The Reason for the Intermittent Posts

In the past week or so, many of you have emailed me directly saying "where are you?" The answer is that no, I am not on some exotic summer vacation, but actually, I suppose that you could say I am on a kind of medical leave. A couple of weeks ago, I somehow pinched a nerve in my upper back (technically bulged discs in my cervical spine). While this might not normally slow a person down much beyond some pain, in this case, I have the unfortunate side effect of pain and numbness radiating down my right arm. For a right handed person like myself, the lack of functionality of my dominant arm is plenty annoying and makes seemingly trivial tasks much more of an adventure.

In my normal life, writing for this site is carefully wedged between family and work time, with not much slack in the overall system. In the past few weeks, various doctor/specialist visits, physical therapy and the like have intruded into this tight schedule, effectively pushing my writing down a rung or two. Something had to give, and the volume of posts here is the victim.

That said, I do have plenty of shows backed up to write about, as well as an overdue response to collector and friend Joe Baio's recent thoughtful dissection of my auction results posts (found in the comments of the last Yann Le Mouel report). They'll just come a little more intermittently until my arm/back is in better shape, hopefully a couple per week, but not likely every work day for the time being. As soon as the body is willing, I'll ramp back up to my usual pace, so please bear with me during this more quiet summer interlude.

Malick Sidibé @Shainman

JTF (just the facts): A total of 52 black and white photographic works, variously framed and matted, and hung in the entry gallery and the main divided space in the back. 26 of the images are vintage gelatin silver prints framed in white blonde wood and matted; these works range in size from roughly 3x5 to 5x7, and were made between 1961 and 1986. 14 of the images are more recent gelatin silver prints of some of Sidibé's better known pictures, framed in black and matted; these prints range in size from 8x8 to 38x38 and were printed within the last 10 years. 11 of the works and 1 installation of 27 images tightly grouped together on one wall are surrounded by Sidibé's signature hand painted color frames made of glass and cardboard; these range in size from 9x6 to 20x16 and were made between 1965 and 2005. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: This well-edited, approachable show of the work of Malian photographer Malick Sidibé has something for everyone, from those who have never been exposed to his exuberant portraits to those who are already dedicated followers and collectors. It successfully mixes vintage rarities and creased studio treasures with large scale modern prints of iconic images like Nuit de Noel and Regardez Moi, providing a cross section of his artistic output across several decades.

I don't think I will ever tire of Sidibé's funky studio portraits and energetic shots of dance parties in Bamako from the 1960s and 1970s; there is something thoroughly contagious about their optimism. A young woman shows of her new handbag while wearing a dress with huge white polka dots, a young man struts in an improvised sailor suit wearing big sunglasses, while another man is dressed head to toe in all white, including gloves and mirrored shades. Guys pose proudly near a white car, others show off records, and couples dance with tenderness and joy. Even when the young men and women square off, threatening to throw rocks at each other, there is a sense of unspoiled playfulness at work.

The show balances this liveliness with more formal studio portraits and head shots, many in traditional dress or highlighting a special hairstyle. Multi-generational families stand together solemnly in riots of patterned clothing, and a whole wall is covered by baby pictures, each with a special hand painted frame. I was particularly drawn to Sidibé's recent portraits of sitters with their backs to the camera. They are elegant and almost abstract, especially when the clothing and studio settings clash and echo each other; they trade a quiet simplicity for the fun-filled strutting and innocent performing of his other works.

While this show may not teach us much about Sidibé's work that wasn't already well known, its freshness and life, its style and swagger, are a welcome reminder that portraiture (even in its most traditional forms)need not be dour or self-consciously serious to be powerfully memorable.

Collector's POV: The works in this show are priced as follows. The smaller vintage gelatin silver prints are either $3800 or $4800 each. The larger recent prints range from $5500 for the 8x8 size to $15000 for the 38x38 size. The single images in hand painted frames range from $4800 to $20000 each, and the group installation is $30000.

