Todd Hido - Photographs New York Wednesday, October 11, 2023 | Phillips

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  • The unique set of photographs offered here represents the majority of images illustrated in Todd Hido’s 2013 retrospective monograph, Excerpts from Silver Meadows, which he described as the culmination of his work up to that point. The photographs in this group, and the book, present a cross-section of Hido’s work, from his moody nocturnal studies to his evocative narrative-infused portraits, as well as more biographically significant images. The Silver Meadows of the title is the name of the main street running through Hido’s hometown of Kent, Ohio, and serves as the thematic center of this presentation of his work, although the photographs were taken in a variety of geographic locales.       

     

    Hido is one of many artists with whom the Bidwells developed a special and mutually beneficial relationship. When they mounted an exhibition of Hido's work at Transformer Station in 2014 they additionally invited him to curate an exhibition of photographs from their collection. Hung in an adjacent gallery, Where I’m Calling From: Todd Hido Selects from the Bidwell Collection presented the perfect accompaniment to his own work, placing it within context with the Bidwell’s holdings. This joint exhibition project is a perfect example of the symbiosis the Bidwells encourage. 

     

     

    The remarkable group of photographs comprising Lots 161 through 200 in this auction come from the collection of Fred and Laura Bidwell, collectors, philanthropists, and founders of the Transformer Station, the renowned exhibition space for contemporary photography and art in the Hingetown neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The Bidwells’ collection presents a truly enlightened selection of work, ranging from classic practitioners such as Lee Friedlander and Stephen Shore to photographers working at the very cutting edge of today’s artistic practice, such as Kehinde Wiley, Zanele Muholi, and Hank Willis Thomas, among many others. Themes of identity and self-representation course through these works. An inquiry into the intrinsic nature of photography is another through-line, with artists as conceptually diverse as Alison Rossiter, Matthew Brandt, and Christopher Williams pushing the boundaries of the medium to deepen our understanding of it. Central to the collection is Hiroshi Sugimoto’s masterful Lightning Fields 128 (lot 169), which is emblematic of the creative spark underlying Bidwells’ progressive conception of photography.

               

    Driven by a passion for photography and a desire to make their collection accessible to the public, the Bidwells renovated a former Cleveland Railway Company transformer substation into a state-of-the-art exhibition venue. Boasting 3,500 square feet of exhibition space, the Transformer Station became a vital part of the city’s artistic community, hosting exhibitions drawn from the Bidwells’ collection, exhibitions curated by the Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as performances and talks. Earlier this year, the Bidwells gifted Transformer Station to the Cleveland Museum of Art which will continue to use this unique space.

     

     

     

     

    Read More about High Voltage → 

     

    • Provenance

      Acquired directly from the artist

    • Literature

      Hido, Excerpts from Silver Meadows, n.p.
      Hido, House Hunting, n.p.
      Each citation for various prints

HIGH VOLTAGE: CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE COLLECTION OF FRED AND LAURA BIDWELL

197

Excerpts From Silver Meadows

circa 2013
Unique portfolio comprised of 130 chromogenic prints.
Varying sizes from 10 3/4 x 6 1/4 in. (27.3 x 15.9 cm) to 13 x 16 1/2 in. (33 x 41.9 cm) or the reverse
Each signed in pencil on the verso.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$12,000 - 18,000 

Sold for $25,400

Contact Specialist

Sarah Krueger
Head of Department, Photographs
skrueger@phillips.com

 

Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
vhallett@phillips.com

Photographs

New York Auction 11 October 2023