PHILLIPS TO KICK OFF FALL AUCTION SEASON WITH NEW NOW ON 20 SEPTEMBER IN NEW YORK
FEATURING WORKS BY GIUSEPPE PENONE, LAWRENCE WEINER, MATT CONNORS, JOSH KLINE, AND LOUISE DESPONT
WORKS FROM THE ESTATE OF PENTTI KOURI AMONG THE SALE HIGHLIGHTS
NEW YORK – 25 AUGUST 2016 – Phillips is pleased to announce highlights from the upcoming auction of New Now, providing an exciting start to our fall sale season. On September 20, collectors will have the opportunity to acquire works from both emerging artists, as well as contemporary masters. Comprised of over 200 lots, the sale will feature diverse and exciting works, including a single-owner selection from the estate of esteemed economist and celebrated art collector Pentti Kouri.
Rebekah Bowling, Phillips’ Head of Sale, New Now, said, “We are so pleased to have the opportunity to present works from Mr. Kouri’s collection. While often recognized for his successes in the field of business, he also made a significant contribution to the art world through his patronage and support. Until his passing, he served as a board member of major cultural institutions, including the Guggenheim Museum’s President’s Council and DIA Art Foundation’s board. Mr. Kouri’s aesthetic vision and prescient taste led him to collect some of the most influential artists of our generation. Lawrence Weiner’s language-based installation ASSUMING THE POSITION from 1989 and Giuseppe Penone’s monumental sculpture Fingernail and Marble (Unghia e marmo) from 1988 both hail from his personal collection and are among the cornerstone pieces of the sale.”
The New Now auction will also be highlighted by Matt Connors’ Untitled from 2015. Nearly five feet in height, this impressive painting is the first major work from the Chicago-born artist to come to auction. Drawing upon the history of painting, Connors’ works are rooted in the modernist canon, but occupy a uniquely contemporary territory in their method and concept. His wide-reaching practice also expands to installation-based works and artists’ books. His works are held in major institutional collections including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.
Opening the sale as the first lot is a work by Josh Kline entitled it’s clean, it’s natural, we promise, which was included in the artist’s first solo show at his representative gallery, 47 Canal, in 2011. Making his auction debut this fall, Kline also has a concurrent solo show, “Josh Kline: Freedom,” at the Portland Art Museum, on view through November 13, 2016, and a forthcoming show at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, opening the same month. Widely recognized as one of the most influential artists of his generation, Kline focuses on the ways technological innovations affect politics, labor, and the human body, as exhibited in the present lot made of 24 Duane Reade branded three-liter bottles, boiled in their own water. Kline garnered attention last year with his installation included in the New Museum’s Triennial “Surround Audience,” featuring heavily-armed, officer-like mannequins with Teletubby faces, which became the exhibition’s defining work.
Also included in the September New Now auction is Louise Despont’s Sandglass, which was executed in 2012. Sandglass is the first work by the Brooklyn and Bali-based artist to come to the secondary market. She recently had her first solo institutional exhibition at the Drawing Center in New York earlier this year. The artist’s intricate process is characterized by her use of compasses, stencils and rulers, which result in deeply meditative drawings composed on antique ledger paper.
ABOUT PHILLIPS:
Phillips is a leading global platform for buying and selling 20th and 21st century art and design. With dedicated expertise in the areas of Art, Design, Photographs, Editions, Watches, and Jewelry, Phillips offers professional services and advice on all aspects of collecting. Auctions and exhibitions are held at salerooms in New York, London, Geneva, and Hong Kong, while clients are further served through representative offices based throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Phillips also offers an online auction platform accessible anywhere in the world, and is committed to supporting contemporary arts and culture through a worldwide programme of Arts Partnerships.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.
PRESS CONTACT: Jaime Israni, Public Relations Specialist | jisrani@phillips.com | +1 212 940 1398
HEADQUARTERS:
LONDON - 30 Berkeley Square, London W1J 6EX
NEW YORK - 450 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022
VISIT US AT: www.phillips.com
FOLLOW US ON: Twitter | Instagram | Vimeo | Facebook | Pinterest | Tumblr | LinkedIn