Sport in Art
See also : Origins of sports 18th century painting US painting < 1940 Rockwell George I to III Post war French art Paris Horse
Chronology : 18th Century 1760-1769 1870-1879 1952 1957 1981 1985
Chronology : 18th Century 1760-1769 1870-1879 1952 1957 1981 1985
1765 Portrait of a Champion by Stubbs
2011 SOLD 22.4 M£ including premium
Serving wealthy English aristocrats, George Stubbs specialized in the topic of race horses. On December 8, 2010, Sotheby's sold £ 10.1 million including premium a very elegant study of mares and foals in a meadow, painted in 1767.
Made around 1765, the oil on canvas for sale by Christie's in London on July 5 is certainly more outstanding. It is estimated £ 20M. This is the portrait of a horse named Gimcrack, who was winning most of the races where he was engaged.
This broad composition, 102 x 196 cm, simple and effective, is divided into two parts. On the left, Gimcrack shows his beautiful profile, surrounded by a coach, a stable boy and a jockey.
A race is held on the horizon, on the right. A horse is far ahead of his three followers. He is also Gimcrack, of course. He is therefore shown twice on that image that had everything to flatter the sponsor of the work, Lord Bolingbroke, owner of the champion.
Stubbs is very accurate in anatomical detail, but still shows horses galloping with their four legs flying above the ground. This feature, which can be excused one century before the studies of Muybridge, applies here only in the background and provides this work with an undeniable poetic dimension.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold £ 22.4 million including premium, Gimcrack has once again won his race.
Made around 1765, the oil on canvas for sale by Christie's in London on July 5 is certainly more outstanding. It is estimated £ 20M. This is the portrait of a horse named Gimcrack, who was winning most of the races where he was engaged.
This broad composition, 102 x 196 cm, simple and effective, is divided into two parts. On the left, Gimcrack shows his beautiful profile, surrounded by a coach, a stable boy and a jockey.
A race is held on the horizon, on the right. A horse is far ahead of his three followers. He is also Gimcrack, of course. He is therefore shown twice on that image that had everything to flatter the sponsor of the work, Lord Bolingbroke, owner of the champion.
Stubbs is very accurate in anatomical detail, but still shows horses galloping with their four legs flying above the ground. This feature, which can be excused one century before the studies of Muybridge, applies here only in the background and provides this work with an undeniable poetic dimension.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold £ 22.4 million including premium, Gimcrack has once again won his race.
#GeorgeStubbs was born #OTD in 1724. We sold Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath in 2011 for £22,441,250 #WorldAuctionRecord #artistbirthday pic.twitter.com/B7fCB2eivD
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) August 25, 2017
1872 Les Courses au Bois de Boulogne by Manet
2004 SOLD 26.3 M$ including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas have masterfully shaken up the classicism. Building on their predecessors, they find new ideas for staging and colors.
Manet easily entered into artist circles. He enjoys social life and does not wait for the recognition of the Salons. His themes are unlimited. Before him, Courbet went already complacently up to the scandal. Baudelaire and then Zola recognize the originality of his approach.
On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold for $ 26.3M including premium Les Courses au Bois de Boulogne, oil on canvas 73 x 94 cm painted in 1872 by Manet, lot 13, from the collection of one of the most famous owners of racehorses, John Hay Whitney. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The artist skillfully mixed observation and imitation. It seems that the topography of the Longchamp racecourse was painted on the spot.
Manet had demonstrated a few years earlier in his first bullfighting scenes that a direct participation in the event was not essential, since he could rely on Goya. Here the horses in full gallop all fly with their four legs lifted, as in the Epsom Derby painted by Géricault in 1821, acquired by the Louvre in 1866. The imperturbable position of the jockeys in full race is not realistic : the sporting effort was obviously not appreciated by Manet.
Manet's painting is however very modern. The track and the lawn are aquamarine blue, highlighting the contrasts in a freedom of colors that anticipates expressionism for several decades. The distance of the subjects is marked by an increasing blur, as if it were a photograph focused on the action in progress in the foreground. This artifice provides the whole composition with an effect of depth, different from the solutions sought by his impressionist friends.
Manet easily entered into artist circles. He enjoys social life and does not wait for the recognition of the Salons. His themes are unlimited. Before him, Courbet went already complacently up to the scandal. Baudelaire and then Zola recognize the originality of his approach.
