On 27 January, Ewbank’s in Surrey will present their ‘Contemporary Art, Editions & Modern British Pictures’ sale. The auction includes more than 240 lots, and contains many original artworks in addition to a variety of high-quality prints and limited editions. Many prominent artists will be featured, including Andy Warhol, Joe Stefanelli and Marc Chagall.
Lincoln Townley is a leading contemporary figurative painter, and explores the darker sides of human nature through his abstract portraits. He has exhibited widely, and has been commissioned by The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles as well as Mastercard for his celebrity paintings. The print appearing during the sale is from an edition of five, and depicts the actor Sir Michael Caine, who once described Townley as “the next Andy Warhol”.
Although Marc Chagall is most remembered for his paintings, he worked in a variety of media and created stage sets, stained glass, ceramics, tapestries and prints over the course of his long artistic career. Tribe of Simeon is a colour lithograph that reproduces his early design for the Simeon window in his 1961 Jerusalem Windows Series, and is signed by the artist. The finalised stain glass window design was installed in the synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew Medical Center in Jerusalem.
One star lot in the sale is this original sketch by Andy Warhol, depicting the Campbell’s soup can that he made into an icon. The loose sketch is done in black ink, and signed underneath by the artist. It is presented in a gold frame, alongside a black and white photograph of Andy Warhol holding a large paintbrush.
Born in 1980, Stuart Semple is heavily influenced by technology, politics and cultural history, and his multidisciplinary approach covers painting, sculpture, art happenings, virtual productions and more. Several of his works will appear in the sale, notably Futuristic Figure with a Ray Gun. The iconography in the piece is similar to futuristic designs of the 1950s and 1960s, but the gritty style and innovative use of colour make it thoroughly contemporary.
Bridging the gap between street art and fine art, Dan Pearce’s mixed media pieces are bold and eye-catching. Rave to the Grave - NEON exemplifies the unique style that has made Pearce one of the UK’s most collectible contemporary artists. The circular base is collaged with early 1990s rave flyers and memorabilia, and finished with working neon lights in the shape of a smiley face.
One historically interesting piece in the sale is this screen printed poster, announcing Jackson Pollock’s 1951 exhibit at Betty Parsons’s Gallery in New York City. Parsons was one of the most influential figures in the American Avant Garde movement, and was the only dealer willing to represent artists like Pollock after Peggy Guggenheim closed her gallery in 1947. The poster’s front is adorned with a black and white abstract design by Pollock, and the back is printed with information about the opening.
The ‘Contemporary Art, Editions & Modern British Pictures’ sale will take place on 27 January at 2:00 pm at Ewbank’s in Surrey.
