NEW YORK, NY.- On October 7, Christie’s will host its Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale in New York on heels of the newly added 20th Century Evening Sale taking place the previous day. The Day Sale will boast a dynamite selection of both post-war and contemporary works with examples from established mainstays and fresh new talent. Featuring a strong selection of works from artists including Philip Guston, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama and Matthew Wong, the Day Sale’s offering unites the artists of the mid-twentieth century with their counterparts today in a seamless, thrilling dialogue that promises to deliver quality works for new and seasoned collectors alike. The sale will be live streamed from Christie’s Rockefeller Plaza saleroom, where the auctioneer will take bids from specialists on the phone, and online bidders participating via Christie’sLIVE.

Among the highlights of the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale is Matthew Wong’s Shangri-La, 2017 (estimate: $500,000-700,000). Spanning eight feet tall and six feet across, the expansive composition overflows with vigorous patchworks of luscious and densely painted oil, rendered in a dramatic foreshortening that recalls modernist spatial abstractions. Shangri-La presents an atmospheric landscape profuse with detached longing in an abstracted, ethereal vista. With a riotous extravagance of line, lavish gem-toned flora surrounds a pure white waterfall.




Matthew Wong’s masterpiece from 2017 is an entrancing manifestation of his voracious study of masters such as Vincent van Gogh and Yayoi Kusama, who both produced their most iconic work in hallucinatory states. Always earnestly inquisitive and on the search for new perspectives, Wong was admittedly “an omnivore for sights, sounds and ideas” (M. Vogel, “Matthew Wong Reflects on the Melancholy of Life,” Art of Choice, November 2018).

The sale will also be underscored by a selection of Works by Robert Motherwell from the Dedalus Foundation, including paintings, prints and works on paper. Founded by the artist in 1981, the Dedalus Foundation is devoted to preserving Motherwell’s artistic legacy and his archives, and has continued to support individuals and institutions through grants and programmatic initiatives. More information on this group may be found here.

Additional Day Sale Highlights to Include:

Ed Ruscha (b. 1937), City, with Marbles. Oil on canvas, 1969, 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm.) $2,500,000 – $3,500,000

Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974), Ochre and Gold. Oil on canvas, 1971, 90 x 72 in. (228.6 x 182.9 cm.) $700,000 – $1,000,000

Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959), Rock You. Acrylic on panel, 2010, 17 x 17 in. (43.2 x 43.2 cm.) $450,000 – $650,000

Ruth Asawa (1926-2013), Untitled (S.753, Hanging Ten Interlocking Double Trumpets) hanging sculpture—brass and copper wire, executed circa early-1960s, 23 x 24 x 14 ½ in. (58.4 x 61 x 36.8 cm.) $500,000 – $700,000