Harland Miller, Love Saves the Day, 2014. Evening & Day Editions London.
April showers bring May flowers, but June is anything but inopportune for falling in love and letting the whole rainbow shine. Whether it's a meet-cute along the Thames or a romantic read on the banks of the Seine, these works from our Evening & Day Editions Sale bring passion and pride for the London team.
Julian Opie
Julian Opie, Summer Rain 1, from Summer Rain, 2020. Evening & Day Editions London.
Rebecca Tooby-Desmond, Specialist, Head of Sale
Don’t rain on my parade! Opie’s silhouette figures pound the petrichor pavements, oblivious to all but their own discomfort, their hurried paths, their blinkered views. But all it takes is the brush of a damp shoulder, a clash of umbrellas, a dash into a shared doorway. Eyes lock and sparks fly! Is it raining? I hadn’t noticed. Love is love is love, prevailing through weather fair or foul, embracing all and denying none. So lower your cumbersome brolly and climb aboard the pride float! Embrace the power of protest through partying, and let the storm wash away black outlines to reveal a rainbow of hope in the glistening summer sun.
Grayson Perry
Grayson Perry, Selfie with Political Causes, 2018. Evening & Day Editions London.
Julia Paeslack, Cataloguer/Associate Specialist
What’s right with the world, mamma? Grayson Perry’s cues to political nirvana — a psychedelic utopia of rainbow-motorcycle-drama, getting the vroom vroom down for Pride girl summer! This violent femme storming the banks of the Thames, a proxy for all of the girls, gays ‘n' theys — aces to allies, queens, Claires and twinks — a manifesto of hues, making us feel and think. As this arts-and-crafts mage turns the press and the page, how’s the weather forecast looking? Cloudy, with a chance of change.
Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara, Fight, 2013. Evening & Day Editions London.
Robert Kennan, Head of Editions, Europe
Stick Em Up!, Stick Em Up!… No, No, No… Make Love Not War…
I dare you not to fall completely head over heels in love with Nara this summer. Visit his largest ever show to be held in Europe at the Hayward Gallery, London, starting 10th June until 31st August.
And if you’re going to bid on this cute pugilist, be prepared to fight, with your gloves off and no holds barred…
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso, Sculpteurs, modèles et sculpture, 1939. Evening & Day Editions London.
Anne Schneider-Wilson, Senior International Specialist
Oh, to lounge around Paris on a hot summer’s day!
In an image reduced to simple etched lines, Picasso manages to capture the intense stare between the artist and his muse — in this case of his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter. Shown here twice, as the model and the sculpture with her distinct profile — she holds the sculptor’s gaze in a defiant and bold expression. Both seem oblivious to the crowded space around them.
It must be love!
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí, Le cabinet anthropomorphique, 1973/82. Evening & Day Editions London.
Christian Rosolino, Sale Manager
On the outside, my maker has crafted me to lounge in languish, with my face shyly shielded and my hand seemingly pushing my admirers away. Yet, why would Dalí model me after the Venus de Milo, a sculpture that evoked in him "an unknown and delicious erotic joy," if I too should not inspire such lust? Therefore, as the seasons heat up, so shall I! This summer, I will be coy: take my head in my bosomed drawers and my beckoning hand as coquettish invitations to explore the many facets of my bronzed body under the scorching summer sun. Let those who want me, come to me, and unlock my passions with whatever key they might have, for this summer, my fluidity extends beyond my cascading locks, and I am embracing a summer of gay abandon.
Harland Miller
Harland Miller, Love Saves the Day, 2014. Evening & Day Editions London.
Amelia Mielniczek, Editions Intern
Tatty and dog-eared, I am used to being overlooked. But if you take a chance, you’ll find love in my aged yellow pages. Watch the rainfall in Paris with David as he stares out of the window of Giovanni’s Room, lie with Sasha and Orlando on the frozen river Thames, and discover Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit with Jeanette. This summer let me help you remember that love is always there, even if sometimes you have to read between the lines.
Robert Indiana
Robert Indiana, The Book of Love: One Plate, 1996. Evening & Day Editions London.
Georgie Byworth-Morgan, Associate Cataloguer
More than just a word, in Robert Indiana's hands, LOVE is a message, a mood, a provocation, a benediction. It's a noun, a verb, and an imperative all at once; it is a complete poem in and of itself. For Indiana, LOVE is layered and complex: the tilted O throws everything off kilter, as love so often does. Yet, sometimes LOVE could not be simpler, and when LOVE is LOVE, it’s black and white and every shade in between.