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Johann Garber, Ein Boot
DAVID BOWIE SOTHEBY'S AUCTION
Almost 51,500 visitors attended the pre-sale exhibition of the sale of David Bowie's art collection at Sotheby's in London, the highest attendance for any pre-sale exhibition in London.
The Outsider Art pieces in the collection drew extremely high prices. The three sessions lasted over 12 hours and were attended by over 1,750 bidders, with new records for over 50% of the 59 artists represented in the sale. The overall sale total was £32.9m / $41.1m.
Bowie visited the Gugging Haus der Künstler (House of the Artists) at Klosterneuburg Psychiatric Hospital near Vienna with Brian Eno in 1994, prior to their production of the 1995 album Outside. Many of the artists in Bowie’s Outsider collection were patients there, where their creative sides were allowed to flourish.
August Walla, Ewigkeitendegottt, Sein Engel
All ten lots by outsider artists soared over their high estimates, reaching £211,875 (est. £17,300-24,900). The top lot of the group, August Walla's monumental Ewigkeitendegottt, Sein Engel, sold for a record £68,750 / $86,419, over ten times the low estimate (est. £6,000-8,000). Other top sales included Augustin Lesage (£35,000 / $43,995), Johann Garber (£30,000 / $37,710) and Johann Fischer (£23,750 / $29,854).
A spokesperson for the Estate of David Bowie said: “David always enjoyed sharing the works in the collection, loaning to museums and actively supporting the art and artists that were part of his world. While the family have kept certain pieces of particular significance, now was the time for others to share David’s love for these remarkable works and let them live on.”
Oswald Tschirtner, Menschen (Man)
THE HICKORY MUSEUM OF ART
Nov 18, 2016 – Mar 5, 2017
The Hickory Museum of Art, in cooperation with Grey Carter-Objects of Art, will present the work of self-taught artist Paul Lancaster in Ethereal & Innocent: The Visionary World of Paul Lancaster.
THE HICKORY MUSEUM OF ART
243 3rd Ave NE, Hickory, NC 28601
www.hickoryart.org
ARTICLE PREVIEW: VASLAV NIJINSKY
Scott Rothstein discovers little-known paintings and drawings by one of the twentieth century’s most influential ballet dancers
For a short time, from 1918–19, not long before mental illness completely overtook his life, Vaslav Nijinsky (1889/90–1950) created a group of drawings and paintings. In contrast to the volumes written about Nijinsky as ballet dancer and choreographer, there has been very little consideration given to these works.
The Nijinsky paintings and drawings are intimate in scale: the paper whose surface he worked over was no larger than 11.8 x 14.6 ins. / 30 x 37 cm. Although the proportions are modest, the images are powerful. It can be a challenge to remember that these works are almost 100 years old, since they appear both current and timeless.
Nijinsky used ink, crayon, pencil and paper as mediums. The crayon and pencil drawings have a geometry defined by circles. These works are obsessive and hyper-focused. When he used ink on the page, emotions define the picture plane, as well as revealing a sense of spontaneity.
Viewing only one or two of these pieces, particularly the drawings, gives the impression that Nijinsky may have simply been exploring a decorative geometry. But when exposed to a larger group, the obsessive nature of Nijinsky’s drive is evident. Variations and themes, applied with line, energise each page. A sense of urgency emerges, as if the artist felt compelled to explore every possible configuration of one simple concept...
Image top: Vaslav Nijinsky photographed at Krasnoe Selo, summer 1907. Unknown photographer.
Image above and below: Untitled, watercolour or coloured pencil on paper, 1918-19, approx 11.8 x 15 ins. /30 x 37 cm, courtesy Foundation John Neumeier, Hamburg.
RAW VISION 92
RV92 will be available in December, and will include the following features...
