27th Mar, 2017 15:00

Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art

 
Lot 124
 
Lot 124 - Deborah Bell (South Africa 1957-)

124

Deborah Bell (South Africa 1957-)
See-line Woman Dressed in Red, Makes her Man Lose his Head

oil on canvas

Artwork date: 2012
Signature details: signed; signed, dated, inscribed with the artist’s name and the medium on the reverse

Sold for R244,412
Estimated at R250,000 - R350,000


 

oil on canvas

Artwork date: 2012
Signature details: signed; signed, dated, inscribed with the artist’s name and the medium on the reverse

(1)

120 x 50 cm

John Martin Gallery, London.

Notes:

Following the birth of her son, Bell turned to watercolours, later switching to diluted acrylic paints, because working with oil paints and turpentine seemed too toxic while breast-feeding a baby. It was almost twenty years before she returned to oils in 2010 in homage to her former teacher and friend, Robert Hodgins. Consciously emulating his practice of using glazes to create figures and objects through colour, she began to allow images and the meanings they generate to emerge through the process of painting. Always interested in the tactile quality of oils, Bell’s shift in medium went hand-in-hand with a renewed concern to explore the carnal lives of women. But unlike her early paintings of lovers trapped in fleshy bodies and claustrophobic interiors, the women who started emerging from her canvases are single, self-assured and assertive. While some have discarded their red shoes, thereby signaling that they are without artifice, others affirm the control they have over their own destinies by carrying them.Echoes of Bell’s fascination with red shoes, which dates back as far as the early 1990s when she worked on an animated collaborative project with Robert Hodgins and William Kentridge, titled Easing the Passing (of the hours), can be found in the songs of some of the musicians she listens to while painting, notably Tom Waits and Nina Simone. She loves Wait’s Red Shoes by the Drugstore, a song about botching a jewelry store heist, in which a man tries to steal a diamond for his woman because “he loved the way she looked in those red shoes.” But as the title suggests, See-line woman also invokes a 19th century American folk song, famously recorded by Nina Simone in 1964. Originally about prostitutes – sea lions – waiting for sailors as they disembark from their boats, the song celebrates the power of women who make men lose their heads: “Empty his pockets and wreck his days, Make him love her, And she'll fly away”. Having achieved her goal, the woman in the Nina Simone rendition bends down, picks up her shoes and throws them over her shoulder, before turning around and walking away.

Sandra Klopper

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

View all lots in this sale

Images *

Drag and drop .jpg images here to upload, or click here to select images.


 

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.