On May 5, 2004, Sotheby's sold for $ 26.3M including premium Les Courses au Bois de Boulogne, oil on canvas 73 x 94 cm painted in 1872 by Manet, lot 13, from the collection of one of the most famous owners of racehorses, John Hay Whitney. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The artist skillfully mixed observation and imitation. It seems that the topography of the Longchamp racecourse was painted on the spot.
Manet had demonstrated a few years earlier in his first bullfighting scenes that a direct participation in the event was not essential, since he could rely on Goya. Here the horses in full gallop all fly with their four legs lifted, as in the Epsom Derby painted by Géricault in 1821, acquired by the Louvre in 1866. The imperturbable position of the jockeys in full race is not realistic : the sporting effort was obviously not appreciated by Manet.
Manet's painting is however very modern. The track and the lawn are aquamarine blue, highlighting the contrasts in a freedom of colors that anticipates expressionism for several decades. The distance of the subjects is marked by an increasing blur, as if it were a photograph focused on the action in progress in the foreground. This artifice provides the whole composition with an effect of depth, different from the solutions sought by his impressionist friends.
"Edouard Manet 052" by Édouard Manet - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
1910 Polo Crowd by George Bellows
1999 SOLD for $ 27.5 M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2021
Crowds in New York are one of the favorite themes with which Georges Bellows shows enthusiasm, movement, play. In 1909 he adds sport. His boxing paintings show the action in progress, in a close-up snapshot that photography was only just beginning to be able to provide. The expressive style of the young artist marks his refusal of classicism.
Polo Crowd, oil on canvas 115 x 160 cm painted in 1910, confronts sport and its spectators. The game is on, including a prancing horse. The crowd, barely contained by light barriers, is made up of well-differentiated characters, as in real life. In a very dynamic contrast, peoples and horses appear bright against a very dark sky.
Bequeathed in 1998 by the Whitney estate to the Museum of Modern Art, Polo Crowd was sold by Sotheby's on December 1, 1999 for $ 27.5M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 10M. It was purchased at that sale by Bill Gates who was to hang it in the lobby of his personal library. The image is shared by Artnet.
Polo Crowd, oil on canvas 115 x 160 cm painted in 1910, confronts sport and its spectators. The game is on, including a prancing horse. The crowd, barely contained by light barriers, is made up of well-differentiated characters, as in real life. In a very dynamic contrast, peoples and horses appear bright against a very dark sky.
Bequeathed in 1998 by the Whitney estate to the Museum of Modern Art, Polo Crowd was sold by Sotheby's on December 1, 1999 for $ 27.5M including premium from a lower estimate of $ 10M. It was purchased at that sale by Bill Gates who was to hang it in the lobby of his personal library. The image is shared by Artnet.
1952 The Colors of Football
2019 SOLD for € 20M including premium
Nicolas de Staël wanted to introduce a new modernism in pictorial art at a time when American artists were developing the abstract expressionism. He tries geometric structures painted in various shades of gray sprinkled with traces of his knife in the impasto. This period culminates with a monumental opus 204 x 405 cm named Composition 1950 which was sold for € 4.2M including premium by Sotheby's on June 3, 2014.
He appreciates that a full abstraction cannot express an artist's relationship to the world. He begins to state that abstraction and figuration are not incompatible. One of his confidants is René Char, the poet who gave freedom to words.
Nicolas and his wife attend a football match at the Parc des Princes on March 26, 1952. This event was an example of modernism, being one of the first to be played in the night under the spotlights. Saturated colors are new to the sport. The atmosphere does not alter the vitality of the boys focused on their actions. The result, 1-0 for Sweden against France, probably did not interest Nicolas.
The hypersensitive artist felt a lasting empathy for both teams. Back in his workshop, he produced in a few weeks a series of 25 paintings, providing his interpretation of the variety of movements.
Almost all these Footballeurs paintings are in small sizes. An oil on canvas 200 x 350 cm is an exception. Titled Parc des Princes by the artist and differentiated from the others by its subtitle Les Grands Footballeurs, it has been kept until now by the family and is estimated € 18M for sale by Christie's in Paris on October 17, lot 12.
