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Introduction
Characterised by the host of surreal, whimsical characters that populate his work, Spanish artist Rafa Macarrón’s Sin título (Cosmos) exudes a stylistic flair that resembles artists such as Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso and Jean Dubuffet. Carrying a sense of tranquillity, tenderness and wonder, Macarrón’s fluid, dreamlike realms seem to be suspended in time, free from the restraints of literal interpretation.
As his compositions unfurl in expansions of colour and fleeting lines, Macarrón presents an inventive futuristic cosmos inhabited by a cast of peculiar creatures, building bridges and houses across the Earth and sun. With his work, Macarrón seeks a freedom of expression through a variety of materials: ‘The spray gives modernity, dynamism, and colour. The pencils and the marker create the weft, the waxes, the acrylics and the gouaches, nuanced transparencies and the oil brings complexity.’ i
‘Fantastic, Surreal, Expressionist Figuration’
In playing with deformity, Macarrón emphasises the idea that no two people are alike, and that each deserves to be celebrated for their uniqueness. The artist designs his characters with a consideration for their background stories, elevating everyday activities with mysticism and provocation. Amidst the dazzling detail in Sin título (Cosmos), Macarrón’s flawed, imperfect characters are living their ordinary lives: holding an umbrella to shield themselves from cosmic showers or smoking a cigarette off their balconies. Seemingly mundane activities are distorted with outlandish figures with eyes that pop out of their heads or legs that cannot hold up the weight of their bodies. Macarrón's colourful characters are reminiscent of childhood doodles, projecting a playful view of the world that is limitless and full of imagination.
Left: Jean Dubuffet, Site aux paysannes (Site for peasant women), 1966
© 2022 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Right: Detail of the present lotIllustrating a similar child-like painterly aesthetic, Jean Dubuffet’s enigmatic, almost primitive works are defined by their vivid colours, rough brushwork and pronounced outlines, allowing the artist to achieve an unnerving impact with his work. Dubuffet began painting during WWII and coined the term Art Brut (raw art) to describe the raw, untrained qualities he was emulating in his paintings. Similar to Dubuffet, Macarrón’s works infuse creative aspects from children’s drawings and human anatomy.
However, in contrast to Dubuffet, Macarrón’s approach is much more carefree in nature. Despite the deformity of his protagonists, Macarrón’s figures are rendered with tenderness and compassion. With a background in physiotherapy, Macarrón utilises his understanding of human anatomy in portraying his characters, showcasing his detailed observation of everyday life and existence. He found that depicting the imperfections of the human body is ‘like creating your own body characters, each with their own soul and personality’, providing him an enriching source of inspiration ii:
“They are born from a fantastic, surreal, and expressionist figuration. I consider them hybrid characters that are closely related to my admiration for Dubuffet, Bonifacio, and Alfonso Fraile. My characters live in a transcended daily life, clean days, sunsets, and fresh air.”
— Rafa MacarrónCosmic Expanse
Depicting a fancifully coloured, poetic galaxy, Macarrón’s Sin título (Cosmos) encapsulates the same lyrical and surreal qualities as works by fellow Spanish painter, Joan Miró. Featuring some of Miró’s first biomorphic forms, Carnival of Harlequin depicts a crowded scene at a festival, where abstract characters seem to be caught up in a celebration. Though a simple horizon line is employed, Miró’s characters seem to be floating in mid-air, with the depth of the space undiscernible to the viewer. Placed before a sleek background, the figuration of the characters is enhanced, giving their personality more prominence.
Joan Miró, Carnaval d'Arlequin (Carnival of Harlequin), 1924-1925
Collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
© Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, ParisDespite the suggestion of an expansive field through a comparison of scale between the sun and Earth, Macarrón also reduces the unfathomable depth of the galaxy into a shallow flat background in Sin título (Cosmos), yet the sense of an expansive field can still be felt by the viewer. Macarrón is able to achieve such an effect by creating backdrops before carefully placing the figures, juxtaposing the extremities of the figures, textures, or background elements with the flatness of the space, generating volume, texture, and a sense of perspective. In addition, depth is constructed through a unique, three-dimensional canvas with dynamic protrusions and depressions formed with geometric lines, transforming the work into a tactile landscape, enhanced as light and shadow reflect and refract from the surface. Colour also helps to construct the surrounding atmosphere, evident through Macarrón’s use of luminescent oranges and bright magenta ‘to generate warmth’ iii, as in the present lot. The dynamic ambience of his space metropolis is animated with a sense of motion and energy that transcends reality with an ethereal aura.
Detail of the present lot (profile)
Collector’s Digest
Born 1981 in Madrid, Rafa Macarrón is a self taught artist who lives and works in Madrid. First gaining momentum internationally after winning the BMW Painting Award in 2010, Macarrón has since held his first institutional museum exhibition at the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, 26 March - 6 June, 2021. Other solo exhibitions include his two part exhibition with Nino Mier Gallery in Los Angeles (2022) and Allouche Gallery (2019) in New York.
