The auction was opened on February 25. The next day, the starting bid of $ 100 had been covered 120 times, reaching $ 2.4M.
Beeple uses the most advanced techniques of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This acquisition of skills did not happen overnight. On May 1, 2007, he made the very clever decision to publish one image per day on the Internet. This visibility obliges him to maintain a professional level in all his experiences.
He never stopped. The 5,000th opus was released on the 5,000th day, January 7, 2021. This set shows a fruitful evolution, in the political sensibility and in the futuristic vision. The characteristic of an artist is to reveal his conception of the universe : Beeple has become a digital artist.
The first 5,000 daily releases were put together as a 21,069 x 21,069 pixel mosaic, which is about 300 x 300 pixels per item. The most current techniques, driven by cryptocurrencies, make it possible to provide a guarantee of authenticity in the form of forgery-proof marks with an NFT protocol in a jpg format.
This unique compilation was prepared on February 16, 2021. Titled Everydays: The first 5000 days, it will be sold by Christie's in an online sale that ends on March 11, lot 1.
There is no antecedent in the history of art and a fortiori in the history of auctions. Bids are in US dollars but the hammer price must be paid in a cryptocurrency defined by Christie's and Beeple, on a wallet address defined in the catalog. The auction fees must be paid separately in dollars.
How much can it be worth ? Christie's responds: "estimate unknown". The auction was opened on February 25. The next day, the starting bid of $ 100 had been covered 120 times, reaching $ 2.4M.
2021 Bored Apes NFT by Yuga Labs
2021 SOLD for $ 24.4M by Sotheby's
The CryptoPunks by LarvaLabs have opened the way to new entertainment. Incorporated in 2021, YugaLabs adds a social application by which an element is also the digital membership card of a club that offers collaborative actions such as decorating a board.
Two series are starting the new process : Bore Ape Yacht Club and Bore Ape Kennel Club. Each of them is made of 10,000 NFT supported digital images, released on the Ethereum blockchain. The dogs had originally been released for a free adoption.
All of them are unique. As for the CryptoPunks but in a much higher variety and size, all elements match a same matrix. They vary in background, clothes, earring, eyes, fur, hat and mouth for the apes in bust portraits, for a total of 170 traits. For the dogs, clothes, earring and hat are superseded by back, head, neck and feet. Most apes are bored throughout a few variants but rarer expressions from rage to jovial are also included.
A set of 101 of each series will be sold online by Sotheby's on September 9, 2021. The Yacht Club was sold for $ 24.4M from a lower estimate of $ 12M, lot 1. The Kennel Club was sold for $ 1.84M, lot 2.
Two series are starting the new process : Bore Ape Yacht Club and Bore Ape Kennel Club. Each of them is made of 10,000 NFT supported digital images, released on the Ethereum blockchain. The dogs had originally been released for a free adoption.
All of them are unique. As for the CryptoPunks but in a much higher variety and size, all elements match a same matrix. They vary in background, clothes, earring, eyes, fur, hat and mouth for the apes in bust portraits, for a total of 170 traits. For the dogs, clothes, earring and hat are superseded by back, head, neck and feet. Most apes are bored throughout a few variants but rarer expressions from rage to jovial are also included.
A set of 101 of each series will be sold online by Sotheby's on September 9, 2021. The Yacht Club was sold for $ 24.4M from a lower estimate of $ 12M, lot 1. The Kennel Club was sold for $ 1.84M, lot 2.
