Yves Klein (1928-1962) Âge d’or Monogold (MG36), gold leaf on panel, 22.5 x 16 cm, 1959, Estimate: €1,000,000 – 1,500,000
PARIS — Christie’s presents two contemporary art sales, taking place in Paris on 7 and 8 June. These two auctions, with a global estimate of 13 to 19 million euros, will feature a curated selection of 28 major works in an Evening Sale on 7 June, and around a hundred more accessibly-priced paintings, drawings, and sculptures in a Day Sale on 8 June. These two quite complementary events will, in some cases, offer very different works by a same artist, such as Yves Klein. An Âge d’or Monogold by the artist will be one of the Evening Sale highlights (€1,000,000 – 1,500,000), whereas his Vénus d’Alexandrie (€60,000-80,000) will be auctioned in the following day’s sale, alongside some of Klein‘s other works. With works by Zao Wou-Ki, Hans Hartung, Jean Dubuffet or Pierre Soulages, to name just a few, both sales will display a wide overview of post-war and contemporary art. Some striking discoveries of works by Wifredo Lam, Alexander Calder, Simon Hantaï, and Sam Szafran will further highlight the sale. An exceptional piece by Joan Mitchell, Sans Titre (€1,000,000 – 1,500,000), will lead a selection of works by women artists.
Women artists
Christie’s is offering works by Miriam Cahn and Anna Eva Bergman, thus joining in on the great ongoing Paris exhibitions.
Other well-known women artists will also be featured, such as Meret Oppenheim, Niki de Saint Phalle, Maria Zerres, Silvia Bächli, Etel Adnan and Fabienne Verdier. The younger generations will not be overlooked either, with notably Claire Tabouret — a former rising star and now a central figure in the contemporary art landscape.
A painting by Joan Mitchell, the headline of last autumn’s event, will be a highlight of the upcoming Evening Sale. Sans Titre is an accomplished work of art from 1955 — a decisive period in Mitchell’s early career. After quitting New York, she began her longstanding relationship with France, eventually settling there permanently. This smaller-scale untitled work is a vivid embodiment of the artist’s intense quest for beauty. Aged only 30, Mitchell demonstrates a total mastery of her chosen media (Estimate: €1,000,000 – 1,500,000).
New-to-the-market works by Jean Dubuffet
Collectors will be offered an exceptional opportunity, namely three works by Jean Dubuffet from the collection of Max Loreau, author of Dubuffet’s catalogue raisonné. Loreau, a Belgian philosopher, poet, art critic, and close friend of the artist, published several works about – and sometimes with – Jean Dubuffet. The three works included in the Evening Sale were gifted to Loreau by the artist himself and inherited by the current owners. La vie interne du minéral (€450,000 – 650,000), Gala de Terre (€200,000 – 300,000) and la Paix des plaines (€250,000 – 450,000) have thus never appeared on the market before.
A selection of rare pieces
The 7 and 8 June sales will provide many opportunities to acquire rare works by major 20th-century artists. Art connoisseurs will enjoy a stunning ensemble of three works by Hans Hartung (€70,000 – 350,000), a Manteau de la Vierge by Simon Hantaï featuring his defining pliage technique (€150,000 – 200,000), Six White dots on yellow, a small and malicious stabile by Alexander Calder (€250,000 – 350,000), and IBNX2, a 1963 oil on canvas by Jean Degottex (€100,000 – 150,000). Among the wide variety of lots Damballah, an iconic painting by Wifredo Lam executed after his trip to Cuba and inspired by Caribbean, African and Cubist shapes (€800,000 – 1,200,000) is a must see. 18.10.76, a vivid and radiant oil on canvas by Zao Wou-Ki is a further highlight of the sale . This work, previously exhibited in Japan, reveals the artist’s boundless imagination.
Pierre Soulages
© Christie’s images limited 2023
Finally, any description of these auctions would be incomplete without mentioning Pierre Soulages. The sale includes two of the artist’s paintings, notably Peinture 130 x 290 cm, 21 novembre 1990, a monumental, almost 3-metre-wide outrenoir appearing on the market for the first time in 30 years (Estimate: €1,000,000 – 1,500,000).
