On June 26th, PIASA will be presenting its first semester “Editions” sale, with a selection of over 180 lots estimated between 300 and 50 000 euros, showcasing prints, illustrated books, and multiples. Original works created in several exemplars, the world of multiples has been eliciting the interest of amateurs and informed collectors for countless years. PIASA is reinforcing its position in the market of Editions, offering works by artists such as Man Ray, Yves Klein, Sonia Delaunay, Alexander Calder, Alex Katz, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst or Bridget Riley.
Man Ray – A l’heure de l’observatoire – Les Amoureux - 1970
This sale’s top lot is a color photolithograph on vellum paper, “À l’heure de l’observatoire : les amoureux” by artist Man Ray (45 000/55 000 euros). Signed and numbered 69/150, this work was produced in the 1970s and published in Paris by J. Petithory; it is an homage by the surrealist artist to his past love for the muse Lee Miller. This original work is the culmination of Man Ray’s work around the eponymous painting from the 1930s. The artist depicts the lips of Lee Miller, his assistant, model, and partner, floating in the sky above the Paris Observatory. The image symbolizes two bodies, those of Lee Miller and Man Ray, laying side by side.
Lot 36 - Man Ray (1880-1976)
A l'heure de l'observatoire - Les amoureux - 1970
Photolithographie en couleurs sur papier vélin,
signée et numérotée 69/150
Publiée par J. Petithory à Paris
Anselmino 15
“The red lips floated in a gray-blue sky, above a crepuscular landscape where one could see, on the horizon, an observatory and its two domes, like breasts, barely suggested in the half-light. It is a feeling I got from my daily walks in the Luxembourg gardens. Probably due to their dimensions, the two lips resembled two bodies embracing. It was very Freudian.” (Man Ray, Autoportrait, Actes sud, 1998, pp. 334-35). The original painting this photolithography is based on is a testament to an intense love affair that ended in 1932. This image became one of Man Ray’s most popular ones. He worked on it through several mediums, a black and white photography, then a monumental color format in the 1960s, before finally creating this photolithograph.
Bridget Riley and Damien Hirst, contemporary English prints
Contemporary prints will be showcased, in particular through the presentation of a silkscreen by artist Bridget Riley and an exceptional portfolio of 10 silkscreens by English artist Damien Hirst, presented for the first time in its entirety.
Bridget Riley, particularly well known for her works related to Op Art, falls within the impressionist movement through her study of landscapes and figures. The British artist then turned to pointillism and the examination of color juxtaposition. Drawing from the work of Victor Vasarely, Riley turned towards abstract geometry and kinetic art in the 1960s, which would give her a dominant role in the Op Art movement. Her work relies on the use of optical effects through the forming of complex patterns in black and white or in color, creating the illusion of movement and relief.
“Elongated Triangles 6” (3 000/4 000 euros), a color silkscreen from 1971, illustrates Bridget Riley’s specificity through the use of gradients and shades of color.
Lot 168 - Bridget Riley (born in 1931)
Elongated Triangle 6 - 1971
Screenprint in colors on wove paper, signed, sated "71" and numbered 15/75
Resultat : 6500 €
Damien Hirst, leading figure of the Young British Artists (YBA) in the 1990s, is now internationally known as a contemporary artist. His work revolves around the themes of science, death, and religion, blending mysticism, morbidity and bright colors. The skull subject is a favorite of his, a subject he depicts in ironic, humorous variations.
The series of 10 silkscreens, titled “Till Death Do Us Part” (40 000/60 000 euros) is intimately linked to the theme of vanitas evoked by Hirst: the serial technique echoes the transitory nature of existence. The artist unambiguously references the memento mori depicted in antique, medieval and baroque art, a subject which spans centuries and transcends genres. The repetition of a same macabre imagery alludes in particular to Andy Warhol’s ‘Skull’ series, and places death in the same mundane sphere as Campbell soup cans. The title chosen reverses the classic perception of a common saying: here, “Till death do us part” does not evoke a lifelong love, but the inevitability of death.
These ten multicolored skulls inlaid with silver were created in a series of 50. This is a unique opportunity to see them assembled in a complete portfolio.
Lot 167 - Damien Hirst (born in 1965)
Till Death Do Us Part - La suite complète des 10 sérigraphies - 2012
Suite des 10 sérigraphies en couleurs, "Foil Block" (estampées à chaud à l'argent et à l'or) sur papier Somerset Satin, chaque épreuve signée et numérotée 32/50
Result : 52 000 €
Yves Klein : L’esclave mourant
The patented ultramarine ‘International Klein Blue (IKB)’ was created by Yves Klein between 1955 and 1960, following extensive research: “I looked for a fixative able to fix each pigment grain between them, and then to the ground, without any one of them being altered or deprived of its autonomous possibilities of radiance, while being one with the others and the ground, thus creating the colored mass, the pictorial surface.” “Dying Slave after Michelangelo” is the artist’s last creation before his death in 1962. Michelangelo’s 1513 sculpture was initially meant to adorn the tomb of Pope Julius II, before it was dismissed from the project in 1542.
