3rd Sep, 2020 20:00

Modern & Contemporary Art

 
Lot 119
 
Lot 119 - Brett Murray (South Africa 1961-)

119

Brett Murray (South Africa 1961-)
One Party State

bronze

Artwork date: 2010

Sold for R170,700
Estimated at R150,000 - R200,000


Condition Report

The overall condition is good.

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.

 

bronze

Artwork date: 2010

(1)

52 x 53 x 57 cm

Notes:

Brett Murray was addressing the notion of ‘toxic masculinity’ perhaps before the buzz concept ever plucked most people’s vocal chords. In his sculptures of gorillas, that reference his MFA graduation work of 1988, Murray developed the idea of monolithic figures and their relationship to South African politics. Ever since, Murray has been riffing off the idea of the machismo that comes hand-in-hand with venality and corruption.One Party State (2010) was exhibited in the first iteration of his Hail to the Thief exhibitions, of which the second coming at Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg in 2012, would result in the famous ‘Spear incident’. One Party State exudes the idea of a figure in a state of total singular absorption in the art of self-pleasuring. Of course, in Murray’s work there is also always a sense of satire and self-parody. As he has admitted, his gorillas also reference his own short stocky body, which has been a source of humour in much of his art.Murray’s work is held in many museum collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, USA, the Iziko South African National Gallery and Norval Art Foundation in Cape Town.

Matthew Blackman

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Auction: Modern & Contemporary Art, 3rd Sep, 2020

This Spring, Aspire Art Auctions broke new ground with a fresh, yet considered selection of artworks that is demographically more representative and reflects the spirit of current times. With a strong focus on South Africa, the sale also proudly represented artists from 10 African countries (Benin, DRC, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sudan, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe) and international artists from Europe, the UK and USA. 

A great highlight was Edoardo Villa’s monumental steel sculpture titled Traverse from 1957 which achieved R4,893,400 – an auction record for the artist. Other exceptional offerings included works by Gerard Sekoto, George Pemba, Peter Clarke and Nicholas Hlobo.

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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.

 


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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.