Under the Hammer

Lot 41

Keith Haring,
One plate, from Pop Shop I

When he opened ‘The Pop Shop’ in 1986 in Soho, NYC, Keith Haring’s idea was for an open space where everyone could participate - from rich collectors to ‘kids in the Bronx’. This print is one of a series that relates to this very unconventional venture at the time, born outside of the institutions. I love its feeling of optimism and easiness, the bright colours, and the dynamism of the figures. It’s so uplifting and captures Haring’s desire to make art accessible – and most importantly, enjoyable – for all.

Lot 43

Andy Warhol,
Mick Jagger

The sense of fun in Andy Warhol's Mick Jagger series is great, and you can easily imagine the dynamic between the two of them when Warhol took snaps of Jagger to work from for the prints. As Mick Jagger said of the shoot, ‘Working with Andy was relatively easy. Doing the portraits that you see was so great, cause he just used to get his polaroid out and just do "1, 2, 3, and 4", and then "turn," and then a few of that and you were basically done.’

The resulting photos make for very strong screenprints, as Warhol plays with the simplicity of the outlines and exaggerates certain areas through bold squares of ink. The intensity of one icon’s gaze is matched by the genial creativity of another.  

Lot 44

Tom Wesselmann,
Nude from 11 Pop Artists, Volume II

As Pop Art took America by storm in the early 1960s, print portfolios became the best tool to promote this new explosive movement and its artists. Rosa Esman published 3 volumes of 11 Pop Artists with a total of 33 prints, the second volume of which included Nude by Tom Wesselmann. These portfolios were printed at a commercial screen shop - very fitting for an art movement that blurred the line between fine and commercial art - and were circulated widely in touring exhibitions throughout the US and Europe. The importance of these folios cannot be underestimated, as they were critical in fuelling the Pop Art appeal on a worldwide scale.

I love the boldness of this Wesselmann print. Wesselmann had started working on his Great American Nude painting series in 1961 as an ironic take on the American dream. This work is no different, with one of his typical nudes so blown up in scale that it appears to implode within the confines of the sheet, becoming almost abstract.

Lot 48

Roy Lichtenstein,
Titled

I like how seemingly serene and simple this image first appears, perfectly encapsulating Lichtenstein’s interest for the visual language of advertisement and commercial designs. Its simplicity is only superficial, though - there were, in fact, 16 colours used for its composition, and it was printed from 18 screens with just as many press runs. Its construction is typically Lichtenstein with the Ben-Day dots, as well as the bold blue and green lines which contrast with the painterly appearance of the trees.

I also really enjoy the name of this work, Titled. It creates some confusion that again echoes Lichtenstein's preoccupation with 'what would normally be considered the worst aspects of commercial art'. As he explained, 'I think it’s the tension between what seems so rigid and clichéd and the fact that art really can’t be this way.’

Lot 57

Richard Diebenkorn,
Spreading Spade, from Clubs and Spades

This balanced and seductive work is definitely one of my favourite lots in the upcoming sale. It perfectly encapsulates the quiet tension between abstraction and representation which Richard Diebenkorn is so well known for.

I also admire Diebenkorn’s approach to intaglio printing techniques, as they are very demanding and complex. The artist linked the intricacy of intaglio to a particular way of thinking, once famously saying that what he appreciated most about etching was that he was 'glad that he couldn’t see what he was doing.' This particular etching work, Spreading Spade, was made in 1981, but Diebenkorn continued experimenting with this process until the end of his life.

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