Auction Preview: Photographie, June 14, 2013 @Van Ham

Van Ham wraps up the Spring season in Germany later this week in Cologne with a various owner Photographs sale with a broad base of lower priced German/European material. Overall, there are a total of 216 lots on offer in this sale, with a Total High Estimate of €566800.

Here’s the statistical breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including €7500): 201
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): €306800

Total Mid Lots (high estimate between €7500 and €35000): 13
Total Mid Estimate: €140000

Total High Lots (high estimate above €35000): 2
Total High Estimate: €120000

The top lot by High estimate is tied between two lots: lot 1111, Christian Boltanski, Jewish School, Große Hamburger Straße, Berlin, 1939, 1993 (image at right, middle, via Van Ham) and lot 1221, Candida Höfer, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, 2006 (image at right, top, via Van Ham), both estimated at €50000-60000.

Here is the list of the photographers who are represented by four or more lots in the sale (with the number of lots in parentheses):

August Sander (14)
Albert Renger-Patzsch (9)
Bernd and Hilla Becher (4)
Robert Bothner (4)
Henri Cartier-Bresson (4)
Götz Diergarten (4)
Klaus Herzog (4)
Peter Keetman (4)
Tata Ronkholz (4)
Paul Wolff & Alfred Tritschler (4)
WOLS (4)

Other lots of interest include lot 1228, Li Wei, Freedegree Over 25th Story, 2004, estimated at €5000-6000 (image at right, bottom, via Van Ham).

The complete lot by lot catalog can be found here.

Photographie
June 14th

Van Ham Kunstauktionen
Schönhauser Straße 10 – 16
D – 50968 Köln

Laurel Nakadate, Strangers and Relations @Leslie Tonkonow

JTF (just the facts): A total of 20 large scale color photographs, framed in white and unmatted, and hung spotlit against dark grey walls in the entry hallway and the main gallery space. All of the works are Type-C prints, made between 2011 and 2013. The 3 works from the Star Portraits series are each 40×60, in editions of 3. The 17 works from the Relations series are each 30×45, also in editions of 3. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Laurel Nakadate’s photographs of DNA-sharing distant relatives are a kind of backwardly reflecting, composite self-portrait. Following the path of her maternal lineage through various genealogy websites, she contacted far off “family” all over America, and then traveled the country making nighttime portraits of these strangers. In each image, there is a sense of search, of trying to piece together the underlying connection between this seemingly random person and the artist. It’s a tenuous, somewhat lonely exercise in identity building, where each diverse portrait might (or might not) offer a clue to a tiny part of who Nakadate is or might become.

Drawing on the foundations of her previous Star Portraits project, Nakadate photographed her Relations subjects in open fields and empty back yards at night, where long exposures capture the starlight and the last glow of the day against the enveloping blanket of darkness. Each relative stands bathed in the bright glare of a hand held flash light, spotlit like a classic sucked into the sky alien abduction or a deer in the headlights cinematic moment. The effect is something like a snapshot examination, or the surprising result of a forest canvassing for a missing person.

Nakadate’s DNA kin are about as diverse as one could imagine: a friendly doctor with a stethoscope, a serious man in overalls toting a high powered rifle, a baby in a bassinet, an older woman with several dwarf ponies (wearing a May the Horse Be With You t-shirt), a black girl with a jaunty orange felt hat, a young woman with orange and pink dyed hair wearing a dress covered in galaxy swirls, an older man in a blue polo bathrobe and cowboy boots, the list goes on and on, with seemingly no pattern or identifiable commonality. What we are left with is the eccentricities of everyday America, a melting pot of races, outlooks, and ways of living, all of which somehow tie back to Nakadate and who she is. Each face of a stranger is a seeking, an attempt to follow the breadcrumbs to missing answers and long forgotten reasons.

Nakadate’s artistic career to date (both in photography and video) has often probed the depths of her relationships with strangers. What’s different here is that now the strangers are “of” her rather than apart from her, somehow already on her side as opposed to being in conflict or contrast. The chasm to bridge and the general wariness are still there, but the uncomfortable tension is lessened somehow. When we see everyone related to everyone, we are more likely to look for (and find) commonality not difference. While Nakadate’s indirect self portrait is still a bit forlorn (am I here? or here? or here?), there is something quietly optimistic about seeing the world with so many potential lines of connection.