This series on football changes forever the style of the artist, who has regained his sensitivity to the colors of landscapes, still lifes and flowers. A bouquet in a vase, oil on canvas 147 x 98 cm painted in the countryside during the summer of 1952, was sold for € 8.3M including premium by Christie's on June 7, 2018.
He appreciates that a full abstraction cannot express an artist's relationship to the world. He begins to state that abstraction and figuration are not incompatible. One of his confidants is René Char, the poet who gave freedom to words.
Nicolas and his wife attend a football match at the Parc des Princes on March 26, 1952. This event was an example of modernism, being one of the first to be played in the night under the spotlights. Saturated colors are new to the sport. The atmosphere does not alter the vitality of the boys focused on their actions. The result, 1-0 for Sweden against France, probably did not interest Nicolas.
The hypersensitive artist felt a lasting empathy for both teams. Back in his workshop, he produced in a few weeks a series of 25 paintings, providing his interpretation of the variety of movements.
Almost all these Footballeurs paintings are in small sizes. An oil on canvas 200 x 350 cm is an exception. Titled Parc des Princes by the artist and differentiated from the others by its subtitle Les Grands Footballeurs, it has been kept until now by the family and is estimated € 18M for sale by Christie's in Paris on October 17, lot 12.
This series on football changes forever the style of the artist, who has regained his sensitivity to the colors of landscapes, still lifes and flowers. A bouquet in a vase, oil on canvas 147 x 98 cm painted in the countryside during the summer of 1952, was sold for € 8.3M including premium by Christie's on June 7, 2018.
1957 The Pastimes of the American Teenagers
2014 SOLD 22.6 M$ including premium
In 1957, Norman Rockwell completely controls his art which is similar to no other. His compositions are increasingly complex. He captures a theme that greatly appeals to the readers of the Saturday Evening Post: the occupations of young people. Rockwell's nice irony moves the parents.
Each composition is a long development that lasts several months, forcing the artist to work in parallel on all projects still to be published. He assembles a large number of black and white photos made or collected by himself, up to 100 for a scene with many characters. The final art in color supplied to the editor is an oil on canvas.
The cover page of 2 March 1957 is entitled The Rookie (Red Sox locker room). Amidst the star players of the baseball team, a tall 17 year old boy prepares for his first game.
The original painting 104 x 99 cm is estimated $ 20M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 22.
The cover page of 25 May 1957 is entitled After the Prom. Two teenagers, boy and girl, relax sitting on bar stools after the ball of the students.
The original painting 79 x 74 cm is estimated $ 8M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 21. I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
After the Prom was sold for $ 9.1M including premium by Sotheby's.
2
Baseball is more than ever a popular theme and the interest in the art of Rockwell is growing. Very good result at Christie's for the Rookie, $ 22.6 million including premium, in line with an estimate that was ambitious.
Each composition is a long development that lasts several months, forcing the artist to work in parallel on all projects still to be published. He assembles a large number of black and white photos made or collected by himself, up to 100 for a scene with many characters. The final art in color supplied to the editor is an oil on canvas.
The cover page of 2 March 1957 is entitled The Rookie (Red Sox locker room). Amidst the star players of the baseball team, a tall 17 year old boy prepares for his first game.
The original painting 104 x 99 cm is estimated $ 20M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 22.
The cover page of 25 May 1957 is entitled After the Prom. Two teenagers, boy and girl, relax sitting on bar stools after the ball of the students.
The original painting 79 x 74 cm is estimated $ 8M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 21. I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
After the Prom was sold for $ 9.1M including premium by Sotheby's.
2
Baseball is more than ever a popular theme and the interest in the art of Rockwell is growing. Very good result at Christie's for the Rookie, $ 22.6 million including premium, in line with an estimate that was ambitious.
1981 Horseback Wrestling by Huang Zhou
2013 SOLD for RMB 130M including premium by Poly
narrated in 2021
Huang Zhou liked to express vitality and enthusiasm in his animal studies. Banished during the Cultural Revolution, he actively contributed to the artistic reconstruction and prepared works for diplomatic receptions.
In 1979, on an official visit to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, he was fascinated by traditional customs. In the meadow, at an altitude of 3000 m, the Kirghiz wrestle on horseback between two teams which are distinguished from each other by the color of the embroidery. This sport is also played by women.
