Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
Tsunemasa, (next to Kaija), 2014, is a superb example from one of Julie Mehretu's most acclaimed bodies of work, a critical moment in her corpus which marked a contemplative and personal evolution from her Mogamma series (2012). While her previous works were abstracted, metaphorical blueprints made during the Arab Spring uprising, Tsunemasa is a map of interiority, executed in the wake of the deadly civil wars and failed governmental promises that followed.
Cy Twombly, Untitled, 1970. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Image: © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY, Artwork: © Cy Twombly Foundation A lyrical symphony of mark-making, Tsunemasa, is an expressive topography mining the depths of psychological interiority. Staccato and diffusive gestures erupt across a variegated grey expanse of palimpsest, inhabiting a liminal space in which forms advance and recede as the viewer moves around the canvas. Its characteristic interplay between speed, line, and form shows the height of Mehretu’s painterly adroitness at a pivotal juncture in her practice. Signaling a departure from her earlier colorful, hard-edge idiom, defined by its pointed architectural references to social and geopolitical tumult, Tsunemasa shows the artist’s embrace of a more gestural, contemplative approach that echoes the evocative primacy of both cave paintings and graffiti markings. The striking calligraphic clarity provided by the use of sumi ink, redolent of Cy Twombly’s “blackboard” explorations of the inner psyche, is emblematic of Mehretu’s celebrated practice—which has seen her probing the potentiality of abstraction for more than two decades.
The vibrant, geometric designs that proliferated in her earlier practice metamorphosed into a softer language harmonizing individual and collective voices: palimpsest, smudges, and diffused markings punctuated by calligraphic strokes. Encompassing her famed Invisible Sun works, the profound vulnerability of this series has already been recognized by renowned public and private collections, with paintings housed in the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Broad, Los Angeles; the Pinault Collection; and the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul.
Julie Mehretu, Stelae 2 (Voodoo), 2016. Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul. Artwork: © Julie Mehretu 
Julie Mehretu, Invisible Sun (Algorithm 5, Second Letter Form), 2014. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Image: © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY, Artwork: © Julie Mehretu 
Julie Mehretu, Invisible Sun (Algorithm 8, Fable Form), 2015. The Broad, Los Angeles. Artwork: © Julie Mehretu 
Julie Mehretu, Invisible Sun (Algorithm), 2012. The Pinault Collection, Paris. Artwork: © Julie Mehretu -
Julie Mehretu, Stelae 2 (Voodoo), 2016. Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul. Artwork: © Julie Mehretu -
Julie Mehretu, Invisible Sun (Algorithm 5, Second Letter Form), 2014. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Image: © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY, Artwork: © Julie Mehretu
"My aim is to have a picture that appears one way from a distance—almost like a cosmology, city or universe from afar—but then when you approach the work, the overall image shatters into numerous other pictures stories and events."
—Julie MehretuExecuted during the artist’s tenure as the set designer for Peter Sellars’s staging of Kaija Saariaho’s Only the Sound Remains, the present work is one of two of the artist’s paintings that were reproduced and enlarged as backdrops for the opera. The painting and performance, which premiered across Europe and Canada beginning in 2016, was inspired by the popular Japanese Nôh drama Tsunemasa. Telling the story of a prodigious lute player killed in battle whose spirit haunts his own memorial service, the narrative epitomizes the melodic structure and supernatural tropes that typify Nôh theater.
Performance of Only the sound remains, 2016. Artwork: © Julie Mehretu Mehretu approached the project by matching the opera’s dramatic, liminal atmosphere as opposed to explicitly representing the plot. “When Peter brought me the libretto with the two Nôhs, I read them, continued working, read them again, but I did not try to paint those Nôhs specifically.” the artist explained. The present work is instead “related to [the play Tsunemasa] abstractly, in that I educated myself on Nôhs, studied them, their cosmic ideas of the world and their ancient, very condensed and specific form.” Set on earth, the central narrative unravels in front of Mehretu’s image; “the painting itself is the liminal space, through which the spirits move between earth and the heavens, and then the heavens, the universe, the space of the ghosts, is behind the painting.” She has illuminated that, as the anchor of the performance, “Tsunemasa also relates to the tradition of having a tree in the background of the Japanese Nôh stage. This painting has the metaphorical aspect of being both a landscape and this other mystical space, a ceremonial space even, of the actual narrative.”i
"Julie is the painter I turn to when I want to think about how to trouble the line between abstraction and figuration, between local and global concerns, between painterly restraint and joyous abandon."
—Glenn LigonOne of the most prominent characteristics of this chapter in Mehretu’s career is the reduced palette of Tsunemasa, a development which art historian and writer Dagmawi Woubshet referred to as “the turn not away from color, but the turn into grey.”ii Inherent in this description is the recognition of grey not a single hue but a multivalent space, a liminal threshold from which flashes of black and white emerge. In its elimination of other pigments, Tsunemasa unlocks a barely perceptible dimension, opening the door to what Mehretu called “a different type of possibility” and “allowed for a different type of potential that with the color would be too determinate.”iii
Leonardo da Vinci, A Deluge, 1517, Royal Collection Trust, London. Image: HIP / Art Resource Coalescing her signature densely-layered approach with a refined aesthetic idiom, Tsunemasa is an homage to art’s ability to build and bridge worlds. The work is an image not only of darkness, but of the expansive potential of unity and healing. Reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s deluge drawings, the clusters of frenetic gestures—which the artist calls “characters”—are suggestive of the power of the collective. “Fundamentally,” Mehretu elucidated, Tsunemasa refers “to the most ancient forms of creating a painting, of mark-making, by using Sumi ink and acrylic—to invent and imagine something else from those marks.”iv
i Julie Mehretu, quoted in Anna Schauder, "Only the Sound Remains: Les couleurs de nos rêves," Opéra national de Paris Magazine, February 2, 2018, online.
