Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
“I want to titillate the senses. I want to draw people closer. I think people aren’t used to paying much-prolonged attention to paintings on walls and I want to allow people to have more of a sensory experience. I want to draw them in so that there is the opportunity for things to open up and for them to wander.”
— Lucy BullPhillips is pleased to present for the first time in Asia, and only second time ever at auction, a work by one of the world’s most exciting and forward-thinking young painters, the enigmatic Lucy Bull. After a breakout show at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles last year, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate has become darling of both collectors and critics alike: the former jostling for her arenas of psychedelia, the latter heralding her as the new champion of Western abstraction.
A fine balance between acid trip and surrealist climax, Bull’s compositions burn the retina, more siren than artwork as we are entranced by their vivid tessellations of synaesthesia, and drawn into her colour fields that seem to defy the pictorial space and wrap us in their limitless undulations. Otherworldly and fantastical, our brains are forced into hyperdrive as we attempt to comprehend the symphonies of blushes that bleed into one another, almost redefining the essential qualities of colour itself. However, Bull is hesitant to take the mantle of a strict abstraction, instead acknowledging the work of the late British painter Howard Hodgkin as a forefather, mirroring his figuration within her fervent reveries, and claiming ‘I am a representational painter, but not a painter of appearances. I paint representational pictures of emotional situations.’ i.
Kaleidoscopic Colour and Sensation
Bull’s work is defined by dialectic, opposition, contrast – precision and abandon, order and chaos, concord and discord. 8:50 stands as one of the artist’s largest visions, where forms and patterns seem to emerge to allow us grounding in the composition, only to then fall away as the kaleidoscopic sands of pigment shift eternal, forcing self-accusations of pareidolia. An Eleusinian Mystery, time and space are conquered by colour and sensation, made mechanical and played on loop, elliptical. This layered hierarchy that is found at the core of Bull’s work is a product of industry, repeatedly painting over works in small scratches until the piece reaches perfection in the artist’s strict specifications. Yet her technique of addition through scratching is but a mere chimaera, as in reality she engages in a process of excavation when she does so: previous marks get dragged to the foreground, obscuring the boundaries between past and present, old and new. She points to the technique of frottage espoused by the German Surrealist Max Ernst, who would place paper upon various materials, then transpose their surfaces by rubbing pencil or crayon in his investigation of the subconscious ii. Nonetheless, these formal qualities are merely visual bait as the reality of 8:50 is found in the work’s raw emotion.
Max Ernst, The Eye of Silence, 1944
Collection of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis
© 2022 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, ParisAt Eternity’s Gate
Forged in an ayahuascan caprice and made manifest by the artist’s boundless creative spirit, approaching the painting is akin to coming face to face with our own subconscious, a Rorschach-like experiment between artwork and spectator that makes the worlds of Michael Fried and Aldous Huxley come crashing together in ethereal harmony. The antithesis of hermetic, 8:50’s essence is found not on the canvas itself but in the experience of interaction with the canvas. Bull explains this as: ‘The work itself is so subjective, there isn’t just one narrative…Rich in so many associations, I never want to short-circuit any of my viewers in their viewing of the work by telling them what I see. I’m more interested in creating something that is more in-between and open-ended with multiple entry points.’ iii. In a world of sensory overload - TikTok reels, endless advertisements and cacophonies of anxiety – Bull’s practice allows for mediation through submission. Like the Instagram Age’s answer to Jackson Pollock, the artist asks us to lose ourselves to find ourselves in her painting, promoting receptions that are visceral rather than conceptual.
Jackson Pollock, Number 8, 1949
© 2022 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/ Artists Right Society (ARS), New YorkCollector’s Digest
In addition to her solo show at David Kordansky, Lucy Bull has been the subject of solo exhibitions at High Art (Arles, 2020; Paris, 2019); Human Resources, Los Angeles (2019); Smart Objects, Los Angeles (2019). Furthermore, her work is held in the permanent collections of MAMCO Geneva; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Dallas Museum of Art; and Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.
Recent exhibitions include: Lucy Bull: Skunk Grove, 20 March – 1 May 2021; the artist is also currently in a group exhibition, Women of Now, with Plus Gallery alongside other female artists such as Anna Park, Anna Weyant, and Issy Wood.
i Lucy Bull, quoted in Stephanie Eckardt, ‘In the Studio With Lucy Bull, the Painter Bringing Back Abstraction’, W Magazine, 2 April 2021, online
ii John Garcia, ‘Getting Lost in the Brushstrokes: Lucy Bull Interviewed by John Garcia’, BOMB Magazine, 26 April 2021, online
iii Lucy Bull, quoted in Ophelia Sanderson, ‘Getting Lost in the Enigmatic Paintings of Lucy Bull’, Whitewall, 18 November 2021, online
Provenance
Smart Objects, Los Angeles
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Property of an Important Asian Private Collection
3
8:50
signed with the artist's initials and dated 'LB 2020' on the reverse
oil on canvas
93 x 296.5 cm. (36 5/8 x 116 3/4 in.)