In general, most of the Sidibé prints to be found in the secondary market are later prints. More and more of these prints have sold at auction in recent years, with prices ranging from $2500 to $12500.
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Rating: ** (two stars) VERY GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Interviews: lens culture (here), Index magazine (here)

Malick Sidibé
Through August 5th
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Jack Shainman Gallery
513 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011

Auction Results: Photographies, L'Imaginaire du Nu, June 28, 2011 @Yann Le Mouel

The results of Yann Le Mouel's recent sale of nude photography in Paris were thoroughly dismal. With an overall Buy-In rate near 70% and no positive surprises at all, it is no wonder that the Total Sale Proceeds missed the range by a huge margin. And with just over 20000€ of total premium to the house, I think it is difficult to make the case that this sale even covered its costs.
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The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 248
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: 275350€
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: 358650€
Total Lots Sold: 76
Total Lots Bought In: 172
Buy In %: 69.35%
Total Sale Proceeds: 129552€

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 241
Low Sold: 72
Low Bought In: 169
Buy In %: 70.12%
Total Low Estimate: 284650€
Total Low Sold: 77952€

Mid Total Lots: 7
Mid Sold: 3
Mid Bought In: 4
Buy In %: 42.86%
Total Mid Estimate: 74000€
Total Mid Sold: 51600€

High Total Lots: 0
High Sold: NA
High Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total High Estimate: 0€
Total High Sold: NA

The top lot by High estimate was lot 129, Peter Lindbergh, Milla Jovovitch, NYC, Italian Vogue, 1996, at 15000-20000€; it was also the top outcome of the sale at 20400€.

93.42% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were no surprises in this sale (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate).
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Complete lot by lot results can be found here.

Yann Le Mouel
22, Rue Chauchat
75009 Paris

The Checklist: 07/14/11

DLK COLLECTION

Checklist 07/14/11

New reviews added this week in red.

Uptown

ONE STAR: Moveable Feast: MCNY: August 22: review
ONE STAR: Night Vision: Met: September 18: review
ONE STAR: After the Gold Rush: Met: January 2: review

Midtown

TWO STARS: Rinko Kawauchi: Hermes: July 16: review
ONE STAR: Japan Today: Amador: August 19: review
TWO STARS: Elliott Erwitt: ICP: August 28: review
ONE STAR: David LaChapelle: Lever House: September 2: review
TWO STARS: Boris Mikhailov: MoMA: September 5: review
TWO STARS: Reinstalled Permanent Collection: MoMA: March 2012: review

Chelsea

ONE STAR: Bryan Graf: Yancey Richardson: July 15: review
ONE STAR: Jo Ratcliffe: Walther Collection: July 15: review
ONE STAR: Peter Kayafas: Sasha Wolf: July 16: review
ONE STAR: Alejandro Chaskielberg: Yossi Milo: July 29: review
ONE STAR: Clifford Ross: Sonnabend: July 29: review

SoHo/Lower East Side/Downtown

TWO STARS: Jim Dow: Janet Borden: July 29: review

Elsewhere Nearby

ONE STAR: Sam Taylor-Wood: Brooklyn Museum: August 14: review
TWO STARS: Lorna Simpson: Brooklyn Museum: August 21: review

Alejandro Chaskielberg, The High Tide @Milo

JTF (just the facts): A total of 12 large scale color photographs, framed in black with no matting, and hung in the single room gallery space in front. All of the works are digital c-prints, made between 2007 and 2010. The prints are displayed in three image sizes: 5 prints at roughly 32x40 (editions of 9+3AP or 12+3AP), 6 prints at roughly 44x56 (editions of 7+3AP or 9+3AP) and 1 print at 59x75 (edition of 5+2AP). A monograph of this body of work entitled La Creciente is forthcoming from Nazraeli Press (here). (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Alejandro Chaskielberg’s contemporary images of life along the Parana River Delta in Argentina begin with a context of documentary realism and then stylistically expand into the realm of impressionistic, cinematic staging. His works chronicle a river-centered life of logging and farming, using local inhabitants as actors in nighttime recreations of the everyday activities of the region. Farmers cut rushes along the river banks or transport timber in barges and smaller boats, while weathered elders and children perch on the banks watching the action.

Chaskielberg’s use of moonlight, lanterns, and other forms of illumination give his recreations a surreal sense of color, with washes of glow and haze enveloping his subjects in hollow shades of blue and orange. In combination with tilt shift flattening of the depth of field, the scenes mix a sense of hyper reality with unabashed romantic warmth and mystery; the focus often centers on the lonely toil of an individual (or ghost), with the rest of the scene stretched into a blurred, almost painterly backdrop.

I realize that I’ve been harping on the concept of photographic genre combination quite a bit in recent weeks, but here again, we have a contemporary photographer who is consciously mixing two worlds: taking an anthropological documentary tradition and placing it together with exaggerated staging and performance techniques. The effect is a set of pictures that go beyond reportage and cross into conscious control over our impression of the reality on the ground. Chaskielberg gives life on the river a mystical quality that transcends the mundane chopping and hauling that dominates its days, adding a sense of wonder to the hardships of the jungle existence.