Macarrón’s works are in the public collections of the Hudson Valley Centre for Contemporary Art, New York; Foundation BMW, Spain; Caja Campo, Valladolid, Spain; and Collection Mercadona, Spain, among others.
The artist's debut solo exhibition in Asia, Afternoon Delight, had just closed at the CVG Foudation in Beijing, which lasted from 22 April - 19 May, 2022.
i Rafa Macarrón, quoted in ‘Artist Interview: Rafa Macarrón’, Street Art News, 26 October 2021, online
ii Rafa Macarrón, quoted in Melissa Mui, ‘Rafa Macarrón Explores Shape-Shifting Characters at La Nave’, Whitewall, 20 July 2021, online
iii Gabrielle Leung, ‘Rafa Macarron’s Dream-Like Characters to Take Over NYC’s Allouche’, Hypebeast, 27 August 2019, online
Provenance
Private Collection, Madrid (acquired directly from the artist)
Acquired from the above by the present owner
49
Sin título (Cosmos)
signed and dated 'RM 15' lower right
mixed media on aluminium and PVC
183 x 296 cm. (72 x 116 1/2 in.)
Executed in 2015.
Estimate
HK$700,000 - 1,000,000
€85,200-122,000
$89,700-128,000
Sold for HK$1,386,000
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
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2
Jamian Juliano-Villani
Hand's Job
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$819,000
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3
Lucy Bull
8:50
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$11,382,000
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4
Scott Kahn
Soundview
Estimate HK$900,000 - 1,400,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
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5
Hernan Bas
Who Told Them We Were Coming?
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$3,528,000
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6
Shara Hughes
Pleasure House
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$6,542,000
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7
Loie Hollowell
Linked Lingam in Red and Blue
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
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8
Anna Weyant
Chest
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$4,158,000
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9
George Condo
Transparent Female Forms
Estimate HK$25,000,000 - 35,000,000
Sold for HK$36,550,000
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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
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12
David Hockney
Painted Landscape (Or Red and Blue Landscape)
Estimate HK$16,000,000 - 24,000,000
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13
Ed Ruscha
Spied Upon Scene: Window
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 5,500,000
Sold for HK$3,150,000
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14
Huang Yuxing
Pearl Shore
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
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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
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17
George Condo
The Strangers
Estimate HK$5,000,000 - 6,500,000
Sold for HK$5,670,000
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18
Ernie Barnes
Life After Sundown
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$6,048,000
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19
Javier Calleja
1971
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 5,500,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
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20
Yoshitomo Nara
Untitled
Estimate HK$6,000,000 - 8,000,000
Sold for HK$7,510,000
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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
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23
Michaël Borremans
Stars
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,772,000
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24
Li Chen
Angelic Smile
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$4,284,000
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25
Zhang Xiaogang
Bloodline Series - Big Family
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
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26
Zhang Enli
Things
Estimate HK$2,200,000 - 4,200,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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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
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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
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30
Ouattara Watts
Intercessor
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$1,134,000
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31
Sam Francis
Untitled
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
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32
KAWS
UNTITLED
Estimate HK$3,500,000 - 4,500,000
Sold for HK$3,276,000
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33
Kohei Nawa
PixCell-Deer #21
Estimate HK$2,800,000 - 3,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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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
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36
Trey Abdella
Some Things Aren't Worth Waiting For
Estimate HK$600,000 - 900,000
Sold for HK$2,646,000
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37
Szabolcs Bozó
One Bird, A Cat and A Man
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$882,000
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38
Katherine Bernhardt
Laundry Day
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$2,142,000
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39
Issy Wood
Dog With Pendants (Not as Close)
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$1,386,000
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40
Robert Nava
Shark Wing Pegasus
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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41
Ayako Rokkaku
Untitled
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
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42
Allison Zuckerman
Bullseye
Estimate HK$550,000 - 750,000
Sold for HK$1,071,000
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43
Serge Attukwei Clottey
Valentine's Day
Estimate HK$250,000 - 450,000
Sold for HK$693,000
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44
Genieve Figgis
Pink Ballroom
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$2,016,000
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45
Emmanuel Taku
Brothers in Red
Estimate HK$300,000 - 500,000
Sold for HK$1,512,000
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46
Aboudia
Take Me II
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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47
José Parlá
Writers' Bench: Grand Concourse & 149th Street, The Bronx
Estimate HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for HK$1,764,000
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48
Edgar Plans
Night Creatures
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
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49
Rafa Macarrón
Sin título (Cosmos)
Estimate HK$700,000 - 1,000,000
Sold for HK$1,386,000
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