On Thursday October 26, PIASA is organizing a sale of ceramics, carpets and tapestries by artists. Comprising 100 lots, the sale focuses on lissier and ceramic creations produced exclusively by visual artists. It includes sets of works by major figures on the 20th century art scene, such as Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Jean Cocteau and Sonia and Robert Delaunay, for whom weaving and modeling were as important as drawing, painting and sculpture.
Comprising both editions and one-offs, this sale's selection showcases tapestry and ceramics, practices that were originally dedicated to craftsmanship, and which were taken up by some of the 20th century's greatest artists. The artist Fernand Léger is represented by half a dozen ceramics with enamelled polychrome decoration, whose relief plays remarkably with light, including one unique piece.
As for the artist and writer Jean Cocteau, his interest in both practices is illustrated by a dozen works.
Lot 33 | Jean Cocteau
Méditerranée - Unique piece
Estimate : 50000 / 70000 €
Pablo Picasso is particularly well represented with over thirty pieces, mainly ceramics, most of them produced by the Madoura workshop. Also featured are two wool carpets by Marie Cuttoli, whose know-how and expertise in tapestry (cardboard and weaving) seduced many artists from the 1920s onwards.
Lot 46 | Pablo Picasso
Chouette Femme
Estimate : 10000 / 15000 €
© Succession Picasso 2024
More atypical in the practice of lissière, a set of three works by American artist Sheila Hicks opens the catalog. The American artist uses thread and rope to create works that are somewhere between sculpture and tapestry, such as these "cocoons" made from twisted linen.
Lot 1 | Sheila Hicks
Untitled - Unique piece
Estimate : 20000 / 30000 €
Finally, it's hard not to linger over the carpets made from cartoons by Miró, Matisse, Calder, Delaunay - including a model woven by the Ateliers Pinton in Aubusson - Giacometti, of whom we know of only two such creations, or the ceramics by Appel, Corneille, Lee Ufan....
Lot 22 | Diego Giacometti
La rencontre
Estimate : 20000 / 30000 €