Collector's POV: The works in this show are priced as follows. The 32x40 prints are $4500 each, the 44x56 prints are either $6500 or $9500 each, and the 59x75 print is marked “not available”. Chaskielberg’s work has not yet entered the secondary markets, so gallery retail is likely the best and only option for interested collectors at this point.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Interview: Time LightBox (here)

Alejandro Chaskielberg, The High Tide
Through July 29th

Yossi Milo Gallery
525 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10001

Jim Dow: American Studies @Borden

JTF (just the facts): A total of 18 color and 4 black and white photographs, generally framed in black and matted, and hung against white walls in the main gallery space. The color works are chromogenic prints in various sizes: 5 images at 30x40, in editions of 10, 8 images at 20x24, in editions of 25, 4 images at 16x20, in editions of 25, and 1 triptych of 20x24 prints. The black and white works are gelatin silver prints; 3 are 20x24, in editions of 25, and 1 is 16x20, also in an edition of 25. Aside from the larger 30x40 color prints (which were made recently), all of the prints are vintage. The images were taken across the United States between 1972 and 2004, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s. A monograph of this body of work was recently published by powerHouse Books (here and here). (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Recently I've been thinking more and more about the increased layering and boundary breaking going on in contemporary photography and trying to make sense of what it all might mean. What is clear is that when an artist begins with a photographic document and then adds in elements of conceptual theory, performance, staging, purpose-built construction and other sometimes obtuse ideas, something more complex is undeniably generated; what I have been struggling with is whether this increase in scope is giving us "better" or more durably memorable pictures in any definable way. It seems that we are quickly evolving away from many of the basic tenets that have formed the basis of the medium since its inception, and that in doing so, we may be inadvertently misplacing some of the core principles that gave us some of our most beloved images.

Jim Dow's photographs of vernacular America are a passionate defense of the old school idea of storytelling in photography, a manifesto for a return to the value of direct visual connection to the richness of place and time. Starting with any one of the pictures in this tight retrospective, it is possible to jump off into an open ended, uniquely American short story. His works capture disappearing fragments of our collective cultural personality, bypassing easy nostalgia for a more nuanced look at who we are and who we have wanted to be, offering a slice of the unadorned optimism that led us to build these barber shops, burger joints, baseball stadiums, and barbecue shacks.

Dow's vision of America is a undeniably a descendant of Walker Evans, whose love of the idiosyncrasies of commercial signage and roadside advertising have spawned many who have traveled a similar photographic road. But Dow's connection to these folk art subjects is less formal and rigid than his mentor's, opting for forgotten icons that go beyond strict compositional purity to examples of quirky uniqueness and understated humor, delivered with an affectionate eye for a people constantly reinventing themselves. Using a large format camera, he has gathered brimming scenes which reward longer looking and offer unexpected and often unpretentiously poetic discoveries.

Dow is also clearly a product of his times, particularly in the context of 1970s color photography, where color became another tool in the visual toolbox: bright neon sizzles and pops in the darkness, a cloverleaf-shaped donut counter swirls in attention grabbing orange, and rainbows of paint jump off a seasonal sno-cone hut announcing a parade of available flavors. And who wouldn't wish for a warm summer night to swing by the local Dairy Queen to stand in the enveloping buzz of the yellow glow emanating from inside? His drive-ins, gas stations, and even sober court houses remind us of how a photograph can be a portal to somewhere else, giving us just enough clues and details to spark our imagination.

I think it is fair to say that some might see Dow's work as a kind of throw back to a now historic style of photographic picture making. But what struck me most about this show was less that vernacular America continues to be a revealing subject, but that what I have been missing of late in my relentless gallery wanderings is that sense of a photograph as a familiar and relevant place to get lost in, a venue for finding some connection to what brings us together. Some may scoff at such a sappy and simple conclusion, but this show was a strong reminder for me that photographs can still be a celebration of our collective story, even when there are no people in them.

Collector's POV: The works in this show are generally priced based on size: the 16x20 prints (either black and white or color) are $3000, the 20x24 prints are $3500, the 30x40 prints are $5500, and the stadium triptych is $9000. Dow's work has only been available intermittently in the secondary markets in recent years, with prices ranging from roughly $1500 to $3500. That said, only a small number of lots have changed hands, so gallery retail is likely the only real option for interested collectors at this point.

