Heatwave
Phillips's online auction of contemporary art, design, photographs and editions.
July 17th-26th, 2019
By TDE News / 18th July 2019
LAST OCTOBER PHILLIPS New York introduced the first of a new series of on-line only auctions. As its title, ‘Unbound’, suggested, it was free from weighty catalogues and traditional auction house categorisations. The curated selection of modern, postwar and contemporary artworks, editions and photographs included artists ranging from Elaine de Kooning, Agnes Martin and Sol LeWitt – to Shara Hughes, Josh Smith and Katharina Grosse. Prices achieved ranged from $250 to $52,500. This summer, with ‘Heatwave’, Phillips has brought the format to London and extended its scope to include collectible design.
Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier, Milan, ‘LC3 sofa’, special commission for Queen Elizabeth 2 Oceanliner. Designed 1928, produced 1965-69 Cassina, Milan. Estimate: £5,000 – 7,000
COURTESY: Philllips
The idea is to make available to the growing band of clients who like to bid online, a mix of lower value items across a number of different genres. So among the 62 lots are works by established artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans, George Condo and David Hockney, as well as cutting-edge pieces by contemporary artists such as Tala Madani, KAWS, Eddie Martinez and Toyin Ojih Odutola. On the design front, there is an amusing ceiling light, fringed with black knitting yarn, from a limited edition by the German contemporary artist Rosemarie Trockel, bids starting from £2,000.
Rosemarie Trockel, ‘Ohne Titel’, ceiling pendant lamp, 2008. Estimate: £2,500 – 3,500
COURTESY: Phillips
The sale also fields eight design pieces from the collection of Terry Ellis and Keiko Kitamura, renowned buyers for the stylish Tokyo-based label BEAMS fennica. Their collection fuses mid-century modernism and classic Scandinavian design – so Danish trailblazers Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) and Børge Mogensen (1914-1972) are represented here with traditional Japanese folk craft.
Arne Jacobsen, ‘Drop’ chair, designed for the SAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen. Designed circa 1958, manufactured by Fritz Hansen, Denmark. Estimate: £2,000 – 3,000
COURTESY: Phillips
One stand out lot is a prototype ‘cabinet’ by the revered Japanese industrial designer Sori Yanagi (1915-2011) – designed in the 1970s but not realised until 1998 – for the designer’s solo retrospective at the Saison Art Museum in Tokyo. With an estimate of £5,000 – £7,000, this is well worth checking out in person at the Phillips’s galleries in Berkeley Square, where all the lots are on view until 26th July.
Sori Yanagi, prototype ‘cabinet’. Designed circa 1970s, produced 1998, Yanagi Shop, Tokyo, Japan. Estimate: £5,000 – 7,000
COURTESY: Phillips
Artworks and design pieces from the auction will be exhibited at Phillips’s galleries, 30 Berkeley Square, London until 26th July. The auction runs from 17th – 26th July.
Compiled by The Design Edit team
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