James Rosenquist - Works from the James Rosenquist Estate New York Thursday, February 15, 2024 | Phillips

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  • “The alligators. I like wrestling them. Ha, ha, I’m only kidding. But I do like to watch them as they lie there so quietly... Did you know that the favorite foods of the alligator are white bread, marshmallows, and golf balls? You have to be careful, though; they are totally unpredictable. Well, that’s another story.”
     —James Rosenquist, on what attracted him to Florida
    Prominently depicting the peel of an orange and a circular tire mark, Tampa – New York 1188 reflects the period of Rosenquist’s life in which he was primarily living in Florida but frequently returning to New York, where he had solely resided during his earlier career. Climbing up the geography of the east coast, the titular “1188” refers to the miles between his two homes, an abandoned dime store in Tampa’s historically Cuban neighborhood of Ybor City, and a studio loft on the Bowery in downtown Manhattan; the orange nods to Florida’s state fruit, while the tire mark reflects Rosenquist’s continued travels between Manhattan and Tampa. 

     

    His joking aside, one of the major factors that attracted Rosenquist to Florida was its luminosity, a result of the nearby water: “The light here is so beautiful, I once told George Firestone, the Florida secretary of state, that when you cry your tears turn to broken glass or diamonds. He liked that and gave me two medals as an ambassador for Florida.”i This type of light attracted Rosenquist for much of his career: it was a beauty he greatly admired while residing in East Hampton in the late 1960s. Otherwise drawing Rosenquist to Florida was Donald Saff at Graphicstudio, whose innovative print shop at the University of South Florida continued to welcome Rosenquist, Rosenquist in turn changing the Tampa community. 

     

    Sengai Gibon, "〇△□" or The Universe, Edo period, Japan

    Rosenquist spoke often to Saff about his interest in Eastern philosophy and the art of Sengai Gibon (1750–1837), whose brushstrokes described the universe in his circle-triangle-square paintings.ii The artist subtly embedded these Zen symbols of the circle, triangle, and square in the composition, the three shapes said to come together to represent a harmonious universe; the circle, for infinity and the basis of life, the triangle, for the beginning of all forms, and the square– a triangle double formed– for the multiplicity of forms that comprise the entire multidimensional universe. Tampa – New York 1188 illustrates that Rosenquist had created his own universe in his oscillation between the worlds of New York and Florida, both serving their own roles in his personal harmony. 

     

    Tampa – New York 1188 featured on a poster for James Rosenquist's memorial celebration at the University of South Florida,  2017.

     
     

    i Jan van der Marck, “Reminiscing on the Gulf of Mexico: A Conversation with James Rosenquist,” American Art vol. 20, no. 3 (2006), p. 94. 

    ii Donald Saff, “Appreciations: James Rosenquist (1933-2017), American Art vol. 32, no. 1 (2018), p. 88.

    • Literature

      Constance Glenn 81
      Ruth Fine and Mary Lee Corlett, Graphicstudio: Contemporary Art from the Collaborative Workshop at the University of South Florida, 1991, cat. no. 226

225

Tampa—New York 1188 (G. 81)

1974-75
Monumental lithograph in colors, on Arches Cover paper, the full sheet.
S. 36 1/4 x 74 1/8 in. (92.1 x 188.3 cm)
Signed, titled, dated and numbered 16/40 in pencil (there were also 3 artist's proofs), published by Graphicstudio, University of South Florida, Tampa, framed.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$2,000 - 3,000 

Sold for $9,525

Works from the James Rosenquist Estate

New York Auction 15 February 2024