LONDON.- Phillips announced highlights ahead of the London New Now auction on 6 December. Comprising 180 lots, this sale features a selection of 20th century works alongside cutting-edge contemporary pieces. Led by Andy Warhol and Robert Colescott, the auction includes other celebrated blue-chip artists such as Ed Ruscha, George Condo, Peter Halley, and Banksy. The strong contemporary and emerging art section of the sale includes Xie Lei, Alfie Caine, Salvo, Louise Giovanelli, Emma Webster, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and Jenna Gribbon, among others. A number of works by German speaking artists feature in the sale, led by Günther Förg, with pieces by Martin Kippenberger and A.R. Penck also included. The auction catalogue is now online, and the preview opens in Phillips’ galleries at Berkeley Square from 30 November until the auction on 6 December.
Charlotte Gibbs, Associate Specialist, Head of New Now, said, “We are excited to present our New Now auction this December. This sale and the New Now category in particular exemplifies Phillips' innovative approach of presenting established blue-chip masters, cutting-edge contemporary and emerging talent all in one auction. The sale will feature a wide array of exciting artworks, spanning from Andy Warhol and Robert Colescott to Alfie Caine, Salvo, and Xie Lei, representing a comprehensive and diverse spectrum of works from the 20th and 21st century art category. We look forward to welcoming visitors to explore the auction highlights and see the exhibition firsthand when Phillips' Berkeley Square galleries open on 30 November.”
Andy Warhol is celebrated for his iconic vibrant paintings and prints of celebrities including Marilyn Monroe and Mohammed Ali. The present work, Portrait of a Lady (Natalie Sparber), was created in the same year the artist painted Grace Kelly and Prince. This work was displayed at Dia:Beacon Gallery from 2005 to 2006 and serves as a notable representation of Warhol's highly sought-after society portraits which capture the glamour of the 1980s.
Robert Colescott gained acclaim for his provocative paintings that tackled social issues, including racial stereotypes, gender, and class identity. His unique style, blending vibrant colours and blunt caricature-like forms, reinterpreted historical events and famous artworks, often emphasizing the absence of Black figures. In 1997, Colescott made history as the first African American artist to represent the U.S. at the Venice Biennale. His impactful work is featured in major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, leaving a lasting impact on late 20th century American art through his confrontational exploration of race, sex, and identity. The present work Miscegenation exemplifies Colescott's fearless exploration of deeply embedded cultural hierarchies involving race, gender, and social inequality with wit and irony.
So...[#1] exemplifies Ed Ruscha's career-defining fusion of text and image. Based in Los Angeles, Ruscha's work skilfully translates an American state of mind, distilled into iconic visual cues such as the Hollywood Sign and Sunset Boulevard. In the present work he portrays the intimacy of a Californian sunset as it pours in through an unseen window, revealing a warm interior overlayed with the word 'So...'. Positioned among postwar peers like Warhol and Lichtenstein, Ruscha's distinctive style straddles Pop and Conceptual art, showcased in his ongoing major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Further blue-chip artists featuring in the sale include George Condo, Peter Halley, and Banksy.
Of the ultra contemporary works to feature in this sale, a highlight is Xie Lei’s Swallow, painted in 2021. Intimate in its closely cropped format, Swallow depicts the head and shoulders of a reclining figure using rapid, expressive brushstrokes. The erasure of facial features above the upper lip suggests anonymity and conveys the powerful theme of life and death. Lei held the 2022 artist in residence position at the Boghossian Foundation in Brussels and has continued to exhibit in a range of group and solo shows, most recently at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and the Kandlhofer in Vienna. Lei’s works exude a poetic quietness especially evident in the present work.
Additional contemporary highlights include paintings by Alfie Caine, Salvo, Louise Giovanelli, Emma Webster, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and Jenna Gribbon, among others. We are also proud to offer at auction pieces from the collection of Serge Tiroche, sold to benefit Africa First.
A selection of works by German speaking artists feature in this sale including pieces by Günther Förg, the proceeds of which will benefit the Sonja Ferlov Mancoba Museum in Bornholm Denmark. Works by Martin Kippenberger and A.R. Penck are also included in the auction.
