LONDON.- Two works by the prominent American artist, Kenny Scharf (Born 1958), DNA (DO NOT ASK) and SEXOMETRY, are amongst the highlights of Bonhams’ Modern & Contemporary Art sale on 30 June in London. DNA (DO NOT ASK), a work from 1994, has an estimate of £20,000-30,000, whilst Scharf’s 1992 SEXOMETRY has an estimate of £50,000-70,000.

Bonhams Head of sale, Itziar Ramos, commented: “Kenny Scharf’s psychedelic, post-Pop style has captivated global audiences since his debut in the New York scene of the 1980s. Launched into the limelight alongside his friends Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, Scharf’s work assimilates street art, Neo-Expressionism, and Pop Art into a heady, bombastic style that captures the punkish energy of the Lower East Side during its heyday. DNA (DO NOT ASK) and SEXOMETRY are full of all the symbolism, pop culture influence, imagery, and flair that Scharf is known for. The demand for Scharf's work has reached fever pitch in recent months after his collaboration with Dior last summer. He has become one of the most highly sought-after artists around – and his influence continues to grow.”

In the early 1980s, Scharf's rise to fame was explosive and well-documented. Befriending Keith Haring at the School of Visual Arts in New York, the two were committed collaborators, most notable for their parties, exhibitions, and events held at Club 57. In 1985, however, Scharf's inclusion in the Whitney Biennial with the first iteration of his Cosmic Cavern insulations, immediately placed him at the forefront of painterly practice. He was subsequently represented by Tony Shafrazi – one of the most important New York gallerists of the decade.




Other highlights include:

• Night Time Polar Region, 2007, by Marc Quinn (B. 1964). Estimate: £40,000-60,000. Quinn’s flower paintings subvert one of the oldest forms of picture making: the still-life. To create the hyper-realist oil paintings, Quinn creates a still-life arrangement in his studio using flowers and fruit bought in London on a particular day. Since most of the flowers and fruit in these compositions would never bloom at the same time, or even be found together in the natural world, they show us the way in which human desire has created new seasons - bringing together in one geographical location things that nature would not assemble. The paintings depict a frozen moment of 'unnatural' time. Often large in scale and dramatically coloured, their beauty belies a sinister subtext: the relentless human desire to control nature. Titled after freaks of ecology, the works offer up a corrupt beauty that suggests our possible future.

• Chapeaux d'arlequin (recto); Arlequin (verso), circa 1918 by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000. This whimsical, playful work was once owned by the famous dancer Françoise Dupuy, having been gifted to her by her father, the Avant-Garde art dealer and critic, Marcel Michaud. In this work Picasso renders a series of iterations of Harlequin, the stock character of 16th century Commedia dell'Arte theatre. Picasso was possibly inspired to include Harlequin in his repertoire by Barcelona's annual street carnivals, as well as his visits to the Cirque Médrano in Montmartre in his early twenties, during which he befriended the performers. Here Picasso traces each Harlequin with a single deft stroke; his deliberate, unbroken lines flatten them to the point of pure abstraction.

• Blue + Orange Arrow Head, 1965, by Alexander Calder (1898-1976). Estimate: £25,000-35,000.

• Untitled (Soplador de vidrio), 1932, by Diego Rivera (1886-1957). Estimate: £6,000-8,000.