LONDON.- Christie’s Photographs auction on 17 May 2018 will showcase work by contemporary artists, fashion photographers and icons of the 20th Century. The sale will be led by Robert Mapplethorpe’s portrait Ken Moody and Robert Sherman (1984, estimate: £70,000-90,000), in which two male heads are juxtaposed in profile, infused with the near sculptural elegance and classical composure that defined Mapplethorpe’s still-life photographs and portraits during this period. Other prints of the image are in the collection of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Further highlights include large-format portraits by Hiroshi Sugimoto and Desirée Dolron and Nick Brandt’s iconic image Elephant Drinking (2007, estimate: £50,000-70,000).
A feature of the auction is a section dedicated to the work of Thomas Ruff, alongside others from the Dusseldorf School; Candida Höfer and Axel Hütte. Wolfgang Tillman’s Small Mental Picture (2000, estimate £30,000–50,000) is a unique work belonging to the ‘Mental Pictures’ series which paved the way for the iconic ‘Freischwimmer’ series. Created in the darkroom without camera or negative, this work is one of three unique photographs in the auction that explore the physicality of the photographic process. Tom Fels creates large format cyanotpyes of the landscape and Julie Cockburn embroiders found-photographs with geometric patterns in vivid colours, that obliterate her subjects’ identities.
Selected works from the collection of celebrated British photographer John Swannell include Mapplethorpe’s intimate portrait James Ford (1979, estimate: £15,000-20,000), and iconic images by Frank Horvat and William Klein.
A focal point for the auction is photographers who are pushing the boundaries of the art form. British-Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj celebrates the vibrant synthesis of contemporary cultures through photography, performance and installations. Best known for his portraits, Hajjaj has created an eclectic portfolio of diverse characters in multiple mediums. Through his My Rock Stars series Hajjaj celebrated talent that was not commercial nor mainstream. Instead, these works focused the spotlight on his friends or friends of friends such as Marques Toliver, 2009/1430 (2009, estimate: £4,000-6,000). Moving between the genres of portraiture, still life and landscape, Norwegian photographer Torbjørn Rødland has forged a unique style creating surreal, otherworldly images. Frequently dreamlike in nature, his works may be understood as playful critiques of the artificiality of today’s internet-based image culture as in Nudist no. 8 (1999, estimate: £2,5003,500). In addition, Anja Niemi’s unnerving image, The Secretary (2013, estimate: £5,000-7,000) explores issues relating to female identity, artifice and hyperreality. Working alone as director, photographer and subject, she constructs carefully staged scenes shrouded in atmospheric ambiguity.
Prices in the auction range from £1,500 to £90,000, providing opportunities for collectors at every level. The works will be on view in London from 11 to 16 May 2018.
