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Ebullient, bold, and sumptuously exotic, Six Papayas is a resplendent work by American artist Katherine Bernhardt, where she explores the possibilities of form and colour. Often characterised by her use of recurring motifs such as cartoons and characters borrowed from American pop culture – namely the Pink Panther, E.T., Garfield, Smurfs, and Darth Vader – the present work conjures a unique sensibility, devoid of what is commonly observed within Bernhardt’s artistic oeuvre. Refusing to be bound by the strictures of conventional painting, Bernhardt has developed an approach that evokes the limitless potentials of creativity.
Executed only a year after the artist’s first foray into creating a public mural of similar subject matter, Six Papayas is an exemplary of this ethos of disruption, evincing a striking depiction of fruits, featuring an assemblage and interplay of the titular half-dozen ripe papayas and bananas that dominate her canvas. Rendered in a simplified and graphic quality set against a monochromatic lavender background lies one of Bernhardt’s most iconic motifs— a solitary Nike sneaker— a nod to her ever-expanding interest in the visual culture of contemporary society.
Explosions of Colour
Installation view of Katherine Bernhardt’s Fruit Salad, 2015, Venus Over Los Angeles
Bernhardt is renowned for her distinctive technique: a complex infusion of process painting, Colour Field painting and street graffiti where colours take centre stage in her expression. Her frenzied application of colours in Six Papayas – most notably papaya pink – recalls her initial stay at the Pink Palace Hotel in Hawaii, whereby evoking a blazing tropical sunset on a balmy summer’s day. Pink as a colour, also carries other connotations, perhaps in the current work denoting to the idea of consumer culture and popular imagery as it is widely used in advertising and marketing, typically associated with femininity as well as appealing to a predominantly female audience. Six Papayas hails from Bernhardt’s widely acclaimed ‘patterned’ series and the artist’s current top record is a painting that belongs to the same sequence of works.
“I love the 80s aesthetic, which is very colourful. I love painting because I can make lots of colour in it. I like places that have lots of colour. I am attracted to colours. Art is a way where people can go and escape from reality. The bigger, the better.”
— Katherine BernhardtRedefining Still Life
In Six Papayas, the artist interrogates the way in which consumerism shapes our identities and desires, and how it impacts our relationship with the environment we inhabit. Bernhardt draws upon how even the most quotidian objects are commodified and marketed in our society today. Painted in a highly gestural aesthetic, she masterfully elevates these everyday objects to the level of fine art and glorifies these items from their original context.
Clara Peeters, Still Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries, circa 1625
Collection of LACMA, Los Angeles
Image: Los Angeles Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter (M. 2003. 108. 8)In the present work, the artist embraces an unconventional approach to painting – seeking to redefine and temper the boundaries of the traditional still life genre. Hovering between the fine lines of abstraction and representation, Bernhardt achieves this result by outlining the shapes of her subjects with spray paint then applying intuitive and spontaneous strokes of diluted acrylics onto the canvas, simultaneously allowing the paint to pool and conflate by chance. Still life paintings were traditionally understood as the most direct way of displaying one’s wealth through depicting esoteric culinary items such as exotic fruits as they were only assessable to a select few. This brings forth the notion of rarity and natural objects being seen as commodities within Six Papayas.
Evidently, what sets Bernhardt apart from other artists associated with the still life genre is her choice of medium and the experimental technique that she employs within her work. Oil paints were traditionally favoured for its malleability and potential for achieving subtle gradations of colour and tonality. However, in Six Papayas, Bernhardt entirely disrupts the praxis with her use of spray paint, alluding to the versatility of the medium.
Detail of the present work
Spray paint has often been linked with graffiti culture and street art, which challenges the traditional boundaries of what is considered ‘fine art’. The medium also acts as an enabler for artists such as Bernhardt to create bold and textured works that cannot be easily replicated with traditional painting methods. Bernhardt invites the audience to perceive her painting from a distinctive, contemporary perspective, allowing viewers to obtain a sense of the time and space in which it was created. Standing whilst overlooking her work on the ground, she throws her entire body over the surface with loose and carefree applications of spray paint, imparting disruptive acts of mark making where her energy is almost palpable.In comparison to Clara Peeters's refined still life paintings, Bernhardt not only reduces the form of her fruits. She also taps into her innovative tendencies by incorporating a bird’s eye viewpoint within a single composition, highlighting her trailblazing compositional experimentation.