Painted in 2020.
Estimate
HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
€121,000-182,000
$128,000-192,000
Sold for HK$11,382,000
Charlotte Raybaud
Specialist, Head of Evening Sale
+852 2318 2026
CharlotteRaybaud@phillips.com
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale
Hong Kong Auction 22 June 2022
1
Julie Curtiss
Funky Boots
Estimate HK$600,000 - 800,000
Sold for HK$1,071,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
2
Jamian Juliano-Villani
Hand's Job
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$819,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
3
Lucy Bull
8:50
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$11,382,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
4
Scott Kahn
Soundview
Estimate HK$900,000 - 1,400,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
5
Hernan Bas
Who Told Them We Were Coming?
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$3,528,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
6
Shara Hughes
Pleasure House
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$6,542,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
7
Loie Hollowell
Linked Lingam in Red and Blue
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
8
Anna Weyant
Chest
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$4,158,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
9
George Condo
Transparent Female Forms
Estimate HK$25,000,000 - 35,000,000
Sold for HK$36,550,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
10
This lot is no longer available.
11
Matthew Wong
Pink Wave
Estimate HK$16,000,000 - 26,000,000
Sold for HK$22,635,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
12
David Hockney
Painted Landscape (Or Red and Blue Landscape)
Estimate HK$16,000,000 - 24,000,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
13
Ed Ruscha
Spied Upon Scene: Window
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 5,500,000
Sold for HK$3,150,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
14
Huang Yuxing
Pearl Shore
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
15
This lot is no longer available.
16
Nicolas Party
Two Portraits
Estimate HK$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Sold for HK$6,542,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
17
George Condo
The Strangers
Estimate HK$5,000,000 - 6,500,000
Sold for HK$5,670,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
18
Ernie Barnes
Life After Sundown
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$6,048,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
19
Javier Calleja
1971
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 5,500,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
20
Yoshitomo Nara
Untitled
Estimate HK$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Sold for HK$7,510,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
21
This lot is no longer available.
22
Adrian Ghenie
Pie Fight Study 4
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
23
Michaël Borremans
Stars
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,772,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
24
Li Chen
Angelic Smile
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$4,284,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
25
Zhang Xiaogang
Bloodline Series - Big Family
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
26
Zhang Enli
Things
Estimate HK$2,200,000 - 4,200,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
27
This lot is no longer available.
28
Lee Ufan
From Line No. 790372
Estimate HK$9,000,000 - 14,000,000
Sold for HK$11,140,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
29
Pierre Soulages
Peinture 102 x 130 cm, 11 mars 2016
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
30
Ouattara Watts
Intercessor
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$1,134,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
31
Sam Francis
Untitled
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
32
KAWS
UNTITLED
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for HK$3,276,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
33
Kohei Nawa
PixCell-Deer #21
Estimate HK$2,800,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
34
This lot is no longer available.
35
Anna Park
I to I
Estimate HK$300,000 - 500,000
Sold for HK$2,268,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
36
Trey Abdella
Some Things Aren't Worth Waiting For
Estimate HK$600,000 - 900,000
Sold for HK$2,646,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
37
Szabolcs Bozó
One Bird, A Cat and A Man
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$882,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
38
Katherine Bernhardt
Laundry Day
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$2,142,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
39
Issy Wood
Dog With Pendants (Not as Close)
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$1,386,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
40
Robert Nava
Shark Wing Pegasus
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
41
Ayako Rokkaku
Untitled
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
42
Allison Zuckerman
Bullseye
Estimate HK$550,000 - 750,000
Sold for HK$1,071,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
43
Serge Attukwei Clottey
Valentine's Day
Estimate HK$250,000 - 450,000
Sold for HK$693,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
44
Genieve Figgis
Pink Ballroom
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$2,016,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
45
Emmanuel Taku
Brothers in Red
Estimate HK$300,000 - 500,000
Sold for HK$1,512,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
46
Aboudia
Take Me II
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
47
José Parlá
Writers' Bench: Grand Concourse & 149th Street, The Bronx
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$1,764,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
48
Edgar Plans
Night Creatures
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.
49
Rafa Macarrón
Sin título (Cosmos)
Estimate HK$700,000 - 1,000,000
Sold for HK$1,386,000
Create your first list.
Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.