Katherine Bernhardt (B. 1975)
Toucan green/orange (2016)
Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
60 x 48 inches
Auction House Estimate: $18,000 to $25,000
My Recommendation: Bid up to $22,000
Result: $35,000 (hammer) on 9/30/20
Interested in Katherine Bernhardt?
Artist Profile
For the past 15 years, Bernhardt has developed a style that I refer to as Sloppy-Pop (patent pending), in which she has depicted models, Moroccan rugs, the Pink Panther, ET the Extra-Terrestrial, the Kool-Aid man, Garfield, and fetishized objects such as cigarettes, watermelons, palm trees, hamburgers, and many more. Bernhardt’s paintings are quickly executed and relay the joy of image and mark making that a viewer feels instantaneously when in front of her canvases. Many of her paintings have an all-over type composition with objects arranged in a seemingly playful, yet structured way. Her work is playful, colorful, and relevant in the consumer economy and culture that encompasses all of us.
My Take
Bernhardt is prolific, and sells a lot at various galleries throughout the world. She is represented by leading contemporary galleries: Canada (NYC), Xavier Hufkens (Belgium), and Nanzuka (Japan) and has had shows at other prestigious galleries including Venus Over Manhattan, Salon 94, and Gavin Brown’s Enterprise. Bernhardt’s auction record is just north of $100,000 and her largest works sell in that range at galleries. A Hammer bid of $22,000 or less for this lot, will get you this colorful, fun painting for less than $33,000, which is a nice deal for an artist that has a very bright future.