The artist is sick. In 1981, with a delay of two years due to a general paralysis, he paints in ink and colors two works on the theme of Kirghiz wrestling, under the title Jubilant Grassland. One of them is hung in the guesthouse for foreign heads of state.
The other, 142 x 360 cm, was used in 1984 as a diplomatic gift for Armand Hammer. The artist had used vegetable pigments and mineral repaints are done to improve stability before the artwork is presented to the "red magnate" visiting Beijing.
Jubilant Grassland, arguably the artist's masterpiece, features two women's teams, for a total of 7 riders, 9 sheepdogs and 80 horses including a large unsaddled group in middle ground. This artwork was sold for RMB 130M including premium by Poly in cooperation with the Huang Zhou Art Foundation on December 2, 2013, lot 1921. It is illustrated in the post sale report by ChinaDaily.
In 1979, on an official visit to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, he was fascinated by traditional customs. In the meadow, at an altitude of 3000 m, the Kirghiz wrestle on horseback between two teams which are distinguished from each other by the color of the embroidery. This sport is also played by women.
The artist is sick. In 1981, with a delay of two years due to a general paralysis, he paints in ink and colors two works on the theme of Kirghiz wrestling, under the title Jubilant Grassland. One of them is hung in the guesthouse for foreign heads of state.
The other, 142 x 360 cm, was used in 1984 as a diplomatic gift for Armand Hammer. The artist had used vegetable pigments and mineral repaints are done to improve stability before the artwork is presented to the "red magnate" visiting Beijing.
Jubilant Grassland, arguably the artist's masterpiece, features two women's teams, for a total of 7 riders, 9 sheepdogs and 80 horses including a large unsaddled group in middle ground. This artwork was sold for RMB 130M including premium by Poly in cooperation with the Huang Zhou Art Foundation on December 2, 2013, lot 1921. It is illustrated in the post sale report by ChinaDaily.
1981 Birth of the Black American Social Art
2012 SOLD 13 M£ including premium
Christie's has coined the right sentence to position Jean-Michel Basquiat in the history of art: he is the first black American modernist to transcend the white establishment.
The date, 1981, is favorable, thirteen years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Society is changing. The Street art, derived from the punk movement, challenges the conventions.
Basquiat had a very good knowledge of contemporary art with its shocks of strident colors. In the street, he painted on any medium. His creativity explodes when the Annina Nosei gallery provides him the opportunity to work in studio, on large canvases.
The painting for sale in London on June 27, 200 x 183 cm, has been acknowledged as a masterpiece of Basquiat when it was sold $ 14.6 million including premium at Sotheby's on May 15, 2007.
Made shortly before New York City discovered the art of Basquiat, it shows a hybrid character, lifesize, the mixture of a mystic deity with a crown of thorns and of the powerful Black boxing champion in the attitude of triumph. The heavyweight boxing was the first sport, and even the first social field, where blacks dominated whites beyond doubt.
The estimate is not advertised in the catalog but, as they often do for the most outstanding lots, Christie's let their expectations leaking: around $ 20M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Success seemed assured for this exceptional artwork, clearly one of the masterpieces of Basquiat. It is achieved: £ 13 million including premium.
The date, 1981, is favorable, thirteen years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Society is changing. The Street art, derived from the punk movement, challenges the conventions.
Basquiat had a very good knowledge of contemporary art with its shocks of strident colors. In the street, he painted on any medium. His creativity explodes when the Annina Nosei gallery provides him the opportunity to work in studio, on large canvases.
The painting for sale in London on June 27, 200 x 183 cm, has been acknowledged as a masterpiece of Basquiat when it was sold $ 14.6 million including premium at Sotheby's on May 15, 2007.
Made shortly before New York City discovered the art of Basquiat, it shows a hybrid character, lifesize, the mixture of a mystic deity with a crown of thorns and of the powerful Black boxing champion in the attitude of triumph. The heavyweight boxing was the first sport, and even the first social field, where blacks dominated whites beyond doubt.
The estimate is not advertised in the catalog but, as they often do for the most outstanding lots, Christie's let their expectations leaking: around $ 20M. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Success seemed assured for this exceptional artwork, clearly one of the masterpieces of Basquiat. It is achieved: £ 13 million including premium.
