On Wednesday 2 December 2015 PIASA will stage a second sale devoted to modern and contemporary editions, curated by Mathieu Mercier with the assistance of expert Isabelle Milsztein. The auction will include over 200 lots and – along with prints, lithographs and multiples – showcase Surrealist ‘oeuvres-objets’ like Man Ray’s ‘Letter-Box,’ and ‘snare pictures’ by the Nouveau Réaliste Daniel Spoerri. One of the star lots is an album of lithographs by Pop Art superstar Keith Haring (1958-90) whose paintings explore multiplication and accumulation. Stones (1989) is a series of five lithographs that examine the aesthetic potential of the duplicated motif (est. €15,000-20,000). As you approach the work of art, you realize that each of the motifs, outlined in white, is married to another. These mobile forms have striking aesthetic power.
Another important lot is a Lucio Fontana ‘book-object’ containing Otto Hahn’s Portrait d’Antonin Artaud (1968) in a de luxe edition of 80 copies, along with Fontana’s die-cut plates in steel, copper and plexiglas illustrating the work (est. €15,00020,000).
Other sale highlights include two emblematic ‘snare pictures’ by Daniel Spoerri (born 1930): an isolated drawer with various utensils (cutlery, string, bottle-tops); and a silver dish that swaps its usual kitchen rôle to become a sort of “vide-poches” packed with everyday objects (loose change, pencils etc.). Both works belong to the same series and date from 1975 (est. €2500-3000 a piece).
