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"Visible things can be invisible. However, our powers of thought grasp both the visible and the invisible – and I make use of painting to render thoughts visible." ― René Magritte
Brooklyn based Emily Mae Smith has been actively creating for the last two decades, but it is only in recent years that she has increasingly gained attention through a unique visual language in the form of a humble broom. A potent concoction incorporating pop culture, mythology and art history, through her works Smith serves a visual feast of glamour and whimsy, but the umami of the works lies in her commentary on gender, sexuality and representation.
Dust
Dust portrays a scene that was seemingly adapted from the iconic DreamWorks opening credits of a boy sitting on a crescent moon (see Robert Hunt, DreamWorks). In place of the boy is the artist’s signature avatar — an anthropomorphic broomstick figure inspired by the magic brooms from Disney’s Fantasia (1940), the figure sits atop of a crescent moon, its arm outstretched to catch the sparkling ‘dust’ of the night sky.
Robert Hunt, DreamWorks A symbol of women oriented domestic labour, the broom is Smith’s unique tongue-in-cheek way of representing the female figure. Her whimsical character is a rebellious reinterpretation of the often sexualised and seductive curving forms that have been extensively documented through the predominantly male gaze of art history, breaking down that objectification through the personalisation of a literal everyday object:
"The broom has become this really handy tool for me to work around the gendered connotations that you might get from painting the naked female figure. The broom is nude but you don’t really think about it." ― Emily Mae Smith
Also bearing close resemblance to the paintbrush – the broom personifies the voice of a women artist, illustrating in a wider context Smith’s ideas of feminism, gender roles and women’s position in society. Utilising the classic image that has illuminated television and cinema screens worldwide, Dust channels the emotional power of childhood memories and nostalgia with a fresh feminist twist.
Magic Brooms, Fantasia, Disney, 1940
Elegantly framing her composition with flat silhouettes of wheat stalks, the painting’s idyllic landscape is undoubtedly influenced by Smith’s hometown in Texas. The saccharine colours of the night sky, the crescent moon floating over pink clouds are rendered in soft, smooth gradients, lending the work its dreamlike, Disney-esque appeal. A nod to René Magritte’s surrealist landscapes (see for example René Magritte, Sixteenth of September, 1956), beyond the surface of her luminous work Smith casts a disruptive spell and awakens her audiences to its underlying thoughts and ideas on deep rooted issues in female representation in contemporary culture and history.
René Magritte, Sixteenth of September, 1956, Collection of Minneapolis Institute of Art. Collector’s Digest
Emily Mae Smith has had solo exhibitions at the Consortium Museum, Dijon, France and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford in Connecticut. The artist’s work is also included in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Provenance
Mary Mary Gallery, Glasgow
Acquired from the above by the present owner
2
Dust
2019
signed and dated 'Emily M Smith 2019' on the reverse
oil on linen
27.9 x 35.5 cm. (10 7/8 x 13 7/8 in.)
Painted in 2019.
Estimate
HK$200,000 - 300,000
€24,800-37,200
$25,600-38,500
Sold for HK$1,134,000
Charlotte Raybaud
Head of Evening Sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Association with Poly Auction
Hong Kong Auction 3 December 2020
1
Salman Toor
Group Dance
Estimate HK$380,000 - 480,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
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2
Emily Mae Smith
Dust
Estimate HK$200,000 - 300,000
Sold for HK$1,134,000
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3
Titus Kaphar
Well Kept
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$3,528,000
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4
Matthew Wong
River at Dusk
Estimate HK$7,000,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$37,760,000
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5
Yoshitomo Nara
Hothouse Doll
Estimate HK$50,000,000 - 70,000,000
Sold for HK$103,115,000
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6
Yoshitomo Nara
Untitled
Estimate HK$24,000,000 - 36,000,000
Sold for HK$29,290,000
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7
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Ancient Scientist
Estimate HK$50,000,000 - 70,000,000
Sold for HK$58,330,000
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8
Gerhard Richter
Abstraktes Bild (682-4)
Estimate HK$20,000,000 - 30,000,000
Sold for HK$32,315,000
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9
Yayoi Kusama
INFINITY-NETS (QRTWE)
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 20,000,000
Sold for HK$17,190,000
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10
Yayoi Kusama
Fruits [EPSOB]
Estimate HK$7,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for HK$12,350,000
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11
Zhou Chunya
The Flower in a Vase
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$6,905,000
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12
Zhang Xiaogang
Fairy Tale
Estimate HK$6,500,000 - 8,500,000
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13
Liu Wei
Purple Air IV-4
Estimate HK$1,600,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,772,000
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14
Yue Minjun
Untitled
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,016,000
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15
KAWS
UNTITLED
Estimate HK$3,800,000 - 5,500,000
Sold for HK$4,662,000
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16
Bernard Frize
Wir
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$2,142,000
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17
Michael Craig-Martin
REAL
Estimate HK$600,000 - 800,000
Sold for HK$756,000
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18
KAWS
UNTITLED
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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19
Christine Ay Tjoe
When Black and Red Could Hardly be a Circle
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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20
Zao Wou-Ki
12.2.69
Estimate HK$6,500,000 - 8,500,000
Sold for HK$13,560,000
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21
Zao Wou-Ki
14.06.73
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 16,000,000
Sold for HK$12,350,000
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22
Chu Teh-Chun
Composition No. 65
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 20,000,000
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23
Chu Teh-Chun
Le 30 mars 1981
Estimate HK$5,500,000 - 7,500,000
Sold for HK$7,752,000
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24
Lalan
Efter Regnen (After the Rain)
Estimate HK$750,000 - 1,000,000
Sold for HK$2,016,000
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25
Cai Guo-Qiang
Two Wandering Tigers
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for HK$4,410,000
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26
Li Chen
Peony
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$2,394,000
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27
Banksy
Monkey Detonator
Estimate HK$3,800,000 - 4,800,000
Sold for HK$5,292,000
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28
On Kawara
NOV.25, 1989
Estimate HK$2,600,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for HK$3,276,000
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29
Lucas Arruda
Untitled
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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30
Tomoo Gokita
Trust Us
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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31
Fernando Botero
The Beach
Estimate HK$2,400,000 - 3,200,000
Sold for HK$2,772,000
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32
This lot is no longer available.