1981 The Lord of the Ring
2019 SOLD for $ 15M including premium
1981 is the wonderful year of Jean-Michel Basquiat. In January, he is known to a few insiders who want to observe how the growing insecurity in New York City inspires young artists and musicians. In December he is recognized as the most gifted and subtle of the street artists.
His belief has not changed in the mean time. He wants to glorify the African American hero, completely ignored in the museums. He shows the daydream and the real life : the powerful black warrior kings and the white cops. He rightly considers boxing as the typical field where whites have lost the game. The champions of his youth were Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.
In most of his 1981 paintings about boxing, the black hercules has just won and raises both arms in triumph. A close-up figure proudly lifting the crown of thorns above his head, 200 x 183 cm, was sold for £ 13M including premium by Sotheby's on June 27, 2012.
Ring, an acrylic and oilstick 152 x 122 cm, shows the winner alone in the middle of his field of action including ropes and chairs. He does not lift the crown but a powerful spear surmounted by a radiant sun. The champion is not identified but he has the same luxuriant hair as the artist himself.
Ring was sold for $ 7.6M including premium by Sotheby's on May 9, 2012 and is estimated $ 10M for sale by Phillips in New York on November 14, lot 26.
In his childhood Jean-Michel had often watched boxing matches on television and he does not disdain the action. World crown, 122 x 142 cm, is a very rare egalitarian example, caught in a fight between a white and a black without identifying which of the two will win. This painting was sold for $ 11.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
His belief has not changed in the mean time. He wants to glorify the African American hero, completely ignored in the museums. He shows the daydream and the real life : the powerful black warrior kings and the white cops. He rightly considers boxing as the typical field where whites have lost the game. The champions of his youth were Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali.
In most of his 1981 paintings about boxing, the black hercules has just won and raises both arms in triumph. A close-up figure proudly lifting the crown of thorns above his head, 200 x 183 cm, was sold for £ 13M including premium by Sotheby's on June 27, 2012.
Ring, an acrylic and oilstick 152 x 122 cm, shows the winner alone in the middle of his field of action including ropes and chairs. He does not lift the crown but a powerful spear surmounted by a radiant sun. The champion is not identified but he has the same luxuriant hair as the artist himself.
Ring was sold for $ 7.6M including premium by Sotheby's on May 9, 2012 and is estimated $ 10M for sale by Phillips in New York on November 14, lot 26.
In his childhood Jean-Michel had often watched boxing matches on television and he does not disdain the action. World crown, 122 x 142 cm, is a very rare egalitarian example, caught in a fight between a white and a black without identifying which of the two will win. This painting was sold for $ 11.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 12, 2015.
1981 Equality through Sport
2015 SOLD for $ 11.5M including premium
When he became a major artist in 1981 through a continuous access to large formats that enable him to fully exploit his control of techniques and colors, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 21 years old, did not neglect his social struggle.
Top-level sport offers to the Black champions their revenge against racial inequality. By showing the triumph, Jean-Michel deliberately confuses the athlete and the warrior. An untitled painting where the award to the black champion is the mystical crown of thorns was sold for £ 12.9M including premium by Christie's on June 27, 2012.
Painted during the same glorious year, World crown, 122 x 142 cm, is a pearl in the art of Jean-Michel, for two reasons.
This is a very rare example where two boxers are in full action. The stylized figures do not prevent the expression of strength and aggressiveness, quite the contrary. These fighting guys form the single theme of this image.
Above all, the battle is run between a white and a black. The title of world champion is at stake. A crown with three points will be attributed to each of the competitors and none is taking advantage in this remarkable symbol of racial equality through sport.
World crown is estimated $ 7M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 12, lot 27.
On the following year, Jean-Michel returns to an exclusive glorification of a black athlete. The crown with three points is now firmly on the head of a baseball player who is certainly Hank Aaron. This artwork titled Orange sports figure was sold for £ 4.1 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 15, 2012.
Top-level sport offers to the Black champions their revenge against racial inequality. By showing the triumph, Jean-Michel deliberately confuses the athlete and the warrior. An untitled painting where the award to the black champion is the mystical crown of thorns was sold for £ 12.9M including premium by Christie's on June 27, 2012.