This statue was gifted to Roberto Strozzi by Michelangelo and would enter the collection of Francis I of France and that of the Louvre in 1792. Capturing the canons of Greek antiquity and Plato’s doctrine, Michelangelo depicted a slave, his eyes half-closed, a young man lost in a dream-like state of lassitude and acceptance of his release from the struggles of life. In 1962, Yves Klein chose to make it the support for his ‘International Klein Blue’ pigment.
Lot 40 - Yves Klein (1928-1962)
S 20, L'esclave mourant d'après Michel-Ange - 1962
IKB pigment appliqué sur âme de plâtre et résine, signée "R
“Blue has no dimension, it is out of dimension, contrary to the other colors. All colors bring associations of concrete ideas, material or psychologically tangible. Blue recalls, at most, the sea and the sky, after all the most abstract things in tangible and visible nature.” This icon of the renaissance, sublimed by Yves Klein, here becomes an emblematic figure of the 20th century. It will be offered for sale between 50 000 and 60 000 euros.
Artists’ tapestries
PIASA Auction House regularly stands out in the market of edited tapestries, in particular with monographic sales such as the one dedicated to Sonia Delaunay in 2016, or to Mathieu Mategot in 2018. The June 26th ‘Editions’ sale will display three particularly well-known names in this discipline: Alexander Calder, Sonia Delaunay, and Pablo Picasso. In 1971, after moving to Saché, in France, near Aubusson, Alexander Calder closely studied tapestry and began working in collaboration with the weavers of Aubusson, producing a series of spectacular tapestries.
The voluntarily restrictive palette and his audacious and simplified shapes were particularly fitting to the renaissance of tapestry in France mid-20th century. PIASA will present a tapestry by the artist, titled “Les vers noirs” (20 000/30 000 euros), edited by Pinton Felletin in 1971.
Lot 25 - Alexander Calder (1898-1976)
Les vers noirs - 1971
Tapisserie en laine d'Aubusson, signée "Calder"
dans le motif en bas à droite et monogrammée
"PF" des Editions Pinton Felletin dans le motif
en bas à gauche, titrée sur le bolduc et justifiée
au dos "EX.A"
Result : 46 800 €
Artist, decorator, fashion designer, Sonia Delaunay is a pioneering figure of pictorial abstraction. Throughout her career, she constantly aimed to shatter the boundaries between arts in order to blend art and life. As early as the 1930s, she developed many projects for editions and materialized the formal renewal of works, their extension on various surfaces such as carpets and tapestries. For tapestries, if she repeats the overarching themes of her pictorial works, she skillfully combines large swaths of color with areas originally drawn in pencil and pastel, creating depth in a way that perfectly fits the weaving techniques. The “1930” carpet (8 000 / 12 000 euros) echoes the concept of ‘couleurs simultanées’, or simultaneous colors, developed throughout the artist’s career. This carpet from the artist’s collection was created with the prestigious Éditions Artcurial in the 1970s.
Lot 27 - Sonia Delaunay (1885-1976)
1930 - circa 1975
Carpet in handed tufted wool signed with the monogram and numbered 51/100
on the bolduc on the back, dedicated "Pour
Jacques Damase"
Editions Artcurial
Result : 10 400 €
PIASA will also present a beautiful tapestry by Pablo Picasso, “Volutes” (10 000/15 000 euros), a red and black cartoon on a monumental scale (5 x 4 m). This work was woven by Marie Cuttoli and Lucie Weill, who would lead tapestry-weaving into modernity in the 1930s by collaborating with names such as Lurçat, Rouault, Picasso, Miro, Matisse, Léger, or Le Corbusier. This tapestry was presented in two major exhibits, at the Beyeler gallery in Switzerland, 1951, and at the Parisian gallery Lucie Weil Seligman in 1982. This work still displays the bright and strong colors imagined by Picasso.