Rating: ** (two stars) VERY GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Reviews: New Yorker (here), DART (here), La Lettre de la Photographie (here)

Jim Dow: American Studies
Through July 29th

Janet Borden, Inc.
560 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Bryan Graf, Field Recordings @Richardson

JTF (just the facts): A total of 18 color photographs and 1 array of book covers, generally framed in white with no mats, and hung in the main gallery space. The majority of the photographs come from the series Wildlife Analysis, made between 2008 and 2011. The 10 images from this series are chromogenic prints, in editions of 1, 2 or 5; sizes are either roughly 20x16 or roughly 40x30. The other 8 photographs are Polaroids, from 2008-present, each roughly 4x3 and affixed directly to the wall (without frames) as a set. The final work on view is a unique array of found book covers mounted to aluminum, from 2010, sized 41x29 overall. (Installation shots at right.)
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Comments/Context: I've written previously on the growing trend in emerging contemporary photography toward multiplicity, where layering, combination, and allusion move beyond simple documentation into previously unexplored areas of conceptual mashup. Bryan Graf's images are a prime example of this kind of thinking, taking the black and white landscape genre and smashing it together with process-driven darkroom manipulations in vivid color.
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Graf's images begin with intimate and delicate nature scenes: butterflies perched on leafy branches, a timid deer nestled in the long grass, and various other snippets of forest undergrowth and classic New England scrub vegetation. These fleeting moments are then washed over with painterly swaths of color, added later in the darkroom: saturated orange, faded pink, acidic yellow, and dark murky brown swirl and slip across the surface, creating ambient tints and shadows. The effect is intensely personal and dreamlike, like a swiftly disappearing glimpse of someone else's squint-eyed reality. Graf's Polaroids explore similar territory, where foliage shadows and clouds of color encourage quiet contemplation.
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I think the challenge here lies in the attempt to break down the boundaries of the small scale landscape genre with such effusive, expressionistic gestures; the best pictures in this show find the right balance of simplicity and effortless grace, while a few others seem burdened by an overly mannered self-consciousness. Some of this is surely a result of chance in the darkroom, where a fortuitous combination of lurid colors can make or break the emotional tenor of the end product. All in, I think Graf's work is yet another example of the shifting edges of contemporary photography, where complex and original visual vocabularies are now regularly being invented from heretofore separate modes of seeing.  

Collector's POV: The works in this show are priced as follows. The smaller 20x16 photographs are $2400 each, while the larger 40x30 images range between $4500 and $5500. The Polaroids are available as a set of 8 for $5000 or as a subset of 4 for $2800. The book cover array is priced at $5500. Graf's work has not yet entered the secondary markets, so gallery retail is likely the only option for interested collectors at this point.
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Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)
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Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Reviews: New Yorker (here), Cool Hunting (here)

Bryan Graf, Field Recordings

Through July 15th
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Yancey Richardson Gallery
535 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011

Peter Kayafas, Totems @Wolf

JTF (just the facts): A total of 17 black and white photographs, framed in white and matted, and hung in the single room gallery space. All of the prints are gelatin silver prints, made between 2008 and 2010. The prints are 16x20, in editions of 15. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Taking pictures of abandoned American barns is a dangerous game for a contemporary photographer who wants to be taken seriously. Walk down to any local bookstore and dig around the selection of wall calendars and post cards, and sure enough, "Vermont Barns" or something like it will surface, complete with cloyingly nostalgic shots of dilapidated structures in warm afternoon light, with rusty antique trucks placed just so. Or perhaps you'll uncover the "most photographed barn in America", the famous one framed by the Tetons. In any event, taking on such a subject and not falling into the hackneyed trap of wince-inducing sentimentality is a real challenge.

Thankfully, Peter Kayafas' images of falling down barns and empty houses bring crisp formality and renewed reverence to these forgotten icons of vernacular architecture. His buildings have good bones, and Kayafas has let them stand alone amidst spare skies and broad expanses of grass. Compositionally, his pictures are plainspoken and straightforward, mixing the traditions of Walker Evans and the Bechers, but leaving behind strict rigor and conceptual dryness for a hint of warmth and frontier personality. The prints are bright and sunblasted, filled with the same kind of turned up whiteness seen in the work of Henry Wessel; in conjunction with the grain of the small format negatives, the geometries are at once brightly enhanced and subtly softened, often punctuated by the blackness of a dark window.

