Francis Alÿs - 20th Century & Contemporary Art: Online Auction, New York New York Thursday, December 7, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    (i) Private Collection
    Christie's, New York, May 12, 2005, lot 417
    Karl Hutter Fine Art, Los Angeles
    Acquired from the above by the present owner
    (ii) Private Collection
    Christie's, New York, May 12, 2005, lot 418
    Karl Hutter Fine Art, Los Angeles
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Artist Biography

    Francis Alÿs

    Belgian / Mexican • 1959

    Born in Belgium, Francis Alÿs traveled to Mexico in 1986 as part of a French program to assist in the aftermath of the tragic 1985 earthquake, and has lived there ever since. Throughout his career, the artist has analyzed facets of everyday urban life using a variety of media including video, drawing, installation and public action. Sign Painting Project (1993-'97) is a prime example of the artist's interest in the sprawling urbanization of Mexico City. In this early series, Alÿs drew inspiration from professional Mexican sign painters (rotúlistas) who painted large billboard advertisements throughout the city. In response to these large colorful compositions, Alÿs employed a similar style in creating small-scale paintings of familiar objects and places.  Alÿs asked various rotúlistas to copy and enlarge his paintings, displaying his work and that of the rotúlista side-by-side. This series, like many of Alÿs' other works, illustrates the artist's concerns with such themes as collaboration, banality and originality.

    View More Works

127

Two works: (i) Untitled; (ii) Set Theory

(i) signed and dated "F. Alÿs 1999" lower left; inscribed indistinctly lower right; signed with the artist's initials and numbered "FA 29/99" on the reverse
(ii) signed "F. Alÿs" lower left; titled "set theory" lower center

(i) pencil on vellum
(ii) pencil and masking tape on vellum collage

(i) 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
(ii) 13 3/4 x 12 in. (34.9 x 30.5 cm)

(i) Executed in 1999.
(ii) Executed in 1996.

Estimate
$8,000 - 12,000 

Sold for $11,430

Contact Specialist

Katerina Blackwood
Associate Specialist, Head of Online Sales, New York
20th Century & Contemporary Art
+1 212 940 1248
KBlackwood@phillips.com
 

20th Century & Contemporary Art: Online Auction, New York

7 - 14 December 2023