Provenance
Private Collection, Switzerland
Catalogue Essay
“She is a mirror of ourselves, a knotted Venus of our age”
MARC QUINN

Marc Quinn is primarily a figurative artist, concerned with our relationship with the body and our concepts of beauty. Quinn questions the conditioning of our idealisation of the human form, be it through Greek notions of beauty or the celebrity pages of Hello! magazine. As such, The Golden Column (Microcosmos) is a stunning example of the artist’s oeuvre, a reflection on today’s obsession with perceptions of beauty and the futility of our incessant quest for the archetypal body. Since 2006, Quinn has studied and taken measurements of the British supermodel Kate Moss, resulting in a series of works around the ancient notions of the Sphinx and Siren – the image of the alluring and treacherous female. Portrayed in alternating unreal yoga poses, Moss appears as a timeless statue: a high definition, lustrous deity of the modern age. Throughout the series, her image is often contorted or multiplied, the female body stretched beyond comfort yet her face remaining stoic and calm. In a contemporary update of Canova’s Three Graces, the viewer is given license to view the model at every angle: what was once a subtle sculptural representation of female beauty is now a bendable, hyperreal and super-glossy version for the twenty-first century.

In choosing the supermodel Moss as his muse, Quinn also makes a powerful commentary on our celebrity culture today. Mimicking the poses of glistening deities in calm yogic poses, Quinn suggests that our past gods and goddesses have now been replaced by the stars of our throwaway society. Even the title alludes to virtual microcosm captured in the sculpture: a new goddess for a new religion. As Quinn deifies Moss in the series, he simultaneously shifts her status further from a figure of our time to a timeless icon and in doing so, we are reminded of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn works. The Marilyn works appear to us today tinged with sentiment, a longing to understand the real person behind the picture. Indeed, the reproductions of a modern muse by both artists remove the real from the ideal, and we are left with only our own projections. As Quinn states on the Sphinx series,

“It’s a portrait of an image, and the way that image is sculpted and twisted by our collective desire… She is a mirror of ourselves, a knotted Venus of our age.” The Golden Column (Microcosmos) reminds us of the ongoing dialogue between the natural and the superficial, the real and the ideal, becoming ever more inseparable in our increasingly virtual society.

Ο◆6

Marc Quinn

The Golden Column (Microcosmos)

2008
Gold leaf on bronze.
68.5 × 20.5 × 23 cm (26 7/8 × 8 1/8 × 9 in).
Signed, dated 'MARC QUINN 2008'and numbered of 3 on the underside of the base. This work is from an edition of 3.

Estimate
£300,000 - 500,000 ‡♠

Sold for £289,250

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

16 February 2012
London

1
This lot is no longer available.
2
Joe Bradley
Killroy
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000
Sold for £49,250
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3
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
Sold for £85,250
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4
Christopher Wool
Untitled
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000
Sold for £169,250
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5
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £450,000 - 650,000 ‡♠
Sold for £505,250
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6
Marc Quinn
The Golden Column (Microcosmos)
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £289,250
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7
Cindy Sherman
Untitled #410
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £433,250
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8
Ugo Rondinone
VIERZEHNTEROKTOBERZWEITAUSENDUNDNULL
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000
Sold for £157,250
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9
Takashi Murakami
Troll’s Umbrella
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £385,250
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10
Thomas Schütte
Gelber Hund
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ♠
Sold for £241,250
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11
Isa Genzken
Dubai
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ♠
Sold for £61,250
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12
Andy Warhol
Mao
Estimate £300,000 - 500,000 ‡
Sold for £457,250
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13
This lot is no longer available.
14
George Condo
Woman in Blue Chair
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £205,250
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15
Damien Hirst
Wretched War
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 Ω♠
Sold for £325,250
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16
Andreas Gursky
Jumeirah Palm
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ♠
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17
Lucio Fontana
Concetto spaziale, Attese
Estimate £1,000,000 - 1,500,000 ‡♠
Sold for £1,049,250
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18
Roni Horn
When Dickinson Shut Her Eyes, no. 1259
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
Sold for £121,250
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19
Richard Prince
My Funny Valentine
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £181,250
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20
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Untitled (HALF-EATEN)
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £181,250
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21
Ahmed Alsoudani
Untitled
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ‡
Sold for £229,250
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22
Walead Beshty
FedEx® Kraft Box© 2005: FedEx Standard Overnight Los Angeles–New York, trk# 8675 2590 1103; FedEx Standard Overnight New York–Washington, trk# 8631 3319 4523, date April 13–14 2009; FedEx Standard Overnight Washington–Miami, trk# 7950 0886 1541, date July 26–27 2011; International Priority Miami–London, trk # 8439 1188 5383, date January 11–13, 2012
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ‡♠
Sold for £58,850
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23
John Armleder
Alchemilla Vulgaris
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡
Sold for £55,250
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24
Damien Hirst
Sensation
Estimate £350,000 - 450,000 ‡♠
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25
Alex Katz
Ada on Green
Estimate £150,000 - 250,000
Sold for £229,250
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26
Olafur Eliasson
The Path Series
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ‡♠
Sold for £68,450
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27
Raymond Pettibon
Untitled (The view from beyond the breakers)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000
Sold for £157,250
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Contemporary Art Evening Sale

16 February 2012 London

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Provenance

Catalogue Essay

Ο◆6

Marc Quinn

The Golden Column (Microcosmos)

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

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16 February 2012
London