Provenance
Private Collection, Europe
Catalogue Essay
‘ Orchids are like perfectly evolved little sculptures in themselves,
they’re full of colour, interesting shapes and beauty.’
Marc Quinn

Taken from his frozen sculptures, the subject in Marc Quinn’s Separation of Body and Soul (Ultramarine) (2011) is fuelled by his deep-rooted and established fascination with flowers as a reflection of the human relationship with nature and the planet. Focusing on the orchid in particular, the piece is highly characteristic of the artist’s psychologically-driven and wide-ranging oeuvres, which meditate on themes such as concepts of ideal beauty - both natural and genetically manipulated - and notions of female sexuality.

Traditionally a symbol of fertilisation, purity and spiritual perfection, the wild orchid is a pivotal leitmotif in Quinn’s body of work, acting as the medium through which he is able to succinctly demonstrate the persistent force that is human desire, which continuously alters nature’s true limitations. The artist’s attraction to this household plant, amongst others, was as a result of his visit to London’s New Covent Garden market, where he came across flowers that were found in bloom at a time of year which was not naturally possible. False and unnatural, such flowers came to embody a dichotomy of sorts for the artist: despite their artificiality, they are simultaneously – and undeniably - vibrant in colour, and exquisite in their beauty. Indeed, the dynamic splash of primary colours in the work confirms the symbolic element of the orchid as, what the artist calls, “a celebration of life” (Marc Quinn quoted in Laura Bradley, ‘AnOther Thing I Wanted to Tell You. Marc Quinn on orchids’, AnOther Magazine, 14 November 2011.) – a belief which is implied in his association of the orchid with human sexuality, stating that “even though they are a plant’s reproductive organs, they pun on human ones too. They make you realise it is colour, life and sexuality that keeps the world turning.” (ibid.)

An exploration of this paradox, the black and white composition of the present lot has a very strong sculptural element, and thus recalls the artist’s piece, executed in the preceding year, entitled Careless Desire. As with the bronze sculpture, painted white, Separation of Body and Soul (Ultramarine) could be seen as Quinn’s attempt to deny the natural process of decay, by visually capturing the orchid in its full beauty. The quasi-realist rendering of the flower almost seems to present a living object as if frozen and static; he magnifies its significance and delicacy, offering the viewer a rare chance for contemplation. A quintessential example of the artist’s desire to depict, on canvas, an immortalised picture of the flower, the composition is a powerful and elegant exploration of notions that allude to the transience of life.

27

Marc Quinn

Separation of Body and Soul (Ultramarine)

2011
oil on canvas
169 x 273.5 cm. (66 1/2 x 107 5/8 in.)
Signed and dated ' Marc Quinn 2011' on the reverse.

Estimate
£80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠

Sold for £104,500

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

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London 27 June 2013 7pm

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Rob Pruitt
Chinese Buffet
Estimate £30,000 - 50,000 ‡
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2
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 †
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3
Tauba Auerbach
Untitled (Fold) XV
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
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4
Ugo Rondinone
No. 209 DREISSIGSTERJUNIZWEITAUSENDUNDNULL
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ‡
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5
Ugo Rondinone
If There were Anywhere but Desert. Friday
Estimate £350,000 - 500,000 ‡
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6
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #426
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7
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled (Bolego)
Estimate £600,000 - 800,000 ‡♠
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Cindy Sherman
Untitled Film Still #36
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡
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9
Glenn Brown
Oscillate Wildly (after ‘Autumnal Cannibalism’ 1936 by Salvador Dalí)
Estimate £2,500,000 - 3,500,000 ‡♠
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10
Andy Warhol
Pontiac
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11
Anish Kapoor
Untitled
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12
Andy Warhol
Diamond Dust Shoes
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13
Andy Warhol
Skull
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14
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Three Pontificators
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15
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Three-Tiered Perspective)
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Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled
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17
Anish Kapoor
Turning the World Upside Down II
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18
Antony Gormley
SICK
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ♠
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19
This lot is no longer available.
20
Andy Warhol
Electric Chairs
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21
George Condo
Smiling Smoker
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22
Marcel Broodthaers
Abbildung
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ♠
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23
Oscar Murillo
Untitled
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠†
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24
Sterling Ruby
Alabaster SR10-7
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Sold for £110,500
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25
Jacob Kassay
Untitled
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26
Rashid Johnson
Cosmic Slop
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27
Marc Quinn
Separation of Body and Soul (Ultramarine)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
Sold for £104,500
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

London 27 June 2013 7pm

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Provenance

Catalogue Essay

27

Marc Quinn

Separation of Body and Soul (Ultramarine)

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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