Kayafas' approach has stripped these buildings down to elemental forms, highlighting timeless lines and enduring simplicity. His works successfully avoid the obvious pitfalls of the subject matter and instead find a quiet honor in these frugal structures.

Collector's POV: The prints on view are priced at a reasonable $1600 each. Kayafas' work has not yet entered the secondary markets, so gallery retail is likely the only option for interested collectors at this point.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Review: New Yorker (here)

Peter Kayafas, Totems

Through July 16th
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Sasha Wolf Gallery
528 West 28th Street
New York, NY 10001

Auction Results: Contemporary Art Evening and Day Auctions, June 29 and 30, 2011 @Sotheby's London

The photography up for sale in Sotheby's Contemporary Art auctions in London last week solidly met expectations. With an overall Buy-In rate across the two sales of 20% and a number of postitive surprises, the Total Sale Proceeds for photography came in near the top end of the range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 40
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: £1999000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: £2783000
Total Lots Sold: 32
Total Lots Bought In: 8
Buy In %: 20.00%
Total Sale Proceeds: £2570650
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Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 1
Low Sold: 1
Low Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 0.00%
Total Low Estimate: £5000
Total Low Sold: £6875

Mid Total Lots: 23
Mid Sold: 19
Mid Bought In: 4
Buy In %: 17.39%
Total Mid Estimate: £378000
Total Mid Sold: £482725
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High Total Lots: 16
High Sold: 12
High Bought In: 4
Buy In %: 25.00%
Total High Estimate: £2400000
Total High Sold: £2081050
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The top lot by High estimate was lot 39, Andreas Gursky, Engadin II, 2006, at £500000-700000; it was also the top outcome of the two sales at £937250.

93.75% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above their estimate. There were seven surprises in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 101, Jorg Immendorff, Den Eisbaren Mal Reinhalten  (Polar Bear Poker), 1968, at £32450
Lot 242, Andreas Gursky, Gasherd (Gas Cooker), 1980, at £55250
Lot 244, Gerhard Richter, 20.5.07:21.5.07 (diptych), 2007, at £56450
Lot 245, Wolfgang Tillmans, Paper Drop (Roma), 2007, at £49250 (image at right, bottom, via Sotheby's)
Lot 262, Annie Leibovitz, Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, London, 2007/2011, at £50450 (image at right, top, via Sotheby's)
Lot 298, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #174, 1987, at £61250
Lot 300, Gilbert & George, The Red Sculpture Album, 1975, at £43250

Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).

Sotheby's
34-35 New Bond Street
London W1A 2AA

The Checklist: 07/07/11

DLK COLLECTION
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Checklist 07/07/11
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New reviews added this week in red.

Uptown

ONE STAR: Moveable Feast: MCNY: July 10: review
ONE STAR: Night Vision: Met: September 18: review
ONE STAR: After the Gold Rush: Met: January 2: review

Midtown

TWO STARS: Henry Wessel: Pace/MacGill: July 8: review
ONE STAR: All the Young Strangers: Higher Pictures: July 9: review
TWO STARS: Rinko Kawauchi: Hermes: July 16: review
ONE STAR: Japan Today: Amador: August 19: review
TWO STARS: Elliott Erwitt: ICP: August 28: review
ONE STAR: David LaChapelle: Lever House: September 2: review
TWO STARS: Boris Mikhailov: MoMA: September 5: review
TWO STARS: Reinstalled Permanent Collection: MoMA: March 2012: review

Chelsea

ONE STAR: Jo Ratcliffe: Walther Collection: July 15: review
ONE STAR: Clifford Ross: Sonnabend: July 29: review

SoHo/Lower East Side/Downtown

No current reviews.

Elsewhere Nearby

ONE STAR: Sam Taylor-Wood: Brooklyn Museum: August 14: review
TWO STARS: Lorna Simpson: Brooklyn Museum: August 21: review

Auction Results: Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening and Day Auctions, June 28 and 29, 2011 @Christie's King Street

If you ever needed evidence that the top lots in an auction drive the overall results, look no further than the photography included among Christie's pair of Contemporary Art sales in London last week. While all of the Low and Mid photo lots found buyers, 5 out of the top 6 lots passed, driving the Total Sale Proceeds for photography to less than half of the low end of the estimate range.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 33
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: £2586000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: £3786000
Total Lots Sold: 26
Total Lots Bought In: 7
Buy In %: 21.21%
Total Sale Proceeds: £1257675

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 2
Low Sold: 2
Low Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 0.00%
Total Low Estimate: £9000
Total Low Sold: £13125

Mid Total Lots: 15
Mid Sold: 15
Mid Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 0.00%
Total Mid Estimate: £262000
Total Mid Sold: £321300

High Total Lots: 16
High Sold: 9
High Bought In: 7
Buy In %: 43.75%
Total High Estimate: £3515000
Total High Sold: £923250

The top lot by High estimate was lot 16, Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 1983, at £1000000-1500000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome was lot 21, Andreas Gursky, Prada II, 1997 at £409250.

