Karen Kilimnik - Contemporary Art Evening Sale London Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    303 Gallery, New York

  • Literature

    Edition Patrick Frey, ed., Karen Kilimnik Paintings, Zurich, 2001, p. 241 (illustrated)

  • Catalogue Essay

    Karen Kilimnik's paintings and installations both function as inspired acts of ‘redocation,' transforming a canvas or a space with objects, styles, and sensibilities to acknowledge the futility of changing much of anything in the outside world through artistic gestures. Her work instead directs the viewer inward, toward places and visual motifs from bygone eras or the realm of fantasy that we internalize in order to escape from the dissatisfying drudgery of our daily lives. Kilimnik's project, however, does not so much indulge in the trappings of the escapism as stage them in order to heighten our awareness of how these concepts of elegance and glamour have always already been constructed for us. While her paintings certainly possess a singular strength and sophistication in their exploration of art historical genres and themes, and their continued relevance to the way we perceive the world today, the installations ‘framing' these works bring the viewer palpably into this dialogue with the past. Kilimnik's redecoration of our physical experience of her paintings prompts us to deal with the presentness of her work, how ‘yesterday' becomes ‘here, 'demonstrating once again that the worlds of mystery and wonder that she depicts are, perhaps, the only ones worth changing. (D. Molon,Yesterday is Here, Karen Kilimnik, Zurich, 2006, pp. 7-8)

6

Lady Diana Spencer at the Royal Opera House

1999
Water based oil on canvas in three parts with audio cassette soundtrack.
35.5 x 28 cm. (14 x 11 in).; 40.6 x 30.4 cm. (16 x 12 in).; 35.5 x 28 cm. (14 x 11 in).
Signed and dated ‘Karen Kilimnik ‘99' on the reverse of each panel.

Estimate
£150,000 - 200,000 

Sold for £151,250

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

12 Feb 2009, 7pm
London