Shortlist 8 - Sotheby’s Contemporary Online (NYC)
(Sue Williams, John Currin, & Josh Smith)
Sue Williams (B. 1954, Chicago)
Hemid’s Vibrissae (2000)
Oil and acrylic on canvas
72 x 84 inches
Estimate: $30,000 to $40,000
My recommendation: Bid up to $42,000 (hammer)
Result: $33,000 (hammer)
Interested in Sue Williams?
Artist Profile
Since the early 1980s, painter Sue Williams has been exploring issues of gender inequality and injustice in her abstract, semi-abstract, and figurative works. Her work is a direct response to the historical cannon of hyper-masculine, Abstract Expressionism that championed icons such as Jackson Pollock, Willem DeKoonig, Mark Rothko, and Franz Kline. Within her paintings, Williams incorporates figures of genitalia, severed body parts, organs, and other fragments that often allude to sexual violence. This painting, made in 2000, comes as the artist was transitioning from her figurative works of the 80s and 90s. A beautiful example, the red and pink exude femininity, violence, as well as bodily vessels.
Artist Market
Williams is represented by 303 Gallery (NYC), Regen Projects (LA), Eva Presenhuber (Zurich), and Skarstedt (NYC and London). This is an excellent roster of agents, and the support of Skarstedt (for the last 4 years) which does a lot of work in the secondary market should bode well for her market going forward. At her galleries, her prices are between $100,000 and $150,000 for a painting of this size (confirmed just recently by a painting that was for sale at the FIAC art fair last week). Recent auction results have varied pretty widely. In 2018, Williams achieved her two highest results of $137,000 and $120,000, with the latter being for a similar painting to this lot. More recently, auction prices have consistently been at the $75,000 level, and most likely this piece will sell for a lot more than this conservative estimate, but as they say in sports: That’s why you play the games. For the collector who likes this work, and it’s an excellent example of Williams as a painter, the opportunity to get it for around $60,000 is a nice deal both in the short and long term.
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John Currin (B. 1962)
Study for “Entertaining Mr Acker Bilk” (1995)
Ink and graphite on paper
13 1/8 x 10 1/8 inches
Titled and dated on reverse. Signed on label affixed to reverse.
Estimate: $7,000 to $9,000
My Recommendation: Bid to $15,000
Result: $20,000 (hammer)
Interested in John Currin?
Artist Profile
John Currin’s paintings blend the beautiful with the grotesque, often depicting doe-eyed female figures that seemingly allure and repel the viewer simultaneously. His work is a commentary on the fantasy of happiness, both within the history of art and popular culture, while his style harkens back to renaissance portraiture and Mannerism. Elongated necks and well-endowed busts of his female figures remind the viewer of our social and sexual taboos. His subject matter is one that almost instantly divides his audience - you either love Currin’s work or are repulsed by it - a strong negative reaction is always better than no reaction at all. But few can argue that his technical skill as a painter is not exceptional. This work, reserved in its subject matter, is still classic Currin with the overly shy female figure hiding in the back, behind her man - an ode to false tropes, veiled masculinity, and the fleeting allure of happiness.
Artist Market
Currin is represented by Gagosian (worldwide) and Sadie Coles (London), two blue chip galleries that have and will continue to place his work in great collections and support and build his market. Two similar works of these same characters, same size, and medium sold at auction for $28,000 in 2018 & $21,000 in 2019. I expect this work to sell for (including the 25% buyer’s premium) around $20,000, which is great price for a work on paper by an established, blue chip artist whose auction record is $12 million. His galleries are selling editioned prints (of 15) for $10,000, so to be able to get a unique work for a little over twice that price is fantastic. This is a safe investment that will pay off over time. Currin is not going anywhere.
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Josh Smith (B. 1976)
Untitled (2009)
Oil on linen
60 x 48 inches
Signed and dated on overlap
Estimate: $20,000 to $30,000
My recommendation: Bid to $20,000 (hammer)
Result: $48,000 (hammer)
Interested in Josh Smith?
Artist Profile
Josh Smith is a painter who has been exploring the limits and potential of abstract painting since the early 2000s. He rose to prominence with abstracts that incorporated the letters of his name or his initials, creating a recognizable “signature” motif. It’s also a comment on the value of art and artist as brand. Since then, the artist has created works with varied imagery (Grim Reapers, Palm Trees, and Flowers) as well as free-flowing gestural abstractions. The above work approaches full abstraction, but the viewer feels the hint of a dissolved ‘J’ and ‘S’ - whether is there, is inconsequential. Smith has brilliantly merged the figurative and abstract by making his name the figure. He’s an artist who works feverishly in series, with the previous painting often leading directly into the next.
Artist Market
An artist who is owned in depth by prominent collectors such as the Brant Foundation and the Zabludowicz Collection, and has been the US representative at the Venice Biennale (2011). Smith’s market is bifurcated at the moment, with his palm tree and other figurative works in great demand and selling at auction for more than $80,000 (record price is $260,000 for a palm tree painting). His ‘signature’ paintings are selling for between $20,000 and $80,000 (at auction), and his gestural abstractions for $20,000 to $60,000. Smith has been represented by mega-dealer David Zwirner (NYC, London and HK) since 2017, and being that he is an extremely prolific artist, there is a lot of work out there. He is also represented by Eva Presenhuber (Zurich) and Xavier Hufkens (Brussels), and over time, his market should consolidate and the rest of his work will move up towards where his palm tree paintings are selling (and the palm trees will move higher from there). In terms of this lot, his more colorful abstracts have done better than his black and whites, and the opportunity to buy this with a hammer bid around $20,000 will get you a nice Josh Smith for under $30,000 all in.
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