Jose Parla – Marked By Inkstains
March 12, 2009
Sotheby’s – Contemporary Art – March 10th, 2009
Jose Parla
‘Marked By Inkstains’
48″ x 86″
SOLD: $51,250
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May 4, 2009 at 12:02 am
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September 10, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Contemporary Art – Sotheby’s Midseason Sale
By A. Yamina Collins
Sotheby’s in New York will be conducting its first auction of the season with the Contemporary Art midseason sale on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 10:00am (Lots 1-153) & 2:00pm (Lots 154-315) featuring works by such noted artists as the legendary Andy Warhol, Jose Parla, and Martin Kippenberger, whose brief life and career the New York Times once labeled as a, “bold, foot-to-the-floor episode of driving under the influence.”
But don’t assume it’s better to wait for the regular season to commence in order to buy great works of art.
While it’s true that the midseason sales used to be a sort of “receptor-of-lower-priced-items” handed down from the Specialty Fine Arts departments, who hold their auctions in November and May, this is not the case anymore.
“The character of the midseason sales has changed dramatically and are no longer only categorized by a price-band point of view,” explains Jonathan Greenberg, Vice President of the Fine Arts department at Sotheby’s, where he has the responsibility for sales of Impressionist & Modern, and Contemporary Art.
“It has become a more energized type of market simply because the contemporary art market itself has become more excited,” he says.
One of the artist whose work will be on hand is Jose Parla, a 36-year-old, Miami born artist whose has had the pleasure of pursuing his craft full-time since 1995, and has had solo exhibitions in countries, states and cities across the world, from Tokyo to California.
Mr. Parla, who describes his style of work as that of, “a painter that uses calligraphy as a form of drawing in the paintings,” has a 3-part, acrylic on wood piece entitled “Ease and Faz Story” that will be on sale at Sotheby’s on September 24th.
The painting’s title is derived from nicknames once given to the artist and his brother while they were kids, and it is estimated to sell between $25,000/$35,000.
“It’s mostly black background with layering of handwriting,” Parla explained from his New York City studio on a warm, Sunday afternoon. “The words are from my personal diaries and they symbolize those times of growing up in the Latin/Caribbean/and Southern cultural mix of Miami with my brother in the 1980’s. The diary is privatized by layering, so you can’t distinguish the language.”
Andy Warhol will also be represented, but with several works of art, including “Untitled (Horse)” and “Untitled (Concert Hall).”
“Untitled (Horse)” – created circa 1957 and estimated to sell at $80/120,000 – is signed and inscribed and is made with gold leaf, silver trim and ink on paper.
“Concert Hall”- which is an even early work by the artist (created circa 1948) – had previously been acquired by friends of Warhol, but the painting had stayed in the family ever since; this is the first time the piece has ever been on the market.
But, although the painting is an early work, “even before 1950 you could see what was to come from Warhol in how he treated and designed color and even his style,” notes Greenberg. “He had such depth of talent that almost every thing we see by him is interesting.”
With over 300 lots to be auctioned off, there is, perhaps, a little something for everyone, including works by Enrico Donati (1909-2008) the Italian-born American surrealist painter and sculptor whose many exhibitions also appeared in galleries and museums all over the world.
His piece “Coptic Wall” (created circa 1985) just might be the find of the entire sale.
Major works by other major abstract expressionist artist can easily sell for over $5 million dollars now days, whereas Donati’s 48 by 42 inch piece is going on sale for an estimated $15/20,000: which means buyers can either pay millions for grand works by grand artists like Jackson Pollock, or spend $20,000 on tiny drawings by these same artists; then again, buyers can simply learn a little more about the second generation of abstract expressionists and purchase large-sized, greatly valued works for a fraction of the price.
However, if learning about second generation abstract expressionist doesn’t quite thrill you, then bidding on pieces “sold without reserve”, like the acrylic on canvas painting called “Herausforderung” by A. R. Penck, just might.
Because there is no initial seller’s bid on pieces “sold without reserve” the bidding can be quite exciting for interested buyers.
“It’s a funny thing and a bit paradoxical when a lot is offered with no reserve,” Greenberg says with a wry laugh, “because sometimes when people see a bargain and want it, they don’t care how much it costs to get it.”
The preview exhibition, which begins on September 17th, will be held on the 10th floor, where specialists will be on hand to answer your questions. Auctions and exhibitions are free to the public.
The auction of Contemporary Art covers all aspects of Contemporary Art, including Conceptualism and Graffiti, with plenty of the surprises and discoveries that seasoned and novice collectors look forward to finding.
There are exciting works by provocative younger artists such as José Parlá, the enduring artist, who has adapted the styles of graffiti calligraphy into a personal expression of abstract art, which represents a maturing of the ‘Graffiti movement.’ Thus, his work can be considered ‘postgraffiti’ insofar as it exploits the conventions of pure ‘Graffiti.’
Contemporary photography is highlighted with the splendid, haunting image of World #17 by Ruud Van Empel. This category also contains works by Thomas Struth, Louise Lawler and Michal Rovner, each exploiting the medium in a special way.
A strong selection of paintings, drawings and sculpture by Abstract Expressionists includes works by Enrico Donati and Nathan Oliveira. Pop artists are well represented, including a fine selection from all phases of Andy Warhol’s career and a group of six works by Larry Rivers.
For images and to discuss this lot and sale, please contact the Specialist:
Jennifer Roth, Tel: +1 212 606 7916. Fax: +1 212 606 7820
jennifer.roth@sothebys.com
(www.sothebys.com)