Collector’s POV: The works in this show are generally priced based on size. The 40×60 prints are $20000 each and the 30×45 prints are $9000 each; apparently the images are available in multiple sizes (some not on view), so the prices here reflect what was shown on the walls. Nakadate’s prints have not yet reached the secondary markets with any regularity, so gallery retail is likely the best/only option at this point for those collectors interested in following up.

Auction Results: Photographies, May 29, 2013 @Sotheby’s Paris

The results from Sotheby’s recent Photographies sale in Paris were generally weaker than expected. At one point during the early part of the sale, in a run of 36 lots, only 2 lots found buyers. With an overall Buy-In rate over 50%, it isn’t hugely surprising that the Total Sale Proceeds missed the low end of the estimate range by a meaningful margin.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 221
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: €1725400
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: €2399800
Total Lots Sold: 105
Total Lots Bought In: 116
Buy In %: 52.49%
Total Sale Proceeds: €1478550

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 103
Low Sold: 43
Low Bought In: 60
Buy In %: 58.25%
Total Low Estimate: €541800
Total Low Sold: €330775

Mid Total Lots: 111
Mid Sold: 59
Mid Bought In: 52
Buy In %: 46.85%
Total Mid Estimate: €1488000
Total Mid Sold: €960875

High Total Lots: 7
High Sold: 3
High Bought In: 4
Buy In %: 57.14%
Total High Estimate: €370000
Total High Sold: €186900

The top lot by High estimate was lot 172, Helmut Newton, Naomi, Cap D’Antibes, 1998, estimated at €80000-120000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sale was lot 143, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken, Lydia & Tyler, 1985, estimated at €30000-40000, sold at €73500.

95.24% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were thirteen surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 2, Anonyme, Marin Grec, 1844, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €25000
Lot 4, Anonyme, Les Remparts D’Alger, 1844, estimated at €7000-9000, sold at €30000
Lot 6, Anonyme, Vue du Port D’Alger, 18444, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €39900
Lot 7, Anonyme, Le Port D’Alger, 1844, estimated at €8000-12000, sold at €37500
Lot 8, Anonyme, Mosquee de Coleah, 1844, estimated at €6000-8000, sold at €18750
Lot 50, Etienne Leopold Trouvelot, Etincelle electrique directe, 1885, estimated at €4000-5000, sold at €11250 (image at right, top, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 74, Constantin Brancusi, Sans Titre, 1920, estimated at 6000-8000, sold at $37500 (image at right, bottom, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 75, Constantin Brancusi, Isac, 1920, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €12500
Lot 79, Laure Albin-Guillot, Orchidees, 1927, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €32500 (image at right, middle, via Sotheby’s)
Lot 118, Philippe Halsman, Woody Allen, 1969, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4250
Lot 147, Herb Ritts, Versace Dress, Back View, El Mirage, 1990, estimated at €10000-15000, sold at €32500
Lot 151, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Frida Kahlo, 1933/later, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €23750
Lot 200, Andres Serrano, The Morgue (Child Abuse), 1992, estimated at €8000-12000, sold at €28750

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Sotheby’s
76, Rue Du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris

Lalla Essaydi @Edwynn Houk

JTF (just the facts): A total of 10 large scale color photographic works, each mounted and unframed, and hung against cream colored walls in the entry, the main gallery space, and the smaller side room. There are 8 single images and 2 triptychs on view. All of the works are chromogenic prints mounted to aluminum with a UV protective laminate, and were made between 2009 and 2012. Sizes for the single images range from 24×20 to 60×48 (or reverse); the triptychs are made up of panels sized 24×20 and 88×71 respectively. Edition sizes are either 10 or 15. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Lalla Essaydi’s new show follows a direct conceptual line from her previous projects, revisiting her earlier subject matter and building fresh ideas on top of old ones. Like a theme and variation exercise, her path forward seems thoughtful and methodical, reworking a palette of interconnected motifs in search of new insights. This clear sense of deliberate progression leads to a smart pairing of two new projects, where elaborate fabrics face off with bullets as primary decorative elements.

