Provenance
Private Collection, USA
Catalogue Essay
The conceptual artist Walead Beshty, who was born in London and works in Los Angeles, has gained international critical acclaim for his multilayered exploration of the boundaries between aesthetics and politics, value and meaning, history and technology. His work literally crosses borders both artistic and geo-political, with a wide-ranging practice that includes photograms made using airport X-ray machines, and pseudominimalist sculptures shipped through the holding bays of today’s hyperconnected globe by cargo giant FedEx.

The current lot consists of a laminated glass cube sized to fit its accompanying FedEx shipping box, with an accumulation of FedEx shipping labels and marks of transit bearing testament to its progress through the world. Upon arrival at its destination, the work is displayed by using the cardboard FedEx box as a pedestal with the shatterproof glass cube on top – often, ironically, cracked and shattered, showing the all too corporeal marks of its journey. Thus, despite their standardised initial qualities, each work becomes unique and physically distinctive.

To the artist, this notion of evolution through time and transit – the accruing and materialising of meaning via context – is critical: “The object itself isn’t significant on its own, it’s contingent, so I think those works make this contingency palpable physically; you can’t separate the thing in front of you from this notion of contextual dependence” (from Mikkel Carl in conversation with Walead Beshty, 2010). Creating art by circumventing the artist’s hands and putting humble materials in a new context places Beshty in the tradition of conceptual artists like Marcel Duchamp and Urs Fischer, while his quoting of minimalists such as Sol LeWitt and Larry Bell addresses post-modern concerns. Beshty himself calls this conceptual process “invisible labour”, pointing out that in our society, it is common to judge things by their appearance and not their story, remaining ignorant of where things have come from and what their influences have been. In contrast, Beshty claims that everything is informed by context, space and time.

22

Walead Beshty

FedEx® Kraft Box© 2005: FedEx Standard Overnight Los Angeles–New York, trk# 8675 2590 1103; FedEx Standard Overnight New York–Washington, trk# 8631 3319 4523, date April 13–14 2009; FedEx Standard Overnight Washington–Miami, trk# 7950 0886 1541, date July 26–27 2011; International Priority Miami–London, trk # 8439 1188 5383, date January 11–13, 2012

2012
Laminated glass, silicone, metal, FedEx shipping box, packing tape and accrued FedEx tracking labels.
52 × 52.5 × 52.5 cm (20 1/2 × 20 5/8 × 20 5/8 in).

Estimate
£15,000 - 20,000 ‡♠

Sold for £58,850

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

16 February 2012
London

1
This lot is no longer available.
2
Joe Bradley
Killroy
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000
Sold for £49,250
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3
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
Sold for £85,250
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4
Christopher Wool
Untitled
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000
Sold for £169,250
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5
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £450,000 - 650,000 ‡♠
Sold for £505,250
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6
Marc Quinn
The Golden Column (Microcosmos)
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £289,250
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7
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #410
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £433,250
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8
Ugo Rondinone
VIERZEHNTEROKTOBERZWEITAUSENDUNDNULL
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000
Sold for £157,250
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9
Takashi Murakami
Troll’s Umbrella
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £385,250
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10
Thomas Schütte
Gelber Hund
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ♠
Sold for £241,250
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11
Isa Genzken
Dubai
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ♠
Sold for £61,250
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12
Andy Warhol
Mao
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡
Sold for £457,250
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13
This lot is no longer available.
14
George Condo
Woman in Blue Chair
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £205,250
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15
Damien Hirst
Wretched War
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 Ω♠
Sold for £325,250
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16
Andreas Gursky
Jumeirah Palm
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ♠
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17
Lucio Fontana
Concetto spaziale, Attese
Estimate £1,000,000 - 1,500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £1,049,250
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18
Roni Horn
When Dickinson Shut Her Eyes, no. 1259
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
Sold for £121,250
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19
Richard Prince
My Funny Valentine
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £181,250
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20
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled (HALF-EATEN)
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £181,250
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21
Ahmed Alsoudani
Untitled
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £229,250
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22
Walead Beshty
FedEx® Kraft Box© 2005: FedEx Standard Overnight Los Angeles–New York, trk# 8675 2590 1103; FedEx Standard Overnight New York–Washington, trk# 8631 3319 4523, date April 13–14 2009; FedEx Standard Overnight Washington–Miami, trk# 7950 0886 1541, date July 26–27 2011; International Priority Miami–London, trk # 8439 1188 5383, date January 11–13, 2012
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ‡♠
Sold for £58,850
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23
John Armleder
Alchemilla Vulgaris
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡
Sold for £55,250
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24
Damien Hirst
Sensation
Estimate £350,000 - 450,000 ‡♠
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25
Alex Katz
Ada on Green
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000
Sold for £229,250
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26
Olafur Eliasson
The Path Series
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ‡♠
Sold for £68,450
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27
Raymond Pettibon
Untitled (The view from beyond the breakers)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000
Sold for £157,250
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

16 February 2012 London

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Provenance

Catalogue Essay

22

Walead Beshty

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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16 February 2012
London