"When everything goes right," Alexander Calder once said, "a mobile is a piece of poetry that dances with the joy of life." Palm Beach Modern Auctions is using technology to share the dance of one of the artist's rare and important sculptures with prospective bidders, whether or not they can attend in person.
The Alexander Calder mobile sculpture headlining Palm Beach Modern Auctions' 10 October auction has been from New York to Stockholm and back again, and the rest of the 490-lot auction is no less well-travelled. Their upcoming 'Modern Art & Design: Fall 2020' auction is presented in three sessions to accommodate a diverse selection of works by such names as Jules Leleu, Janet Fish, Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton and Hermès.
Session I includes several important and well-documented Gio Ponti designs: a stunning blue and white cabinet from the late 1950s Villa Nemazee commission in Tehran, a 'Grid Structure' table from the home of Lisa Licitra Ponti, and a rare pair of wingback lounge chairs are just a few of these.
Italian and French furniture are strong categories throughout Session I. Bidders will find a Jules Leleu dining set which was photographed for The House of Leleu (Siriex, 224), an important 1925 Pierre Chareau kneehole desk, also well-documented, and a Serge Roche dining set from the apartment of actor Martine Carol which would have seen such guests as Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau.
On the other end of the spectrum, Daniel Meyer bridges the gap between art and furniture with his 'Yellow Brick Road' chair. Definitely a bit more art than furniture, the chair is not made for sitting... and if you did, you would miss the Emerald City's lights behind you. Meyer's work has been featured by Harley Davidson and in Absolut Vodka advertisements. Six of his unique chairs, a large-scale painting and a hanging sculpture are offered in this sale.
In addition to the foundation-registered Alexander Calder mobile Untitled (Demi-Cone), Session I sculptures include a 64" David Wynne bronze, an even larger version of which resides in the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens at the PepsiCo World Headquarters, a rare Harvey Littleton four-piece glass sculpture and five large Claude Conover vessels, three of which come from a collection numbering thirty-eight pieces at the time it was featured in Phoenix Home & Garden.
Session I's most noteworthy paintings include an exquisitely detailed Janet Fish still life and an expressive painterly Benjamin Palencia Perez landscape. Works by Emil Schumacher, Purvis Young, William Ronald and Robert Ryel Bliss have also received plenty of attention from bidders.
Session II features editions and photography such as an Andy Warhol Committee 2000 screenprint and a Helmut Newton photograph of his friend, architect and designer Ettore Sottsass, both signed limited editions.
Luxury pieces including an Hermes "H" silver and gold plate lidded box and sterling from Tiffany, Asprey and Cassetti among others. Session III offers a PBMA-style buffet of mid-century collectors' favourites, contemporary pieces and the absolutely unexpected such as a 96" carved wood Ganesha sculpture.
With light and colour, texture and motion so vital to these important works, how does an auction house convey these characteristics to bidders across the world whose travel plans may be limited?
"Video has been instrumental for us," says Palm Beach Modern Auctions' auctioneer and co-owner Rico Baca. "We began offering video preview in the May 2020 sale. We had a professional crew come in and take footage so that bidders could see the items arranged in vignettes as if they were walking through, and supplement this with individual videos by request so bidders can see important details like depth in a painting from all angles. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, well worth the extra time and effort."
Providing video builds trust and helps bidders make informed decisions. "They might ask to see a sculpture with a reference item for scale, or a person of a certain height in a chair," says Baca. "Sometimes they just want to see the item in natural lighting. We can accommodate all of these things with a video."
Don't miss exploring this fantastic selection of modern art and design at Palm Beach Modern Auctions online (or in person) before the 10 October sale.