Katherine Bernhart in discussion with Art This Week ahead of her Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art exhibition opening, 2017Collector’s Digest
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Born in 1975, Katherine Bernhardt lives and works in St. Louis.
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Having received her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York she is represented by David Zwirner in partnership with Canada Gallery.
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The artist’s works are part of important institutional collections, such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D. C.; Rubell Museum, Miami; among others.
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Exuding a sense of warmth and confidence, Bernhardt’s papaya paintings are widely celebrated for their playful yet powerful aesthetic. Particularly, with the present work further establishing the artist as a visionary female ‘disruptor’ within the canon of western contemporary art.
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Provenance
Pilar Corrias, London
Acquired from the above by the present ownerArtist Biography
Katherine Bernhardt
American • 1975
Katherine Bernhardt, whether in her paintings or make-shift Moroccan rugs, is rapt by neons and geometries. The artist, who works in New York, takes an almost hasty-flick of a brushstroke that lands as a jagged architectural form — figures cut in space and in buzzing colors that leave a mental trace.
Seemingly each month, multiple galleries, museums or art fairs across the world exhibit Bernhardt's large-scale fantasies and rug-centric installations, as seen in 2017 at Art Basel and with a solo retrospective at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth. "I think the best painters don't intellectualize their own art—they just make stuff," she says; but with sharks circling trash in the water in today's climate, as is depicted in Sharks, Toilet Paper and Plantains, it's not hard to see Bernhardt's deeper meanings.
336
Six Papayas
signed, titled, inscribed and dated '2015 Katherine Bernhardt "six papayas" three bananas + a Nike' on the reverse
acrylic and spray paint on canvas
183 x 152.5 cm. (72 x 60 in.)
Executed in 2016.
Estimate
HK$300,000 - 500,000
€35,400-58,900
$38,500-64,100
Sold for HK$368,300
Anastasia Salnikoff
Head of Mid-Season Sales
+852 2318 2014
anastasiasalnikoff@phillips.com
Thomas Perazzi
Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2001
WatchesHK@phillips.com
Disruptors: Evening Sale of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Design and Watches
Hong Kong Auction 25 May 2023
301
Anna Park
Nude
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$698,500
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302
Wing Shya
Three works: Happy Together Stills (i) The Talk at Bar Sur; (ii) Prologue 2; (iii) Two to Tango
Estimate HK$80,000 - 120,000
Sold for HK$165,100
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303
Rolex
Ref. 6536/1
Model: Submariner
An impressive, attractive and rare stainless steel diver’s wristwatch with center seconds, black lacquered dial and braceletEstimate HK$240,000 - 480,000
Sold for HK$508,000
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304
Patek Philippe
Ref. 5207P-001
An exceptionally fine and rare platinum perpetual calendar minute repeating tourbillon wristwatch with small seconds, moon phases, leap year, day and night indication, additional solid caseback, setting pin, Certificate of Origin and presentation boxEstimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$4,826,000
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305
Cartier
Ref. 2774
Model: Crash
A rare, possibly unique and exquisite white gold and diamond-set asymmetrical wristwatch with Certificate of Origin and presentation boxEstimate HK$500,000 - 1,000,000
Sold for HK$990,600
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306
Audemars Piguet
Ref. 14802ST
Model: Royal Oak Jubilee
An extremely attractive and rare limited edition stainless steel wristwatch with salmon dial, date, bracelet, certificate and presentation box, numbered 622 of a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, made in commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Royal OakEstimate HK$600,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$952,500
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307
Fernando Campana and Humberto Campana
'Bolotas' armchair
Estimate HK$120,000 - 180,000
Sold for HK$165,100
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308
Mr.
Misaki
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$3,302,000
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309
This lot is no longer available.
