Provenance
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles
Exhibited
London, Saatchi Gallery, Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture, 27 May - 16 October 2011
London, Camden Arts Centre, Strange Events Permit Themselves The Possibility of Occurring,7 December - 10 February 2008
Literature
Meghan Dailey, Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture, Jonathan Cape, 2009, pp. 42-45
Exh. Cat., The Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2011, p. 59
Catalogue Essay
Referencing a multitude of styles, from classicism to Cubism to Pop, Thomas Houseago subverts the traditional language of sculpture, opening it up to new readings. Executed in 2000, Caryatide with Squatting Man is a perfect example of this approach: by breaking away from conventional notions of sculpture, it can be interpreted on many levels. On one level, Houseago elaborates on the classical column, which is traditionally composed of three elements: plinth, column and capital. His version takes the shape of a disturbing beheaded caryatid, with a small crouching man serving duty as its head. Also present is an allusion to the modernism of Constantin Brancusi, who broke the sculptural mould with works such as Endless Column. Yet the contrast with these historical references could not be more striking. Houseago’s sculptures are bulky and textured; their coarse outlines have nothing in common with the elegant figures of ancient Greece or Brancusi’s smoothly rounded forms. By thus emphasising the chameleon nature of contemporary sculpture, Houseago’s works map out a unique space between figuration and abstraction.

Usually made with traditional materials such as wood, plaster, iron and steel, Houseago’s monumental sculptures perpetrate a knowing deception. His creatures initially appear like monsters hewn from rock, but a closer look soon reveals them for what are: hollow assemblages of fragile wire and plaster. Not only does their fallacious, anxiety-raising presence expose humankind’s own frailty and vulnerability, but it also reveals art’s illusory nature and, in consequence, its endless possibilities for depiction.

Houseago’s special talent is to use sculpture as a vehicle for transforming static figuration into a ‘performance’, in which wood, steel, and iron are animated in a continuous state of dialectical flux. “As a sculptor, bottom line, I am trying to put thought and energy into an inert material and give it truth and form, and I believe there is nothing more profound than that” (Thomas Houseago in The Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture, exh. cat., Saatchi Gallery, London, 2011, p. 115).

29

Thomas Houseago

Caryatide with Squatting Man

2000
wood, plaster, iron, jute
300 x 90 x 40 cm (118 1/8 x 35 3/8 x 15 3/4 in)

Estimate
£60,000 - 80,000 ♠†

Sold for £73,250

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

14 February 2013
London

1
Nate Lowman
Green Escalade
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000
Sold for £337,250
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2
Rob Pruitt
Power of the Panda (Happy Alone)
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 †
Sold for £115,250
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3
Dan Colen
A Slip of the Tongue
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡
Sold for £133,250
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4
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Black and Canary Yellow Butterfly) #699
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
Sold for £457,250
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5
Rashid Johnson
Write me In
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡
Sold for £85,250
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6
Donald Judd
Untitled (91-149 Menziken)
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
Sold for £337,250
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7
Christopher Wool
Untitled (P271)
Estimate £1,300,000 - 1,800,000 ‡
Sold for £1,665,250
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8
Barbara Kruger
Untitled (Look and listen)
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000
Sold for £253,250
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9
Andy Warhol
Brillo Soap Pads Box
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡
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10
Andy Warhol
Tomato Juice Box
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £223,250
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11
Andy Warhol
Hammer and Sickle
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £247,250
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12
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled
Estimate £1,800,000 - 2,500,000 ‡
Sold for £1,945,250
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13
Andy Warhol
Beatle Boots (Negative)
Estimate £550,000 - 650,000 ‡
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14
Jean-Michel Basquiat
For B.A.M.
Estimate £1,200,000 - 1,800,000 ‡
Sold for £763,830
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15
Banksy
Bomb Middle England
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ♠
Sold for £229,250
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16
Jonathan Wateridge
Jungle River Landscape with Plane Wreck
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ♠
Sold for £109,250
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17
Albert Oehlen
Student II
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ‡♠
Sold for £169,250
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18
Jean Dubuffet
Le Chien Rodeur
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡♠
Sold for £325,250
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19
Cecily Brown
East of Eden
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡♠
Sold for £724,450
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20
Damien Hirst
Untitled 2 (Spot Painting)
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £295,250
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21
Marc Quinn
Frozen Head
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡♠
Sold for £713,250
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22
This lot is no longer available.
23
Rosemarie Trockel
Waterfall
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ♠
Sold for £361,250
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24
Richard Prince
What Can You Do?
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡
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25
Elizabeth Peyton
Dr. Scarpinato (Vincent)
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡
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26
George Condo
Untitled (Choo Choo)
Estimate £350,000 - 450,000 ‡
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27
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #469
Estimate £180,000 - 220,000 ‡
Sold for £205,250
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28
The Bruce High Quality Foundation
Las Meninas
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000 ‡
Sold for £181,250
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29
Thomas Houseago
Caryatide with Squatting Man
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ♠†
Sold for £73,250
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30
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ‡♠
Sold for £79,250
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31
Ryan Sullivan
July 24, 2011 - September 28, 2011
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000
Sold for £91,250
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32
Mark Tansey
Study for the Valley of Doubt
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡
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33
Yan Pei-Ming
Invisible Man no. 1
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡♠
Sold for £163,250
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34
Isa Genzken
Empire/Vampire
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ♠
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35
Sterling Ruby
Monument Stalagmite/Headbanger
Estimate £70,000 - 100,000 †
Sold for £85,250
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36
Marc Quinn
Careless Desire
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ♠
Sold for £157,250
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

14 February 2013 London

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Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

29

Thomas Houseago

Caryatide with Squatting Man

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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14 February 2013
London