NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s Israeli & International Art sale on December 4th presents works of exceptional quality by established masters as well as the emerging generation of top Israeli artists. The exhibition of Israeli and International Art will be on view in our York Avenue galleries beginning 30 November, alongside the sale of Important Judaica.
Headlining the sale is a masterpiece by Mordecai Ardon, the most important work by him to come on the market in nearly a decade. The Awakening, 1969, is a magnificent example of the artist’s engagement with the metaphysical world, from his best period. Ardon often quoted Paul Klee’s ambition “To make visible the invisible”. In this large and impressive painting, land and sky merge in a joyous evocation which seems to transcend the boundaries of the real in order to attain a more universal vision. As early as 1949, Ardon spoke of the mystical aura that emanated from the land of Israel. To him, the majestic power of the landscape and the night sky was a constant source of inspiration and revelation. Sotheby’s is honored to offer this work which comes from an important private collection and is featured prominently in Vishny’s monograph of the artist.
Two other works by Ardon will also be offered in the sale: an early self-portrait and another work from 1969, Yellow Negev, from 1969.
Another highlight of the sale is Reuven Rubin’s large and impressive view seen from the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, (est. $350/550,000) from the early 1930’s. From the base of the hill in the foreground, with its ancient Jewish graves, the city rises in measured registers, through a rich and storied landscape until we reach the buildings of the old city itself, glittering like jewels in the sunlight. The painting has remained in the same family for three generations and is one of nine works by the artist included in the December auction.
Another rarity on offer is an oil by Aviva Uri, Composition, (est. 25/35,000). As described in Gideon Ofrat’s One Hundred Years of Art in Israel, Uri is celebrated for her abstract works which suggest “a spontaneous musical sensitivity that blended revelation of emotion and restraint, tension and relief, liberation and constraint.” Uri was strongly influenced by the work of Arie Aroch, who is represented in the sale by Pink Arch on Gold, a mixed media oil and collage which was included in the Venice Biennale of 1964. The work is being sold from the Collection of Moshe and Rosita Simon, Jerusalem along with Aroch’s Sketch for Sir Herbert Samuel from the same collection. Other important artists represented in the sale include Nahum Gutman, Marcel Janco, Avigdor Arikha, Yosl Bergner and Yaacov Agam.
Among the works of sculpture are two iconic cor-ten steel works by Menashe Kadishman, both from a Long Island Private Collection. Three Discs (est. 50/70,000) is a 20 feet tall version of the monumental sculpture which stands on the plaza outside the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv. Suspense is a version of the yellow painted sculpture of the same form which greets visitors at the entrance to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
SPOTLIGHT ON ISRAELI PHOTOGRAPHY
The younger generation of Israeli artists is well represented by an important group of 11 photographs Sold to Benefit the Shpilman Institute for Photography in Tel Aviv. Included are seminal works by Ori Gersht, Adi Nes, Maya Zack, Tal Shochat and Ilit Azoulay, dealing with issues of memory, the land, fictitious spaces and the fragile nature of life. Pictured at left is Untitled (Grapefruit) by Tal Shochat (est. $5/7,000).
The Shpilman Institue of Photography is the most important institution of its kind in Israel. Its public research collection of photographs reflects the Institute’s profound interest in studying different realms of the photographic medium. The collection, numbering over 900 works, focuses on historical images, contemporary Israeli and international photography. Conceptually, the collection focuses on photography’s disengagement from traditional documentary approaches and towards the discovery of other modes of action in the artistic field. The Israeli collection features central works of Israel’s most prominent contemporary photographers, dating from the 1970s to recent years.
Among the other younger artists working in a non-photographic medium is an important mural-scaled acrylic and marker on board by Yehudit Sasportas, (est. $30/40,000), who maintains a studio in Berlin and Tel Aviv. There are also paintings by Zoya Cherkassky, Yadid Rubin and Shai Azoulai.
