Three Mark Bradford Paintings Lead the Selection of Nine Works Offered in the May Sales of 20th Century & Contemporary Art
NEW YORK – 21 MARCH 2016 – Phillips is pleased to announce the sale of three important works by Mark Bradford from the Property of a Private American Collector that will be offered in its May 2016 sales of 20th Century & Contemporary Art in New York. In addition to the Bradford paintings, the collection includes works by Albert Oehlen, Martin Kippenberger, Cindy Sherman, Vik Muniz and Rashid Johnson.
Jean-Paul Engelen, Phillips Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art, said, “Phillips is honored to have been entrusted with the sale of this collection, led by these three fantastic Mark Bradford paintings. In recent years, Bradford has emerged as one of the foremost contemporary artists of his generation. This powerful group of works not only demonstrates the artist’s tremendous technical skill, but also the depth of his subject matter. He’s truly a contemporary master.”
Bradford’s large-scale Building the Big White Whale (estimate: $3,000,000-5,000,000) is among the top lots of the evening sale. Born in 1961 and raised in Los Angeles’s Leimert Park neighborhood, Bradford spent a great deal of his youth working at his mother’s hair salon. The culture of his community and the social atmosphere of the salon are reflected in his canvases. Building the Big White Whale, 2012, uses the small paper pieces frequently associated with his iconic works. The materials in his work are often found in his childhood neighborhood, but Bradford makes the distinction that he’s “repurposing” these materials, not “recycling” them.
Both Building the Big White Whale and Mixed Signals (estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000) trace a fictionalized map, a common technique in Bradford’s most recognizable works. Completed in 2009, Mixed Signals’ interplay of silver, black and red potentially alludes to a post-apocalyptic mapping of destruction.
The final work by Bradford from this collection is Untitled (Corner of Desire and Piety) III (estimate: $100,000-150,000). Executed in 2008, this painting was included in his seminal exhibition at the Aspen Art Museum in 2010. The work’s title refers to two parallel streets in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans and the difficult decisions many residents had to make following Hurricane Katrina. The work’s dense layering of reflective papers obscures the text and its literal meaning. Underscoring the importance of Untitled (Corner of Desire and Piety) III, the Broad Museum in Los Angeles acquired a 72-part example of the work for its permanent collection in 2009.
Cindy Sherman’s Film Stills from 1977 to 1980 represent some of the most iconic photographic imagery of the last century. Untitled #5A (estimate: $500,000-700,000), from a rare edition of only three and printed in the largest format, is the fifth still from this seminal series. In this work, Sherman’s blonde character intrigues and captivates her viewers with a sly and sideways glance, drawing them deeper into the scene. Sherman’s singular heroines capture moments of intimacy as the unraveling of her complex imagery has long enchanted viewers.
Albert Oehlen and Martin Kippenberger are among the most iconic German artists of the past century. The present works, Kippenberger's Plusquamperfekt - gehabt haben (estimate: $600,000-900,000), and Oehlen's Lämmle live (estimate: $800,000-1,200,000), each represent the artists’ ability to navigate controversial subjects through humor.
Auction: Sunday, 8 May 2016, 6pm | Tuesday, 10 May 2016, 11am
Auction viewing: 30 April-8 May | Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 12pm-6pm
Location: 450 Park Avenue, New York
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*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.
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