Lot 18 - Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Volutes - 1960
Carpet in wool in hand knotted weaving
Edition Marie Cuttoli and Lucie Weill
503×380cm
Result : 13 000 €
Artist’s editions: lithographs, sculpture, objects…
The Editions sales are an opportunity to offer a wide range of pieces by artists having envisioned works as a multiple. Amongst the staples of modern and contemporary artists shown, we can mention several great works: Roy Lichtenstein, with a beautiful triptych “CowGoing Abstract” (12 000/18 000 euros);
Lot 157 - Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)
Cow Going Abstract - Triptyque - 1982
Suite de trois sérigraphies en couleurs, signée sur la planche de droite et numérotées 118/150 sur chaque planche
D'une édition d'au moins à 450 exemplaires, environ 150 exemplaires signés
Result : 39 650 €
The figureheads of Arte Povera: Michelangelo Pistoletto and his iconic “Fratalli” (2 000/3 000 euros), a randomly cut mirror adorned with a combination of numbers, and Lucio Fontana’s “Concetto Spaziale” from 1968 (3 500/4 500 euros), a beautiful heat-moulded plastic work by the artist, edited by Achille Mauri;
Lot 131 - Michelangelo Pistoletto (born in 1933)
Fratalli - 1999/2000
Acrylique et marqueur noir sur miroir, signé, titré et daté "1999/2000" au dos
53,5 x 73 cm
Pierre Soulages, “Lithographie N°20” (8 000/12 000 euros) displays the artist’s signature black and his beautiful gesture on a large-scale work;
Lot 50 - Pierre Soulages (born in 1919)
Lithographie n°20 a - 1969
Lithographie en noir sur papier crème,
signée et justifiée "épreuve d'artiste"
87×63cm - Encadrée
Result : 15 600 €
Jeff Koons’ “Puppy Vase” (8 000/12 000 euros), shows a creamcolored porcelain dog from 1998;
Lot 140 - Jeff Koons (born in 1955)
Puppy - 1998
Vase en porcelaine émaillée blanche, signée
en creux, datée "'98" et numérotée 1130/3000
sous la base
Porte le cachet de la manufacture Art of this
century, New York and Paris
44×44×29cm
Giorgio de Chirico is also presented with an exceptional series of six color lithographs in their original portfolio, “Les Métamorphoses” (10 000/12 000 euros), acquired by the current owner during the sale of the Petiet Collection at PIASA in 2010;
Le Corbusier’s beautiful color lithograph, “Chandigarh, Je rêvais” (1 500/2 000 euros) is also up for sale.
Lot 11 - ƒ Le Corbusier (1887-1965)
Chandigarh, Je rêvais - 1960
Lithographie en couleurs sur BFK Rives
filigrané, signée "L - C", située à Chandigarh
et datée "28.10.60" dans la planche,
et numérotée 202/300 au crayon
70,7× 102,8cm
Result : 2340 €
PIASA will also present a chapter on kinetic art, a specialty developed over many years, with artists such as Jesus Rafael Soto, “Piège de Lumière” (8 000/10 000 euros) from 1965, a MAT edition whose counterpart is owned by the Tate museum, Gregorio Vardanega, “Carrés lumineux” (4 000/6 000 euros), a luminous box emblematic of the kinetic movement, along with several illustrations by Victor Vasarely, including three large silkscreens from the “Vi-Va” album (800/1 200 euros).
Lot 102 - Gregorio Vardanega (1923-2007)
Carrés lumineux - 1969
Boite en métal peint en noir, l'intérieur composé
de quatre panneaux en métal peint en blanc
et découpé; (chaque) panneau accompagné de
lumières s'allumant successivement
Exemplaire signé, daté "1969", titré et numéroté
en rouge 14/200 au dos sur l'étiquette des
Editions Denise René
33×33×24cm
Claude Lalanne: ‘Wearable poetry’
Claude Lalanne, who recently passed away, created along with her husband François-Xavier (d. 2008) a new universe where sculpture blends with a potentially utilitarian object. From Claude Lalanne we know the organic mirrors, the furniture, but also her jewelry. She drew her first pieces for Yves Saint-Laurent in 1969. For this fashion show, she made casts of model Veruschka’s body, casts that adorned cloudy blue and black muslin dresses.
Her creations, whether multiples or unique pieces, will find their way into great collections, in particular the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. PIASA will present beautiful jewelry in gilded bronze: “Collier Groseilles grand modèle” (4 000/6 000 euros) along with “Boucles d’oreilles Groseilles” (2 000/3 000 euros), “Collier Papillon Grand modèle” (4000/6000 euros), “Collier Papillon Petit modèle” (2 500/3 500 euros), “Bracelet Papillon Petit modèle” (1 000/1 500 euros).
Lot 68 - Claude Lalanne (1925-2019)
Collier "Groseilles" (Grand Modèle) - 1986
Très beau collier en bronze doré, signé "C.Lalanne" et numéroté 145/250
Présenté dans sa boite d'origine et dans son écrin en velours bleu des Editions Artcurial
Result : 18 850 €
