ob - Faces Places: Online Auction Hong Kong Wednesday, April 20, 2022 | Phillips
  • Created in 2011, Ephyra is a classic example of Japanese artist ob’s dreamy and atmospheric paintings, filtered through an utterly feminine lens. Featuring her recurring character of a wide-eyed young girl in tones of ethereal icy blue, the painting is veiled with a ‘milky filter’ i, as the artist puts it, which wraps the character in an enigmatic realm of her own. The girl looks out of the pictorial plane from her innocent big eyes, devoid of emotion, and seems to be more of a cosmic impression than an actual physical existence. The philosophical connotation of the title Ephyra speaks for ob’s interest introspective concepts and themes, highlighting a psychedelic experience that guides the viewer into a state of constant shifting in forms, time, as well as inner and outer experiences.

     

    Having had works exhibited across Asia and in France, ob made her U.S. debut with the most recent solo exhibition at Perrotin New York (3 November - 23 December 2021). Her work is also featured in the latest group exhibition held by Perrotin Tokyo (9 February - 19 March 2022).

     

    i ob, ‘OB’S PAINTINGS BLUR THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE INNER AND THE REAL SELF’, Highsnobiety, December 2021, online

    • Provenance

      Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo
      Acquired from the above by the present owner

    • Literature

      Mutsuko Ota ed., Melting Flower Flows Away, Tokyo, 2013 (illustrated)

17

Ephyra

signed, titled and dated '2011.5.23 "ephyra" ob' on the reverse
oil and acrylic on canvas
diameter 40 cm. (15 3/4 in.)
Painted on 23 May 2011.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
HK$100,000 - 200,000 
€11,800-23,600
$12,800-25,600

Sold for HK$214,200

Contact Specialist

Hin Hin Wong
Associate Specialist, 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Hong Kong
+852 2318 2013
hinhinwong@phillips.com

Faces Places: Online Auction

Online Auction 20 - 27 April 2022