Painted during the same glorious year, World crown, 122 x 142 cm, is a pearl in the art of Jean-Michel, for two reasons.
This is a very rare example where two boxers are in full action. The stylized figures do not prevent the expression of strength and aggressiveness, quite the contrary. These fighting guys form the single theme of this image.
Above all, the battle is run between a white and a black. The title of world champion is at stake. A crown with three points will be attributed to each of the competitors and none is taking advantage in this remarkable symbol of racial equality through sport.
World crown is estimated $ 7M for sale by Sotheby's in New York on May 12, lot 27.
On the following year, Jean-Michel returns to an exclusive glorification of a black athlete. The crown with three points is now firmly on the head of a baseball player who is certainly Hank Aaron. This artwork titled Orange sports figure was sold for £ 4.1 million including premium by Sotheby's on February 15, 2012.
1985 The Ready Made within the Impossible
2016 SOLD for $ 15.3M including premium
Jeff Koons is the star of current art since he creates what the audience wishes to see. He talks too much for the purpose that people will believe in the universality of his artistic message. With his perpetual smile, he acts as a rare example of an optimistic creator.
In 1977, aged 22, he begins by making kitsch scenes with toys and objects. On the following year he imagines inflatable flowers and rabbits and builds them in painted vinyl. In 1980 his first exhibition entitled The New is an application of the ready made conception in a simulated trade show of household electrical equipment.
He must now find an artifact and a theme that would appeal to visitors from all social classes. Basketball, this sport from yard to competition, meets this requirement by its ability to generate champions while using some very simple equipment.
He acquires balls of Spalding brand but it is not foregone to amaze the public with such everyday pieces. He decides to display them frozen in flight with no visible structure like in a sports photograph. Or like a cosmic planet.
This is of course not possible. Yet it happens. Dr. Feynman who was one of the most brilliant physicists of his time indicates him a chance. In 1985 after two years of trials, Koons puts his balls in aquariums filled successively with saturated salt water and pure water. The two densities do not mingle and the ball stands still at mid height of its showcase. After several weeks some maintenance will be required.
The Equilibrium exhibition is the first success for Jeff Koons. Its central work is a minimalist tank with a single ball. The technique is demythified by so called "50/50" tanks in which the ball floats at the same height on a visible surface of water. Bronzes and posters on the theme of basketball complete the appeal.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 21 A One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Spalding Dr. J Silver Series). On 12 May 2014 the same auction house had sold for $ 6.9 million including premium a similar artwork with two balls of the same type.
The Equilibrium Tanks mark the first encounter between Jeff Koons and advanced techniques, anticipating the development of the reflective layers of his Celebrations.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
In 1977, aged 22, he begins by making kitsch scenes with toys and objects. On the following year he imagines inflatable flowers and rabbits and builds them in painted vinyl. In 1980 his first exhibition entitled The New is an application of the ready made conception in a simulated trade show of household electrical equipment.
He must now find an artifact and a theme that would appeal to visitors from all social classes. Basketball, this sport from yard to competition, meets this requirement by its ability to generate champions while using some very simple equipment.
He acquires balls of Spalding brand but it is not foregone to amaze the public with such everyday pieces. He decides to display them frozen in flight with no visible structure like in a sports photograph. Or like a cosmic planet.
This is of course not possible. Yet it happens. Dr. Feynman who was one of the most brilliant physicists of his time indicates him a chance. In 1985 after two years of trials, Koons puts his balls in aquariums filled successively with saturated salt water and pure water. The two densities do not mingle and the ball stands still at mid height of its showcase. After several weeks some maintenance will be required.
The Equilibrium exhibition is the first success for Jeff Koons. Its central work is a minimalist tank with a single ball. The technique is demythified by so called "50/50" tanks in which the ball floats at the same height on a visible surface of water. Bronzes and posters on the theme of basketball complete the appeal.
On May 8 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 21 A One Ball Total Equilibrium Tank (Spalding Dr. J Silver Series). On 12 May 2014 the same auction house had sold for $ 6.9 million including premium a similar artwork with two balls of the same type.
The Equilibrium Tanks mark the first encounter between Jeff Koons and advanced techniques, anticipating the development of the reflective layers of his Celebrations.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's.
