Javier Téllez - Latin America New York Monday, November 24, 2014 | Phillips

Latin America

New York Auction 24 November 2014 2pm

  • Provenance

    Acquired directly from the artist
    Henrique Faria Fine Arts, New York
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Exhibited

    New York, Queens Museum of Art, Queens International, 17 August - 3 November, 2002

  • Literature

    C. Bayne, Queens International 2002, New York: Queens Museum of Art, 2002, p.13 (illustrated)

  • Catalogue Essay

    Javier Téllez, a Venezuelan artist from the 1990s generation, focuses his artistic productions on a series of video installations reflecting issues on the art market, institutional power and marginalized populations. He usually works with performers and actors who do not have experience with the arts, as he “prefers to cast the outcast”. Born to a family of psychiatrists, the mentally ill and the politics of mental institutions are a constant subject matter throughout his body of work, emblematized in the present lot, a video installation titled La hora del burro, 2002. This video is projected on two adjacent walls, one showing a schizophrenic patient as an angel blowing a balloon, while the other displays a street knife sharpener sharpening his knives and attracting customers with his special whistle. Their repetitive behaviors are the key to this work — the two channels are synchronized so that every time the knife is sharpened, the angel inflates the balloon. The repetitive scenes present a dramatic behavioral pattern that transcends the realm of art, evoking a social message where “as the knife threatens life, there can be no salvation in the world of corruption and madness.”

7

Javier Téllez

La hora del burro

2002
two-channel video installation
channel 1: color, sound, duration 1' 22" in endless loop
channel 2: color, silent, duration 2' 21" in endless loop
This work is number 1 from an edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.

Estimate
$20,000 - 30,000 

Contact Specialist
Laura González
Director of Latin American Art
New York
+1 212 940 1216

Latin America

New York Auction 24 November 2014 2pm