PIASA is organizing an auction of modern and contemporary art on Thursday April 8th. This sale, which immediately follows the auction of some thirty works by the Greek artist Pavlos, includes 70 lots.
The majority of the catalog is a testimony to the richness of the French art scene of the 1950s and 1960s, and more specifically to the artistic movements of the Nouveau Réalisme and the Nice School, with artists such as César, Arman, Ben, Robert Malaval and Martial Raysse.
This modern and contemporary art auction is largely based on Caesar's centenary - he was born on January 1, 1921 and died on December 6, 1998 - and offers for auction no less than eleven pieces by the "southern" artist. Among this selection, we note a rare iron plate from 1957 (lot 41), an accumulation of matchbooks (lot 42) and a wall compression of oxidized wire (lot 46).
This focus is an opportunity to bring together works by other figures of the Nouveau Réalisme, including Arman, represented through several accumulations and inclusions (lots 49 to 52 and 58), as well as artists from the École de Nice whose work, from the late 1950s onward, was at the crossroads of the Nouveau Réalisme, Fluxus and Supports/Surfaces. Works by Robert Malaval - a papier-mâché relief from the l'Aliment Blanc series (lot 48), by Ben, notably a float project dedicated to Saint Rita, patron saint of Nice artists, by Ben (lot 59), by Martial Raysse (lots 36) and by Gilli (lots 53 & 54) are offered.
Finally, the sale included a few surprises, such as paintings by Jean Messagier (lot 82) and Claude Viallat (lot 76) or, more internationally, a burnt wood sculpture by the Cuban Agustín Cárdenas (lot 32), two watercolors by the Catalan Joan Miro (lots 33 and 34) or a steel sculpture by the Englishman Anthony Caro (lot 85).
Lot 32 - Augustín Cárdenas (1927-2001)
Untitled, circa 1960
Estimate : 50 000 - 70 000 €
Lot 33 - Joan Miró (1893-1983)
Untitled XVII/XXV, 31 XII 1960
Estimate : 40 000 - 45 000 €
Lot 41 - César (César Baldaccini) (1921-1998)
Untitled, 1957
Estimate : 50 000 - 70 000 €
Lot 48 - Robert Malaval (1937-1980)
Le trophée colonial, hiver 1961
Estimate : 20 000 - 30 000 €
Lot 50 - Arman (Arman Fernandez) (1928-2005)
Légion d'honneur, cira 1975
Estimate : 10 000 - 15 000 €
Lot 59 - Ben (Benjamin Vautier) (1935)
Sainte Rita protégez Nice, 1994
Estimate : 35 000 - 45 000 €
Lot 85 - Anthony Caro (1924-2013)
Table Piece Z-40, 1981
Estimate : 40 000 - 60 000 €
