Provenance
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles
Exhibited
Thun, Kunstmuseum, Mark Grotjahn, 7 September-18 November 2007
Aspen, Aspen Art Museum, Mark Grotjahn, 17 February-29 April 2012
Literature
Mark Grotjahn, exh. cat., Kunstmuseum, Thun, 2007, p. 38 (illustrated)
Mark Grotjahn, exh. cat., Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, 2012, p. 73 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
Linearity, clarity and a scientific fascination with the optical effects of colour placement, define the artistic oeuvre of Mark Grotjahn. His methodical style of constructing his compositions and then applying paint in unadulterated strips, places Grotjahn firmly in the trajectory of American painting; the twentieth-century movements of Pop Art and Op Art specifically, undoubtedly inspired Grotjan’s experimentations. Barnet Newman’s vast zip paintings are emulated in the vivid, oscillating hues of works such as Untitled (3 Tier Perspective), but what Grotjahn further harks back to is his inherent place within the Southern California art scene. Moving in 1996 to Los Angeles, Grotjahn was quite literally inspired by the visual language of this exuberant city of lights; his style of painting very much grew out of sign making as he would frequently copy unusual logos and slogans from local storefronts. However, perhaps those works most emphatic of his LA environment, are his three-tier perspective works.

During the 1960s and 1970s L.A. Pop Art became synonymous with the visualisation of the increasing pace of life, urbanisation and growth during this time in the area. With the construction of many highways and the development of an elaborate freeway system that was to connect all of Southern California, the accessibility of travelling long distances was to become an alluring prospect for many. In this context, artists such as Ed Ruscha began exploring notions of speed, car travel and urbanisation in their works. Creating a series of photo books Ruscha documented local roads, gas stations and buildings as seen through a car window driving along a motorway. In a similar manner, Dennis Hopper included the interior of his car in photographs that also showed routes in L.A. Consequently, looking at Grotjahn’s substantial series of works based on the three-tier perspective, one can immediately see an affinity between his works with that of his predecessors.

Powerful movement and intense velocity are captured in the three sections of Untitled (3 Tier Perspective) as we feel propelled forward at sheer speed – the expanding lines signalling our direction into the horizon beyond. But, which horizon? It seems almost impossible to look at all three sections as a unanimous whole. Grotjahn in this way, challenges our preconceptions of space and perspective. While the linear arrangement of horizontal lines above those that recede into a vanishing point, the artist evidently emulates landscape compositions. However, by repeating these in three skewed sections, he makes us question what we are, in fact, seeing. In some ways, the composition almost brings to mind a photographic film reel where the separate snapshots are connected in a chain though they do not portray a coherent sequence. The imposing scale of Grotjahn’s works further contributes to the sense of overwhelming dislocation that arises in the viewer and, in this manner, the artist cleverly brings to light a key fault in the beholder: ‘the eye is always searching for an implicit point of stability that cannot be found’ (Aspen Art Museum, Mark Grotjahn, Aspen Art Press, 2012, p.62).

Property from the Estate of Dr. Fredric S. Brandt, Miami

Ο◆5

Mark Grotjahn

Untitled (Three-Tiered Perspective)

2000
oil on linen over panel
152.5 x 122 cm (60 x 48 in.)

Estimate
£700,000 - 1,000,000 ‡

Sold for £842,500

Contact Specialist
Peter Sumner
Head of Contemporary Art, London
psumner@phillips.com
+44 207 318 4063

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London 14 October 2015 7pm

1
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Blue Eyes Brown Hanging Perforated Mark M3.d)
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡
Sold for £116,500
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2
Rosemarie Trockel
Study for Old Friend
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ‡♠
Sold for £200,500
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3
Peter Doig
Bird House
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡♠
Sold for £242,500
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4
Richard Prince
Untitled (Cowboy)
Estimate £500,000 - 700,000 ‡
Sold for £602,500
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5
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Three-Tiered Perspective)
Estimate £700,000 - 1,000,000 ‡
Sold for £842,500
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6
Christopher Wool
Untitled
Estimate £1,500,000 - 2,500,000 ‡
Sold for £2,266,500
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7
Christopher Wool
Untitled (Jazz death)
Estimate £1,200,000 - 1,800,000 ‡
Sold for £1,314,500
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8
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £700,000 - 1,000,000 ‡♠
Sold for £1,930,500
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9
Yoshitomo Nara
Missing in Action
Estimate £700,000 - 1,000,000 ‡
Sold for £1,986,500
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10
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡♠
Sold for £458,500
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11
Keith Haring
Untitled
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ‡
Sold for £218,500
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12
Keith Haring
Untitled (Head Stand)
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡
Sold for £482,500
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13
John Baldessari
Two Dogs and Two Aliens
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £266,500
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14
Ed Ruscha
Pneumatic Muscles Hydraulic Smiles
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡
Sold for £386,500
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15
George Condo
Stranger on a Plane
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ‡
Sold for £194,500
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16
Albert Oehlen
Omegasachen-35
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡♠
Sold for £302,500
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17
Damien Hirst
Aminobenzoyl Hydrazide
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £362,500
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18
Alighiero Boetti
Alternandosi e Dividendosi
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡♠
Sold for £302,500
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19
Lucio Fontana
Concetto Spaziale, Attese
Estimate £1,200,000 - 1,800,000 ♠
Sold for £1,314,500
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20
Cy Twombly
Untitled
Estimate £8,000,000 - 12,000,000 ‡
Sold for £7,922,500
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21
Mark Bradford
Constitution IV
Estimate £2,000,000 - 3,000,000 ‡
Sold for £3,778,500
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22
Tauba Auerbach
Untitled (Fold)
Estimate £1,200,000 - 1,800,000 ‡
Sold for £1,426,500
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23
Danh Vo
VJ Star
Estimate £500,000 - 700,000 ‡♠
Sold for £602,500
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24
Richard Prince
Untitled (Couples)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡
Sold for £152,500
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25
Urs Fischer
Horse Fraud
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡
Sold for £362,500
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26
Cory Arcangel
Photoshop CS: 110 by 72 inches, 300 DPI, RGB, square pixels, default gradient "Russell's Rainbow" (turn transparency off), mousedown y=25300 x=17600, mouse up y=4300 x=17600
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000
Sold for £158,500
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27
Yayoi Kusama
Infinity-Nets (OPARHJ)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
Sold for £530,500
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28
Sterling Ruby
SP60
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000
Sold for £482,500
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29
Josef Albers
Homage to the Square: Wide Sight (study)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
Sold for £338,500
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30
Neo Rauch
Die Lage
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡♠
Sold for £866,500
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31
Anselm Kiefer
The Secret Life of Plants
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £362,500
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32
Anselm Kiefer
Paete non Dolet
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡♠
Sold for £218,500
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33
Antony Gormley
Domain XV
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡♠
Sold for £218,500
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34
This lot is no longer available.
35
Jonas Wood
D.J.
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
Sold for £62,500
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36
Richard Prince
Untitled (portrait)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡
Sold for £98,500
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37
KAWS
Snoopy: Red Baron
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡
Sold for £128,500
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London 14 October 2015 7pm

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Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Ο◆5

Mark Grotjahn

Untitled (Three-Tiered Perspective)

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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