310
Yayoi Kusama
I Who Sing in Celebration of Humanity
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 9,500,000
Sold for HK$8,509,000
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311
André Butzer
Untitled
Estimate HK$700,000 - 900,000
Sold for HK$889,000
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312
Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret
Bookshelf with cabinets, model no. 14, from 'L’Équipement de la Maison' series
Estimate HK$150,000 - 200,000
Sold for HK$304,800
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313
Cartier
Ref. WGTA0044
Model: Tank Asymétrique
A rare, fine and attractive limited edition yellow gold asymmetrical wristwatch with certificate and presentation box, numbered 89 of a limited edition of 100 piecesEstimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$241,300
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314
Rolex
Ref. 6241
Model: Cosmograph Daytona
An extremely rare and attractive yellow gold chronograph wristwatch with champagne dialEstimate HK$940,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$1,092,200
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315
Cartier
Ref. WGTA0088
Model: Tank Chinoise
A rare, "like-new" and elegant limited edition yellow gold rectangular-shaped wristwatch with warranty and presentation box, numbered 83 of a limited edition of 150 piecesEstimate HK$100,000 - 250,000
Sold for HK$165,100
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316
This lot is no longer available.
317
KAWS
COMPANION
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
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318
Andy Warhol
Figures on a Busy Street
Estimate HK$450,000 - 650,000
Sold for HK$444,500
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319
Nicolas Party
Trees
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$12,550,000
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320
David Hockney
The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 4 May
Estimate HK$680,000 - 850,000
Sold for HK$1,079,500
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321
Takashi Murakami & Virgil Abloh
"FLOWER"
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$2,921,000
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322
Anish Kapoor
Non Object (Mirror)
Estimate HK$3,800,000 - 4,800,000
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323
Gio Ponti
Coffee table
Estimate HK$120,000 - 180,000
Sold for HK$152,400
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324
Gio Ponti
Pair of armchairs, model no. 247, from the 'Modern by Singer' series
Estimate HK$100,000 - 150,000
Sold for HK$114,300
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325
Angel Otero
Bayamón
Estimate HK$700,000 - 1,000,000
Sold for HK$1,079,500
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326
Stanley Whitney
Stay Song 27
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
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327
Rafa Macarrón
343 Almas
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$1,016,000
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328
Vacheron Constantin
Ref. 44018
Model: 222
A very elegant and attractive yellow gold wristwatch with date and integrated braceletEstimate HK$250,000 - 500,000
Sold for HK$508,000
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329
Audemars Piguet
Ref. 25654BA.OO.0944BA.01
Model: Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar
An extremely fine, rare and well-preserved yellow gold perpetual calendar wristwatch with MK I dial, moon phases and integrated braceletEstimate HK$470,000 - 940,000
Sold for HK$660,400
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330
Patek Philippe
Ref. 3940
A rare and attractive yellow gold perpetual calendar wristwatch with moon phases, leap year, 24-hour indication, Certificate of Origin and presentation boxEstimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$508,000
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331
RETNA
He's A Criminal No Different From Me. One Could Argue I Could Be Painted With The Same Brush
Estimate HK$300,000 - 500,000
Sold for HK$762,000
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332
This lot is no longer available.