For the most part, Essaydi’s artistic starting point generally remains the same: large scale color images of young Arab women, draped in exotic caftans and posed in hidden rooms and tiled alcoves, their skin covered with elaborate Islamic calligraphy. Her women disappear into a camouflage of henna lines and geometric patterns, trapped by Orientalist fantasies and Western stereotypes of the Arab world. But Essaydi’s newest harem girls don’t vanish into a swirl of gauzy beige or match with the abstract tile designs nearby. These women lounge in overflowing piles of embroidered silks, luxuriating in flowing, shiny color. While the women still wear Essaydi’s signature tattoos on their faces, hands, and feet, the dark swirling lines are no longer the visual focal point; our attention is immediately drawn to the riotous clash of sumptuous rich silks and the forbidden exoticsm they represent. These specific works deserve a pairing with Mickalene Thomas’ pattern saturated images of African-American women, not only for their parallels of vibrant color, but for their commonalities of feminist perspective.

From afar, Essaydi’s other new series is equally full of glitter and sparkle, her models draped in washes of golden metallic medallions. Up close, she upends the glamour, building the entire spectacle out of brass shell casings. Patterns of bullets decorate the back walls in repeating patterns, while elaborate robes, dresses and jewelry are expertly woven from left-over ammunition. Her illusion is surprisingly successful, as even after the viewer understands the inversion (and the resulting implications of violence and control that the bullets bring to the imagery), the works still shimmer with remarkable beauty. The tension is more overt and confrontational in this series, especially when enlarged to monumental scale like the larger-than-lifesize triptych that dominates the center wall of the main room.

These new works show Essaydi slowly expanding her artistic territory and bringing in additional complexity. They point to bolder contrasts and more challenging juxtapositions, where elegant finery and rough weaponry are equally seductive and symbolic, and where historical gender roles brush up against the modern world with persistent force.

Collector’s POV: The works in this show are priced as follows. The single image photographs are either $9500, $16500 or $24000, based on size. The two triptychs are $24000 and $85000, again based on size. Essaydi’s photographs have become more available in the secondary markets in recent years, with prices ranging from roughly $7000 and $57000.

Auction Results: Photographie, May 29, 2013 @Villa Grisebach

The results of the recent Photography sale at Villa Grisebach in Berlin were generally solid. While the overall Buy-In rate was a bit high (just over 30%), there were enough positive surprises to bring the Total Sale Proceeds in at the midpoint of the estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 161
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: €474200
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: €654400
Total Lots Sold: 111
Total Lots Bought In: 50
Buy In %: 31.06%
Total Sale Proceeds: €553636

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 141
Low Sold: 96
Low Bought In: 45
Buy In %: 31.91%
Total Low Estimate: €416400
Total Low Sold: €353556

Mid Total Lots: 20
Mid Sold: 15
Mid Bought In: 5
Buy In %: 25.00%
Total Mid Estimate: €238000
Total Mid Sold: €200080

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: €0
Total High Sold: NA

The top lot by High estimate was lot 2086, Martin Munkacsi, Brasilien erstickt im Kaffee, 1932, estimated at €15000-20000; it sold for €24400. The Munkacsi print shared the top outcome honors with lot 2046, Hugo Erfurth, Otto Dix in Profil, 1920, estimated at €8000-10000, and also sold for €24400. (image at right, top, via Villa Grisebach)

96.40% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate. There were a total of 19 surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 2003, Ansel Adams, Oaktree, Snowstorm, Yosemite National Park, California, 1948/later, estimated at €700-900, sold at €1952
Lot 2012, Aenne Biermann, Ohne Titel (Montage), 1931, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €9150 (image at right, bottom, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2013, Aenne Biermann, Feuerwerk, 1928, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €4270
Lot 2014, Aenne Beirmann, Paprika rund, 1928, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €7930
Lot 2019, Aenne Biermann, Mein Kind, 1931, estimated at 2€000-3000, sold at €6100
Lot 2046, Hugo Erfurth, Otto Dix in Profil, 1920, estimated at €8000-10000, sold at €24400
Lot 2053, Arno Fischer, Marlene Dietrich, Moskau, 1964/later, estimated at €1000-1500, sold at €4636
Lot 2081, Herbert Matter, Alberto Giacometti, Paris, 1965/later, estimated at €800-1000, sold at €3416
Lot 2087, Paco, Ohne Titel, 1935, estimated at €500-700, sold at €1952
Lot 2089, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Butte auf der Strasse, Weinlese an der Mosel, 1927, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €6100
Lot 2096, Max Scheler, A hard day’s night, London, 1964/later, estimated at €900-1100, sold at €2440
Lot 2098, Jeanloup Sieff, Nude climbing a dune, Le Pyla,1970/1975, estimated at €1500-2000, sold at €4636
Lot 2100, Michel Sima, Alberto Giacometti in seinem Studio rue Hippolyte-Maindron, 1946/later, estimated at €2000-3000, sold at €7930
Lot 2116, Anton Corbijn, Miles Davis, 1985/1990, estimated at €5000-7000, sold at €20740 (image at right, middle, via Villa Grisebach)
Lot 2117, Thomas Florschuetz, Ricochet-II, 2tellig, 1997/1999, estimated at €4000-6000, sold at €13664
Lot 2122, Jitka Hanzlova, Alexandra, Coney Island, 2000/2003, estimated at €700-900, sold at €2074
Lot 2134, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tulips, 1983, estimated at €7000-9000, sold at €20740
Lot 2140, Judith Joy Ross, Untitled from Eurana Park, Weatherly, PA, 1982, estimated at €1200-1800, sold at €4880
Lot 2150, Thomas Struth, Pergamon V, Berlin, 2001, estimated at €800-1200, sold at €2440

Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Villa Grisebach Auktionen
Fasanenstraße 25
D-10719 Berlin

Brendan Fowler: Shipper in Jail/Ads for New Album/Six Sets @Untitled

JTF (just the facts): A total of 8 works, hung unframed against white walls in the front and back galleries. The 4 works in the front room are silkscreen on archival inkjet prints with lumber and plexiglas, all made in 2013. Physical dimensions range from 97×49 to 123×55 and all of the works are unique. The 4 works in the back room are silkscreen on archival inkjet prints, with silkscreen on frames and plexiglas, again all made in 2013. 3 of these works range in size from 48×45 to 50×49 and 1 larger work takes up an entire wall at 75×235; these works are also unique. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Brendan Fowler’s newest works follow a direct progression from some of the aesthetic ideas found in his earlier projects, so much so that if you aren’t clued into the backstory of his career, they might seem more obtuse and impenetrable than they actually are. Working as both a musician and a visual artist, Fowler has been steadily mixing the two mediums using his own brand of alchemy, employing improvisation to solve visual problems and adding sculptural elements to ads for his band. The result is a series of multi-layered works that may have begun with photography but have ultimately ended up somewhere entirely different.
Fowler’s tour posters promoting his new record start with the usual visual elements: a symbolically catchy background photograph and some overlaid text, with label, venue, and other logos down at the bottom. What is different here is that Fowler has enlarged the posters past normal paste-to-the-wall size and iteratively played with them as elements of more complex sculptures. He inverts them, tilts them at angles, and places them the under plexiglas, undermining the original premise and turning the posters into abstractions. Geometric two-by-fours are added to the brew as a three-dimensional element and plywood backing intentionally peeks out from the edges, creating additional vertical lines that echo the lines of the lumber. In the end, the posters are transformed from ephemeral slap-ons to sturdy constructions, interrupted and decorated with angular forms, reflections, and physical depth.
Many of Fowler’s previous works started with photographs of his studio practice (as well as images of flowers, mirrors, and other items) and joined them together in violently crashing piles, with multiple framed works heaped together and literally colliding, smashing the protective glass and tearing the images. These works had elements of photographic narrative and conceptual juxtaposition, but were then upended by the destructive performance, the pictures left frozen in the middle of the messy jumble or blocked by the backs of rough canvases. New works in the back room take these ideas to their limit, covering the photographs (and frames) with washes of black and purple paint. What was once an image-dependent story has now become a monochrome void, the narrative literally blacked out. The colliding planes, jagged glass, and rough edges remain (as does their bursting vitality as objects), but our ability to discern any context has been frustrated, leaving us with the simple physicality of the materials and their wild spontaneity.
Setting aside the jokes about the bad shipper who has smashed the frames and ruined the images, I saw Fowler’s new works as fitting into a larger trend of exploring what happens when the legibility of photography is reduced. His approach is active, and physical, and sculptural, but he is asking some of the same underlying questions about how photography is transformed if its ability to convey information is blocked or occluded. What can we learn from a fragment, a snippet, or the ghost of an image? And does it still hold its power to communicate if it is erased, disrupted or destroyed? I think these are smart questions, and Fowler’s burly, tactile answers extend the conversation in more unconstrained and unruly directions.
Collector’s POV: The works in this show are priced based on size, with all of the works in the front room and the three smaller works in the back room priced at $18000 each; the only exception to this rule is the largest piece in the back room at $35000. Fowler’s works have very little secondary market history, so at this point, gallery retail remains the best/only option for those collectors interested in following up.

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