PARIS.- On 4 and 5 December,
Christie’s France will present two auctions dedicated to Post-War & Contemporary Art, representing the most important artists and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Paul Nyzam and Etienne Sallon, Specialists in charge of the sales: “Following on from the success of Christie’s France FIAC week, when new world auction records were established and when 100% of the lots were sold to international collectors, we are pleased to present another exceptional two day auctions in Paris this December. In addition to present exceptional works of art by Zao Wou-Ki, Georges Mathieu and Pierre Soulages, we will also present a work by Georges Mathieu to benefit the Bennington College and celebrate some great collectors such as Francesco and Odile Conti who collected a variety of artists and movements for several decades”.
EVENING SALE 4 DECEMBER AT 7PM
Christie’s will present its evening sale on 4 December which will offer 30 works of art carefully selected by the specialists. The auction is led by an early painting by Zao Wou-Ki, Bonne année, 1953 which will be presented in Hong-Kong from 23 to 26 November before being exhibited in Paris prior to the sale from Saturday 1st December to Tuesday 4th December. This remarkable work, painted in January 1953, was purchased at the end of the same month by Parisian gallery owner Pierre Loeb with whom Zao Wou-Ki had been working since 1951. Unlike many of his friends such as Pierre Soulages, Sam Francis, Hans Hartung or Jean-Paul Riopelle, Zao Wou-Ki remained figurative in his art.
During the year 1953, the Chinese painter created several still life paintings with the same elements: the Pipa (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument), the teapot, the ceramic cups and some fruits.
In this painting, the red background enables him to take a different approach to the force of colours, which soon take priority over the design. Here, the objects seem to float in the composition.
There is much more to see in this work than the simple wish for a happy New Year as the title suggests. The artist is already mixing influences -neither completely French, nor completely Chinese – heading down the unique path he is himself creating.
The department will also present three paintings by Pierre Soulages during its evening sale including Peinture 130 x 97 cm, 27 août 1963 (estimate: €1,000,000-1,500,000) which comes from an interior designed by Michael S. Smith. With its gold and white background split by a black diagonal, this painting represents very well the artist’s work with paint and colour in the early 1960s. Exhibited at the Kootz Gallery in 1964 and acquired by a Californian collector, Peinture 130 x 97 cm, 27 août 1963 also bears witness to Soulages’s unique artistic journey. Although he achieved early recognition overseas with his work being displayed in New York from 1953, the artist had to wait until 1960 for his first major Paris exhibition.
An important painting by Kazuo Shiraga will also be presented in the sale. Coming from the former collection of Rodolphe Stadler, T 39 executed in 1961, represents the starting point of Rodolphe Stadler’s collaboration with Shiraga as the Parisian gallerist organized the first retrospective of the artist outside Japan (estimate: €600,000-800,000). T 39 illustrates Shiraga’s technique of painting with his feet. The artist began to use this new way of painting in 1954, illustrating his influence from the Gutaï group ‘s fundamentals. If Shiraga chose to paint with his feet it was because using the hand would be to go back to the excessively controlled habits of his culture. So, suspended from ropes he used his bare feet to trample the blank canvas spread out beneath him. Rooted in the union of body and mind, Shiraga’s innovative approach is nonetheless characterised by a strong spirituality. Perhaps it was precisely this mix of tradition and modernity that led Stadler to say: "This is exactly what fascinates us: we are on familiar ground yet thrown off course at the same time" (exhibition catalogue, 30 ans de rencontres, de recherches, de partis pris, 1955-1985, Paris, Galerie Stadler, 1985).
Christie’s also announced the sale of five works of art to benefit Art for Access at Bennington College. This initiative will provide scholarships to talented students who would not be able to afford a Bennington education. Amongst the five works to be offered at auction, Paris will present a very large scale painting (180 x 40 in) by Georges Mathieu executed in 1956. Untitled has all the characteristic of Mathieu’s oeuvre. The French abstract painter used to squeeze paint tubes directly on the canvas, forming vibrant lines of red and white pigments. Echoing the passionate abstraction by Jackson Pollock and the strength of Hans Hartung, Mathieu was also considered a pioneer of public performances and happenings.
DAY SALE 5 DECEMBER AT 2PM
Christie’s will present Un regard Suisse: Collection of Doctor Francesco and Odile Conti, a superlative grouping of works offered across our Post-War & Contemporary sales in Paris, London, Zurich and online.
Francesco Conti was surrounded by art from a young age. His father, a collector with a fondness for the New School of Paris, developed close relationships with some of his favourite painters: Jean Dubuffet’s Paysage avec maison et deux personnages (1974) and Maurice Esteve’s Tournan-en-Brie (1943), now part of Doctor Conti’s collection, were both acquired directly from the artists’ studios. As Francesco grew up, he developed his own passion for art. Later, he would share in the joy of collecting with his wife, Odile and their children.
The collection is composed of sculptures, works of paper, photographs, lithographs and paintings almost all acquired directly from the artists’ studio or gallery. The eclectic gathering shows international artists and movements, spanning from the post-war years to the contemporary cutting edge.
The highlights of the Paris day sale include sensuous bronzes by the British sculptor Tony Cragg, Early Forms (€50,000-70,000), and a works on paper by the German neo-Expressionist Georg Baselitz and Jean Dubuffet. Colour, too, plays its part: a luminous field of yellow and blue is slicked across 27.9.94 (1994), one of Gerhard Richter’s iconic overpainted photographs (estimate: €30,000-50,000), while Giuseppe Penone will probably enchant international collectors with a unique work of art titled Abtei (estimate: €70,000-100,000).
Coming together in a beautiful and playful ensemble, Doctor Francesco and Odile Conti’s collection presents the joy of living with art, and of collecting as the expression of singular individuality, sensitivity and intelligence.
Other highlights of the day sale include a group of works of art coming from the collection of the Baroness de Pfyffer. Eight lots in total will be offered from this prestigious collection mainly works by Lucio Fontana and Yves Klein, two artists that she deeply cherished during her lifetime as a collector and gallerist. As a close friend to Rotraut Klein, she managed to acquire the three emblematic editions which enriched her interior such as La Victoire de Samothrace estimated at €80,000-120,000. Lucio Fontana is the second artist present if this selection which includes Concetto spaziale, a work of art realized in 1967 and estimated at €50,000-70,000.
The department will also offer a nice selection of abstract minimal artists including works by Olivier Mosset, NCK-PTR, 1992 (estimate: €30.000-50.000), Peter Halley, Red Cell Over Blue Prison, 2005 (estimate: €50.000-70.000), Katharina Grosse, Untitled (2006,1037), 2006 (estimate: €100.000-150.000, illustrated on the left) or paintings by James Bishop from the Bénédicte Pesle collection. The day sale includes nearly 230 lots from post-war artists such as Hans Hartung, Serge Poliakoff, Georges Mathieu, Gaston Chaissac, Jean Dubuffet and Antoni Tàpies to international contemporary artists such as Peter Halley, Imi Knoebel, Sam Gilliam, François Morellet, Carol Rama, Abdel Abdessemed, Jim Dine and Tacita Dean, all reunited in one sale carefully curated by the department.
