Around the globe

Paris: Going Nanas

“I like roundness, curves, wavy lines… I don’t like right angles,” the pioneering French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) wrote. “They scare me.” The artist – the subject of a new biopic which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival – had a love for the curvaceous which is clearest in the Nanas: her series of sculptures from 1964 onwards of colourful, voluptuous and, often, larger than life women. Created at the height of the Swinging Sixties, the Nanas (a French slang word for ‘girls’) stuck two fingers up at society and fashion trends that pressured women to be slim to the point of androgyny. A very early Nana sculpture from 1966 is one of three Saint Phalle artworks offered this June in Paris – alongside a later Nana from the 1980s, and an early paper-mâché heart sculpture reminiscent of her Tirs (Shooting Paintings) series, which predates the Nanas.

Sale: Post-War & Contemporary Art, 6 June

Enquiries: Sabine Cornette de Saint Cyr, sabine.csc@bonhams-csc.com

Hong Kong: Wins of the father

Andrew Ko fondly remembers how his father meticulously catalogued his collection of Chinese art. The late Mr Ko Fook Chuen, who died in 2003, acquired a highly-curated selection of over 300 artefacts over his lifetime – including Imperial porcelain, jades, bronzes and Yixing teapots – and systematically documented each object with display labels, annotated photos and research notes in a set of binders he titled “The Hall of Refined Elegance”. Now, Andrew is offering nearly 130 pieces from his father’s collection in Hong Kong. Following the live sale on 29 May, an online sale will run until 7 June, bringing to light works of art that have not been seen outside of the Ko family home for over 50 years.

Sale: Ko Fook Chuen's Lifelong Passion: Exquisite Chinese Art from the Hall of Refined Elegance, 24 May – 7 June, Online

Enquiries: Gigi Yu, +852 2918 4321, chinese.hk@bonhams.com

Copenhagen: Great snakes!

It started with a chat over dinner. Keith Haring, visiting Copenhagen for a group exhibition at Louisiana Museum, found himself sitting next to a young, passionate printmaker named Niels Borch Jensen. Borch Jensen had just installed his first large-scale printing press in his studio and the two decided to create their biggest print the very next day. The result was Medusa Head. Spanning over 2m wide and 1.2m high, it remained the largest print in Haring’s career (one print in the edition of 24 is offered at Bruun Rasmussen’s Modern Art auction on 11 June). The subject of Medusa likely symbolised the AIDS virus that had stricken many of Haring’s friends; the artist would be diagnosed as HIV positive a year after creating Medusa Head.

Sale: Modern Art, 11 June

Enquiries: Niels Boe-Hauggaard, +45 8818 1182, nbh@bruun-rasmussen.dk

Stockholm: The family silver

Since its founding in 1791, imperial court jeweller W. A. Bolin has created jewels for no less than five Russian Tsars and three Swedish Kings. The Bolins were so proud of their designs that they added many creations from their workshop into their own family collection, employing them to decorate and use in their homes. Close to 60 pieces from The W. A. Bolin Collection – assembled over generations and spanning from 19th-century silver to late 20th-century jewellery – will be offered as part of Bukowski's Important Spring Sale, led by a pair of large and flamboyant decanters made of silver and cut-glass.

Sale: Important Spring Sale, 11-13 June

Enquiries: Carl Barkman, +46 (0) 70 892 1971, carl.barkman@bukowskis.com

Brussels: Belgian gothic

Witty, innovative and controversial, Belgian artist Wim Delvoye never ceases to amaze (or shock) with his distinctive mix of high craftmanship and cutting-edge technology with low-brow culture. His knack for shock-value is most famously seen in Cloacas, his machine that mimics the human body so closely that it can turn food into faeces. Characteristic of his style, Delvoye's Gothic series, started in 2001, reimagines full-size dump trucks, bulldozers and concrete mixers – among more elegant motifs like Nautilus shells and pagodas – with intricately laser-cut motifs from Gothic cathedrals. A Nautilus shell as well as a scale-model of a Cement Truck are among seven works by Delvoye offered in the Contemporary Art auction in Brussels.

Sale: Contemporary Art, 17 June

Enquiries: Caroline Gentsch, +32 2 880 73 86, caroline.gentsch@bonhams-csc.com

New York: A glass apart

In 1978, 21-year-old William Morris started working as a driver for the Pilchuck Glass School, founded by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. Over the next 10 years, Morris proved his extraordinary talent for the medium, becoming Chihuly’s chief gaffer before leaving to form his own studio. His style could not have been more different from his mentor’s. In contrast to Chihuly’s smooth, luminous and organic shapes, Morris designed opaque vessels and sculptures that could be mistaken for objects from antiquity or indigenous cultures, made from other materials like metal, bone or clay. Encapsulating Morris' mastery of illusion, a sheep-headed ‘Canopic’ jar, offered in New York on 18 June, convincingly appears to have cracks on its surface. This skill, bending the nature of glass has established Morris as one of the most sought-after glass artists of his generation, even after retiring in 2007.

