27th Mar, 2017 15:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
112
Christo Coetzee (South Africa 1929-2000)
Italian Heads
oil, enamel, collage and glue on board
Artwork date: 1987
Signature details: signed and dated; signed, dated, inscribed with the medium, dimensions and artist’s address on the reverse, further inscribed with the title on a label on the reverse
Condition Report
Screwholes along margins, crack through board in bottom corner, discoloured in areas.
Please note, we are not qualified conservators and these reports give our opinion as to the general condition of the works. We advise that bidders view the lots in person to satisfy themselves with the condition of prospective purchases.
oil, enamel, collage and glue on board
Artwork date: 1987
Signature details: signed and dated; signed, dated, inscribed with the medium, dimensions and artist’s address on the reverse, further inscribed with the title on a label on the reverse
(1)
122 x 122 cm
Acquired directly from the artist, this significant painting draws on key works from the Italian Rennaissance.
Notes:
In a TV interview for the SABC’s Pasella in 1999, coinciding with Christo Coetzee’s third retrospective exhibition held at the University of Stellenbosch as well as his 70th birthday, the artist emphasised that he was not making portraits. “I am painting profiles, heads, icons in the style of the Byzantine period,” he said. “I have never made a portrait of someone specific.” What he did instead was to explore art history for Madonnas, goddesses, brides as well as mythological and historical figures and portray them as icons, as detailed expressions of a universal humanity. Since the late 1980s, the period Coetzee referred to as that of “mixed topographies”, Coetzee “has consolidated his concept of art and creativity to a single kind of subject, namely the ‘head’” (Ballot 1999:31).Italian Heads is a poignant manifestation of this consolidation and subsequently of Coetzee’s mixed arrangement of subject matter as well as his application and treatment of material. As far as media is concerned this work contains references to various phases in Coetzee’s oeuvre: the detailed rendition of the costume (reminiscent of work from the early 1950s); the use of collage (dating back to the mid-1960s); the gestural technique of the 1960s, and even the overpaint with black enamel of the mid-1970s.The element of nostalgia evoked in this way is echoed in the assemblage of images that conjure up a distinct Italian allure. Gazing at a distant horizon, the dominant figure in the harlequin costume sits in a landscape of memory, inhabited by two images of Michelangelo’s David, the Pietà and the façade of St. Peter’s in the Vatican. As if in conversation with Giorgio de Chirico’s (1888-1978), Coetzee introduces arches and perspectival lines meeting beyond the canvas in infinity to open up spaces as themes of enigma and melancholy. A second head is painted in profile, like an image on a coin, to veil the face of the harlequin figure, adding to the enigma. Coetzee extends this presumed conversation to include the viewer, inviting us to offer interpretations and possible meanings.
Johan Myburg
Sources:
Ballot, M. (1999). Christo Coetzee. Cape Town: Human & Rousseau.
You can place an absentee bid through our website - please sign in to your account on our website to proceed.
In the My Account tab you can also enter telephone bids, or email bids@aspireart.net to log telephone/absentee bids.
Join us on the day of the auction to follow and bid in real-time.
The auction will be live-streamed with an audio-visual feed.
Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 27th Mar, 2017
The Inaugural Cape Auction offed a diverse range of top-quality historic, modern and contemporary works. With a focus on critically engaged art and a curated approach, seasoned and new collectors competed to acquire significant works.
Aspire’s commitment to the growth of the art market saw international records broken in recognition of exiled South African artists. Louis Maqhubela’s Exiled King, a definitive, politically motivated work, sold for R341,040 - three times his previous record, and Albert Adams’ Untitled (Four Figures with Pitchforks), his first appearance at auction, sold for R136,416. Top prices were also achieved for established artists including J.H Pierneef, William Kentridge, and Edoardo Villa, and contemporary artwork fared exceptionally with record prices for David Brown, Steven Cohen, Mohau Modisakeng, Moshekwa Langa, and Mikhael Subotzky.
Viewing
Friday 24 March 2017 | 10 am – 7 pm
Saturday 25 March 2017 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 26 March 2017 | 10 am – 4 pm
Currency conversions are based on the exchange rate at the auction's start time and date. Bidders should verify the current exchange rate on the day of the sale. All invoices and payments must be made in South African Rands.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Logistics
While we endeavour to assist our Clients as much as possible, we require artwork(s) to be delivered and/or collected from our premises by the Client. In instances where a Client is unable to deliver or collect artwork(s), Aspire staff is available to assist in this process by outsourcing the services to one of our preferred Service Providers. The cost for this will be for the Client’s account, with an additional Handling Fee of 15% charged on top of the Service Provider’s invoice.
Aspire Art provides inter-company transfer services for its Clients between Johannesburg and Cape Town branches. These are based on the size of the artwork(s), and charged as follows:
Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R480
Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R960
Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,440
Over-size: Special quote
Should artwork(s) be collected or delivered to/from Clients by Aspire Art directly, the following charges will apply:
Collection/delivery ≤20km: R400
Collection/delivery 20km>R800≤50km
Collection/delivery >50km: Special quote
Packaging
A flat fee of R100 will be added to the invoice for packaging of unframed works on paper.
International Collectors Shipping Package
For collectors based outside South Africa who purchase regularly from Aspire Art’s auctions in South Africa, it does not make sense to ship artworks individually or per auction and pay shipping every time you buy another work. Consequently, we have developed a special collectors’ shipping package to assist in reducing shipping costs and the constant demands of logistics arrangements.
For buyers from outside South Africa, we will keep the artworks you have purchased in storage during the year and then ship all the works you have acquired during the year together, so the shipping costs are reduced. At the end of the annual period, we will source various quotes to get you the best price, and ship all your artworks to your desired address at once.
Aspire Art will arrange suitable storage during, and cost-effective shipping at the end, of the annual period.
Collections
Collections are by appointment, with 24-hours’ notice
Clients are requested to contact the relevant office and inform Aspire Art of which artwork(s) they would like to collect, and allow a 24-hour window for Aspire Art’s logistics department to retrieve the artwork(s) and prepare them for collection.
Handling Fee
Aspire Art charges a 15% Handling Fee on all Logistics, Framing, Restoration and Conservation arranged by Aspire.