Works on view at Phillips 30 Berkeley Square Gallery. From left to right, works by Alia Ahmad, Jonathan Gardner, Jean Dubuffet, Dame Barbara Hepworth, and George Condo.
It’s a new season in the art world and Phillips leaps into 2024 with our London 20th Century & Contemporary Art auctions on 7 and 8 March.
The full selection offered in the auction is on view through 8 March from our unique gallery space at 30 Berkeley Square. Consider this your personal invitation to discover these remarkable works in a light-filled, modern, and enticing gallery that is unlike any other auction space in London.
From left to right, works by Yayoi Kusama, Anselm Kiefer, and Sigmar Polke on view at Phillips London.
Discover works by well-known artists like Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, in addition to those by younger contemporary artists including Wynnie Mynerva, Caroline Walker, Cecily Brown, Kehinde Wiley, and countless others.
Below, we highlight the auction’s campaign of revealing articles and videos to inspire your visit. Be sure to subscribe and follow us for the latest updates from around the globe.
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Andy Warhol and Diana, “The People’s Princess”
Phillips Global Chairwoman Cheyenne Westphal is your guide to Andy Warhol’s iconic 1982 work Portrait of Princess Diana. Executed just a year after the wedding of Diana and Prince Charles, Warhol’s approach echoes that of his defining Pop depictions of American celebrity in the 1960s — including his portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy — and presages his portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.
London and Its Art and Artists
Frank Auerbach, J.Y.M. Seated in the Studio II, 1987–1988. 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale London.
In a celebration of London and the creativity it inspires, we highlight works by artists who fell under the cultural influence of the city on the Thames. The article tracks an array of artistic practices in London from the post-war era through today, with surprising insights into how artists shape and react to the city’s ever-changing cultural milieu.
Read A River Flows Through It: London’s Ever-Shifting Art Tides >
The Infinite Pulse of Yayoi Kusama
Watch as Senior Specialist Tamila Kerimova explores the vibrant and dynamic INFINITY-NETS (ZXSSAO) by Yayoi Kusama. The work is a particularly sophisticated and rhythmic example of Kusama’s landmark series — a cornerstone of her practice.
The largest red Infinity Net to come to auction, its entire surface is covered in tightly rendered whorls of deep cadmium red that continue across the canvas edge. Kusama once said that “by obliterating one’s individual self, one returns to the infinite universe.” We tend to agree, as the visual pleasure of total immersion in this work is akin to a spiritual experience.
Painter’s Choice: Behind the Process
Bernard Frize, Risti, 2004. 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale London.
The material, the medium, and the message are all clear: acrylic (and more) is anything but an alternative for several abstract painters featured in our Day Sale. Learn more about why Bernard Frize, Paolo Scheggi, Katharina Grosse, and Feng Xiao-Min chose acrylic paint, and about the surprising materials used by Minjung Kim, Carlos Cruz-Diez, and Jiří Georg Dokoupil. Soap anyone?
Read: Painter’s Choice: Behind the Process >
Swimming in Renoir
Plunge into a world of imagination with Dr. Caroline Knighton and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s 1879 masterpiece. La petite pêcheuse depicts the young Marthe Bérard, daughter of the diplomat and banker Paul Bérard. Renoir spent long summers with the family in their country home at Wargemont on the Normandy coast between 1879 and 1888, producing some fourteen portraits of the family, many of which are now held in major institutional collections around the world. This work was commissioned by the sitter’s godmother, Madame de la Perrière, and has been held in only two family collections since its creation.
Gallery Tour
Join Rosanna Widén — Head of Evening Sale, London — and Olivia Thornton — Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Europe — for a virtual tour of the gallery. The pair highlight works by Alia Ahmed, Frank Auerbach, Cecily Brown, and many more from 30 Berkeley Square.
Discover More from 20th Century & Contemporary Art >