Norton Museum of Art 2025 Gala Auction | Hosted by Sotheby’s

Norton Museum of Art 2025 Gala Auction | Hosted by Sotheby’s

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 26. Wonderful Sound: Daimoku at The Friendship Center.

Sean P. McGaughey

Wonderful Sound: Daimoku at The Friendship Center

Lot closes

February 3, 09:26 PM GMT

Estimate

10,000 - 15,000 USD

Starting Bid

8,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Sean P. McGaughey

b. 1974

Wonderful Sound: Daimoku at The Friendship Center


Executed in 2024.

Signed and dated

Oil and sand on canvas

120 x 84 in. (304.8 x 213.4 cm)


Please note that while this auction is hosted on Sothebys.com, it is being administered by the Norton Museum of Art (the “Norton”), and all post-sale matters (inclusive of invoicing and property pickup/shipment) will be handled by the Norton. As such, Sotheby’s will share the contact details for the winning bidders with the Norton so that they may be in touch directly post-sale.


This online benefit auction has a 10% buyer’s premium, which will be added to the final hammer price of each sold work. The premium allows the Norton Museum or Art to retain more of the proceeds of the sale and offset administrative costs. Auction proceeds benefit the Norton's curatorial, learning, and community engagement programs. 

Courtesy of the Artist and Taylor Art Advisory

Sean McGaughey’s immersive large scale abstract paintings combine inspiration and influences from Abstract Expressionism, music and his personal practice as a Nichiren Buddhist to arrive at a place of universality. The colors and energy of marks within Sean’s paintings weave in and out of each other shifting and changing from what might have started with the simple representational shapes of facial features to landscape, into flowers are a result of the first time he experienced chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo (Devotion to The Mystic Law of The Lotus Sutra), the Nichiren Buddhist chant with a group of people. The different colors, much like the different pitches, energy and sounds of music or voices chanting begin to transcend the singular identity and merge with the universal.


“Daimoku” means “Sacred Title” of The Lotus Sutra and is a Nichiren Buddhist chant of “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” (devotion to the Mystic Law of The Lotus Sutra through sound) - Friendship Center is a Buddhist center in LA - while I was working on this painting I would go chant at the Friendship Center with 100+ other people, with that many people chanting the same words and speed of repetition the air can become electric - whenever I would blink or close my eyes I would see atmospheric explosions of color, yellow exploding into orange and pink - pink exploding into violets and purples moving through this deep red, deep pink atmosphere - as I mentioned when chanting with that many people the air can be electric and the sound is beautiful, you’re in a room with black, brown, Asian, queer, transsexual, legendary musicians, celebrities, people who were homeless, etc… and everyone’s voice is unified through Daimoku, despite the division that’s happening in the world, it’s truly a Wonderful Sound.