Sale: Modern Decorative Art + Design, 18 June

Enquiries: Derya Baydur, +1 (917) 206-1615, derya.baydur@bonhams.com

Bonmont: All that jazz

Claude Nobs had an affinity for jazz from a young age. Listening to vinyl records from his childhood home in the Swiss Vaud canton, he conducted imaginary bands in his head; his father nicknamed him ‘Duke Ellington’. So, it was unsurprising that in 1967, Nobs launched the Montreux Jazz Festival, growing the three-day event into an annual two-week extravaganza that has featured the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones. In 2019, Bonhams sold Nobs’ Aston Martin Lagonda – which has driven many of the music royalty that performed at Montreux – for CHF69,000. This June, another car from Nobs’ collection, an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, goes under the hammer at The Bonmont Sale in Cheserex.

Sale: The Bonmont Sale, 30 June

Enquiries: Paul Gacher, +41 225 967 572, paul.gaucher@bonhamscars.com

Knightsbridge: Poster boy

William Roberts was in his element when he received a commission to design London Transport’s ‘Hampstead Fairs’ poster in 1951. A follower of the Vorticist movement – as well as a war artist in both World Wars – he was no stranger to capturing people in mid-action and the scenes of everyday life. He tackled the subject with all the dynamism and gusto that Vorticism demanded, depicting the energy of a bustling grand day out. This initial project led to two further commissions from London Transport: a second poster for London’s Fairs and one for London’s Zoo, titled ‘Brush up your jungle’. A pencil study for the latter, focusing on the bottom panel of visitors and camels, will be offered in the Modern British & Irish Art Sale in July.

Sale: Modern British & Irish Art, 17 July

Enquiries: Catherine King, +44 (0) 20 7393 3884, catherine.king@bonhams.com

Edinburgh: Top dogs

Such was the popularity of coursing (hunting game animals with greyhounds) in 18th-century England that, after the first coursing club was formed in 1776, the total number of clubs rose to 350 within less than a century to meet demand. One Colonel Newport Charlett of the Ashdown Park Club raced 20 greyhounds in four meetings between Spring 1830 and Autumn 1831, all to no success. This did not, however, discourage Newport Charlett from commissioning the preeminent animal painter of the time, William Henry Davis, of depicting him as a fashionable country gentleman riding alongside his favourite hounds. This portrait capturing Newport Charlett's ambitions and the latest craze of the era will feature in July’s The Dog Sale, dedicated to canines in art. Davis would go on to be appointed animal painter to William IV and Queen Victoria; little is recorded of Newport Charlett’s later successes in coursing.

Sale: The Dog Sale, 24 July

Enquiries: Leo Webster, +44 (0) 131 240 2632, leo.webster@bonhams.com

Los Angeles: Paterfamilias

Long before Ettore Bugatti was designing motorcars and Rembrandt Bugatti sculpted majestic beasts, their father Carlo Bugatti had already established himself as an eminent designer of Art Nouveau furniture and interiors, who exhibited in Milan and Turin in 1888 and 1902, respectively, to great acclaim. Later, he would also turn his hand to silver and jewellery. Carlo’s talents were so sweeping that his granddaughter recalled “everyone called him ‘the young Leonardo’ because of his energy and new ideas”. In July, the largest and most comprehensive group of works by Carlo Bugatti, as well as his sons, from the collection of Peter and Merle Mullin will come to auction in Los Angeles. Look out for a small, sterling silver dragonfly bowl, exemplary of Carlo’s mastery in silverwork.

Sale: Modern Design | Art, 25 July

Enquiries: David Trujillo, +1 (323) 436-5405, david.trujillo@bonhams.com

Hong Kong: Sam Shum and Jingjing Qiao

Sam Shum has been appointed Senior Director of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art in Hong Kong. A highly respected expert in his field, Sam brings over three decades of auction experience from his previous role at Sotheby’s. In addition to providing his specialist expertise to Hong Kong’s biannual auction series, Sam will work closely with the global Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art team to develop business-getting initiatives and connect with the next generation of collectors. Sam speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Japanese. The appointment continues Bonhams’ expansion in leadership across multiple Chinese Art departments in Asia.

Enquiries: Sam Shum, +85222453735, sam.shum@bonhams.com

Jingjing Qiao has been appointed Head of Chinese Paintings in Hong Kong. She brings over two decades of experience in the field, having previously held Vice President and Director positions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s respectively. In her new role, she will lead the biannual Chinese Paintings auctions in Hong Kong, with the intention of reaching a new generation of collectors. Jingjing holds bachelor's and master's degrees in History of Art and speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English. The appointment continues Bonhams’ expansion in leadership across multiple Chinese Art departments in Asia.

Enquiries: Jingjing Qiao, +85222453720, jingjing.qiao@bonhams.com