S otheby’s is delighted to present its spring Contemporary Auction featuring impressive works from Italian and internationally celebrated artists, coming from several distinguished collections.
The premium collection is led by a seminal painting by Domenico Gnoli (Mise en plis no. 1, 1964), together with a unique selection of iconic still life by Giorgio Morandi, executed in three different moment of his life, 1924, 1948 and 1960.
We are particularly delighted to offer a superb early monochrome by Mario Schifano from a distinguished private collection (Milano, 1962), a superlative example of this series, executed the year of the commitment with gallerist Ileana Sonnabend.
Highlights include works by Piero Manzoni (Achrome 1962 ca.), a colorful large embroidery by Alighiero Boetti dated 1988 which includes both Arabic and Farsi characters, a perfect-centered green Concetto Spaziale, Attesa by Lucio Fontana and an intense Sacco e nero by Alberto Burri, executed in 1955.
A particular mention goes to a coherent group of works from the collection of a gentleman, including Tancredi (Untitled, 1958), Afro (Casa Aperta, 1959), Emilio Vedova (Emergency, 1988) and John Chamberlain (Whimzee 2006). The time frame of this collection ideally outlines the relationship between parallel Italian abstract expressionism and the American movement with its protagonists.
Leading the diverse array of paintings, paperworks and sculpture are a remarkable selection of works by international talent, counting George Condo, Damien Hirst, Cy Twombly, Alfred Leslie, Stanley Whitney and Azuko Tanaka, among their ranks.
"What makes Alighiero Boetti’s oeuvre stand out from the rest of contemporary art? I believe it is that phenomenal intuition for systems – it was by mean of them that he undertook quite pioneering incredible anthropological and future-oriented research."