333
José Parlá
New Language Forms
Estimate HK$380,000 - 580,000
Sold for HK$355,600
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334
Takashi Murakami & Virgil Abloh
"ARROWS AND FLOWER"
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
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335
Aya Takano
In the 30th Year of the Showa, the Day the Fire Flowers Rose
Estimate HK$500,000 - 800,000
Sold for HK$635,000
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336
Katherine Bernhardt
Six Papayas
Estimate HK$300,000 - 500,000
Sold for HK$368,300
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337
Cartier
Ref. 1734
Model: Tank Américaine
A very fine and rare limited edition platinum wristwatch with salmon dial and presentation box, numbered 16 of a limited edition of 30 pieces made for the 150th anniversary of the Swiss ConfederationEstimate HK$100,000 - 200,000
Sold for HK$165,100
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338
Patek Philippe
Ref. 5065A
Model: Aquanaut
An attractive and rare stainless steel wristwatch with center seconds, date and presentation boxEstimate HK$160,000 - 310,000
Sold for HK$330,200
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339
Franck Muller
Ref. 2870 NADF
Model: Chronographe Double Face
A rare and attractive yellow gold double-faced chronograph wristwatch with two-tone silvered dials, pulsations, telemeter and tachymeter scales, Certificate of Origin and presentation boxEstimate HK$80,000 - 160,000
Sold for HK$190,500
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340
Jean Prouvé
Sun shutter, designed for schools in Cameroon
Estimate HK$80,000 - 120,000
Sold for HK$101,600
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341
Jean Prouvé
Sun shutter, designed for schools in Cameroon
Estimate HK$80,000 - 120,000
Sold for HK$101,600
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342
Wolfgang Tillmans
paper drop (Studio) I
Estimate HK$100,000 - 150,000
Sold for HK$177,800
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343
Wolfgang Tillmans
paper drop (London) II
Estimate HK$100,000 - 150,000
Sold for HK$139,700
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344
Hiroshi Sugimoto
North Pacific Ocean, Ohkurosaki
Estimate HK$160,000 - 240,000
Sold for HK$215,900
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345
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Bay of Sagami, Atami
Estimate HK$160,000 - 240,000
Sold for HK$228,600
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346
Ron Arad
'Big Easy Volume 2' armchair
Estimate HK$200,000 - 300,000
Sold for HK$190,500
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347
Gio Ponti
'Diamond' flatware service for 24
Estimate HK$190,000 - 280,000
Sold for HK$254,000
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348
Vacheron Constantin
Ref. 49152/000A-9540
Model: Overseas Chronograph
A fine and rare stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with date, guarantee and presentation box, numbered 91 of a limited edition of 100 pieces made for the Greek marketEstimate HK$120,000 - 200,000
Sold for HK$165,100
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349
Rolex
Ref. 16520
Model: Cosmograph Daytona
A very fine and well-preserved stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with bracelet, guarantee and presentation boxEstimate HK$180,000 - 280,000
Sold for HK$254,000
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350
Audemars Piguet
Ref. 26300ST.OO.1110ST.08
Model: Royal Oak Chronograph
A fine and attractive stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with date, bracelet, Certificate of Authentication and presentation boxEstimate HK$160,000 - 320,000
Sold for HK$304,800
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351
Rolex
Ref. 1680
Model: Submariner, “Red Sub”, MK II
A rare and attractive stainless steel diver’s wristwatch with center seconds, date, MK II dial, bracelet and presentation boxEstimate HK$120,000 - 300,000
Sold for HK$190,500
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352
After Jean-Michel Basquiat
Flexible
Estimate HK$450,000 - 650,000
Sold for HK$533,400
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353
Kenny Scharf
Unique Surfboard
Estimate HK$450,000 - 650,000
Sold for HK$406,400
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354
Poul Kjærholm
'Hammock' lounge chair, model no. PK 24
Estimate HK$90,000 - 120,000
Sold for HK$114,300
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355
Urwerk
Ref. UR-105M
Model: Dark Knight
A fine, rare and unusual limited edition titanium wristwatch with three-dimensional satellite hour display, power reserve, warranty and presentation box, numbered 10 of a limited edition of 77 piecesEstimate HK$180,000 - 280,000
Sold for HK$304,800
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356No Reserve
Rolex
Ref. 126000
Model: Oyster Perpetual 36
A attractive stainless steel wristwatch with center seconds, “Tiffany” blue lacquer dial, bracelet, guarantee and presentation boxEstimate HK$60,000 - 120,000 •
Sold for HK$203,200
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357No Reserve
Alain Silberstein
Ref. TMA1-002
Model: Tourbillon Volant
A very rare and unusual limited edition stainless steel semi-skeletonised tourbillon wristwatch with date, numbered 1 of a limited edition of 9 piecesEstimate HK$80,000 - 160,000 •
Sold for HK$139,700
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358
KAWS and Estudio Campana
KAWS: MONSTER Chair
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$381,000
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359
KAWS
UNTITLED
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$419,100
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360
Hans J. Wegner
'Valet' chair, model no. 540
Estimate HK$40,000 - 60,000
Sold for HK$133,350
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361
Arne Jacobsen
'Egg' chair model no. 3316 and later ottoman, model no. 3127
Estimate HK$30,000 - 50,000
Sold for HK$35,560
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362
Yoshitomo Nara
Hand Searching
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$584,200
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