Rala Choi - Photographs & Helmut Newton: Provocateur London Thursday, May 16, 2024 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • “A nude shows everything, while a turned back shows nothing.” 
    —Rala Choi 
    For Korean artist Rala Choi (b.1987), the image-making process begins with exploring his innermost thoughts and feelings. To create this striking image, Choi photographed the sensual contours of his nude lover from behind, her arms spontaneously outstretched against a rich, cobalt blue background. ‘I want my photography to embody contradictory emotions,’ he explains, ‘such as loneliness and warmth.’ Here, the artist asks of his subject: ‘How can I feel that you existed? As you move forward and away, I look at your back and record your presence.’ This monumental work, Her - 1, encapsulates Choi’s painterly aesthetic and skilful use of colours to achieve maximum expressiveness. By removing all external elements, he seeks to reveal the subject’s inner self. 

     

    Based in Seoul, Choi has exhibited internationally and was awarded the Photography Grand Prix at the 37th International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories, Hyères in 2022.

    • Condition Report

      Request Condition Report
    • Exhibited

      IMAGINATIONS, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 14 December 2022, another

    • Literature

      'Rala Choi: "Now is the time to ask photographers about what photography is"', Wallpaper*, 25 January 2023

ULTIMATE

5

Her - 1

2018
Archival pigment print, mounted.
Image/Sheet: 180 x 144.2 cm (70 7/8 x 56 3/4 in.)
Frame: 186 x 151 cm (73 1/4 x 59 1/2 in.)

Signed in charcoal, printed title, date and number 1/1 on a Certificate of Authenticity accompanying the work.

This work is number 1 from the edition of 1 and is unique in this size.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
£12,000 - 18,000 

Contact Specialist

Rachel Peart
Head of Department, London
RPeart@phillips.com
 

Yuka Yamaji
Head of Photographs, Europe
YYamaji@phillips.com
 

General Inquiries
+44 20 7318 4092

Photographs & Helmut Newton: Provocateur

London Auction 16 May 2024