ii Dagmawi Woubshet, “An Interview with Julie Mehretu,” Callaloo 37, no. 4, 2014, p. 782.
iii Julie Mehretu, quoted in Woubshet.
iv Julie Mehretu, quoted in Schauder.Provenance
Carlier | Gebauer, Berlin
Private Collection (acquired from the above in 2014)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2019Exhibited
Berlin, Carlier | Gebauer, Half a Shadow, September 20–November 1, 2014
Literature
Anna Schauder, "Only the Sound Remains: Les couleurs de nos rêves," Opéra national de Paris Magazine, February 2, 2018, online
Julie Mehretu, exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2019, pp. 178-179 (illustrated)
Property of a Private Collector
Ο◆7
Tsunemasa (next to Kaija)
ink and acrylic on canvas stretched over panel
84 x 96 in. (213.4 x 243.8 cm)
Executed in 2014.
Estimate
$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,386,000
Amanda Lo Iacono
Global Managing Director and Specialist, Head of Evening Sale, New York
+1 212 940 1278
ALoiacono@phillips.com
Carolyn Mayer
Associate Specialist, Associate Head of Evening Sale, New York
+1 212 940 1206
CMayer@phillips.com
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale
New York Auction 15 November 2022
1
Ilana Savdie
Marimonda Desplegada
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $176,400
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
2
Danica Lundy
Miss Fist Kiss
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $189,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
3
Lauren Quin
Arrow
Estimate $70,000 - 100,000
Sold for $163,800
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
4
Avery Singer
Untitled
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for $1,724,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
5
Rashid Johnson
Standing Broken Men
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,724,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
6
Pablo Picasso
Mousquetaire buste
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $2,450,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
7
Julie Mehretu
Tsunemasa (next to Kaija)
Estimate $4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,386,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
8
Cy Twombly
Untitled
Estimate $35,000,000 - 45,000,000
Sold for $41,640,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
9
René Magritte
Le météore
Estimate $4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,265,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
10
Amy Sherald
Pilgrimage of the Chameleon
Estimate $1,800,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $2,087,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
11
Loie Hollowell
Lick, Lick in Purple, maroon-yellow
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,361,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
12
Tom Wesselmann
Mouth #14 (Marilyn)
Estimate $3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for $3,236,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
13
René Magritte
Le coup de grâce
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for $1,966,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
14
Anna Weyant
Bum
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $390,600
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
15
Mark Bradford
He Barked Just Like a Watchdog
Estimate $4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,870,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
16
Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Circus No. 12 Face 44.30)
Estimate $8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for $9,809,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
17
Marc Chagall
Le Père
Estimate $6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Sold for $7,404,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
18
Marlene Dumas
Snow White in the Wrong Story
Estimate $3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for $3,781,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
19
María Berrío
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $1,603,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
20
Alex Katz
The Grey Dress
Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for $2,208,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
21
Yayoi Kusama
All The Eternal Love
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $1,966,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
22
Alexander Calder
Plutôt jaune
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for $1,482,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
23
Amy Sherald
Madame Noire
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
24
Jean-Michel Basquiat
To Repel Ghosts
Estimate $7,000,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for $7,862,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
25
This lot is no longer available.
26
Yayoi Kusama
Nets Blue
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $2,450,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
27
Lucy Bull
Untitled
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $478,800
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
28
Willem de Kooning
Untitled
Estimate $4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for $4,870,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
29
Milton Avery
Hot Moon
Estimate $1,800,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $2,208,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
30
Amoako Boafo
Pink Shorts
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $403,200
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
31
Rashid Johnson
Untitled Anxious Collage
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $567,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
32
Joan Mitchell
Cobalt
Estimate $3,000,000 - 4,000,000
Sold for $3,418,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
33
Andy Warhol
Oxidation
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,450,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
34
Alexander Calder
Petite croix
Estimate $3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for $4,023,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
35
This lot is no longer available.
36
Willem de Kooning
Event in a Barn
Estimate $2,500,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for $3,055,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
37
Pablo Picasso
Paysage au pin
Estimate $1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for $1,482,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
38
Mickalene Thomas
I Can’t See Me Without You
Estimate $350,000 - 550,000
Sold for $441,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
39
Balthus
La Sieste
Estimate $700,000 - 1,000,000
Sold for $1,058,500
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
40
Andy Warhol
Nosepicker I: Why Pick on Me (The Broad Gave Me My Face But I Can Pick My Own Nose)
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $491,400
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
41
Andy Warhol
Living Room
Estimate $250,000 - 450,000
Sold for $315,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
42
Robert Motherwell
Open No. 25: In Blue with Variations
Estimate $900,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $2,329,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
43
Luc Tuymans
Absence
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $453,600
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
44
Ernie Barnes
Slam Before the Storm
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $604,800
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
45
Carmen Herrera
Noche Verde
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $567,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
46
Anne Truitt
Autumn Dryad
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $567,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.