92.31% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above their estimate. There was only one surprise in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 155, Martha Rosler, Body Beautiful, or Beauty Knows No Pain (Hot Meat), 1966-1972, at £8125 (image at right, bottom, via Christie's)

Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).

Christie's
8 King Street, St. James's
London SW1Y 6QT

Auction Results: Contemporary Art Evening and Day Sales, June 27 and 28, 2011 @Phillips London

The results for the photography buried in Phillips' Contemporary Art sales in London last week weren't hugely remarkable. The top two high priced lots (a Sherman and a Gursky) failed to sell, there was only 1 positive surprise, and the overall Buy-In Rate across the two auctions topped 30%. I suppose it is no wonder then that the Total Sale Proceeds for photography missed the low end of the estimate range by a wide margin.

The summary statistics are below (all results include the buyer’s premium):

Total Lots: 53
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: £1206000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: £1736000
Total Lots Sold: 37
Total Lots Bought In: 16
Buy In %: 30.19%
Total Sale Proceeds: £702150

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 5
Low Sold: 5
Low Bought In: 0
Buy In %: 0.00%
Total Low Estimate: £24000
Total Low Sold: £27125

Mid Total Lots: 35
Mid Sold: 24
Mid Bought In: 11
Buy In %: 31.43%
Total Mid Estimate: £437000
Total Mid Sold: £291575

High Total Lots: 13
High Sold: 8
High Bought In: 5
Buy In %: 38.46%
Total High Estimate: £1275000
Total High Sold: £383450

The top lot by High estimate was lot 5, Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #4, 1977, at £250000-350000; it did not sell. The top photography outcome of the two sales was lot 30, Thomas Struth, Pergamon Museum IV, Berlin, 2001, at £109250. (Image at right, top, via Phillips.)

89.19% of the lots that sold had proceeds above or in the estimate range, but there was only one surprise in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 263, Ryan McGinley, BMX, New York, 2001, at £22500 (image at right, bottom, via Phillips)

Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Evening) and here (Day).

Phillips De Pury & Company
Howick Place
London SW1P 1BB

David LaChapelle: From Darkness to Light @Lever House

JTF (just the facts): A total of 5 photographic works, generally unframed and either affixed directly to the walls and windows or hung from the ceiling in the single room lobby space. One large photographic collage (measuring 14'6" by 10'6") is displayed on an inside dividing wall. A group of approximately 14000 rings connected into long paper chains hangs from the ceiling. The other three works are made of translucent photographic stickers; the two circular works are each 8 feet in diameter. All of the works are from 2011. (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: In recent years, David LaChapelle was been diverging a bit from his fashion and celebrity roots and diving deeper into art historical and religious iconography, albeit updated with a flashy modern sensibility. In his last show, Michael Jackson became took the guise of a saint and Naomi Campbell was the star of a Botticelli restaging. In this lobby exhibit, he updates an icon of 19th century realism, Theodore Gericault's The Raft of the Medusa (here).
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If you've ever stood in front of The Raft of the Medusa in the Louvre, you will certainly remember its immense scale and its punishing savagery. Using corpses from the local morgue as subjects, Gericault created haltingly lifelike recreations of twisted naked bodies in agony. While there is some hope in the desperate waving of a cloth by one of the castaways, I've always thought this seemed like the ultimate in futility, as the massive waves crashed over and engulfed the tiny raft. LaChapelle's version of this same story is layered and collaged swirl of photographic imagery, where cardboard cutouts and watercolor washes add three dimensional Cubist depth to the scene. The difference here is in the nudes; you might just as well call it "anguish in high heels". The male and female bodies have a perfection to them straight out of a fashion spread (washboard abs, artfully grizzled beards), where the fear looks more staged and the suffering looks a bit hollow. Perhaps his restaging is more optimistic, but the trials and tribulations of all these good looking people lack the raw pathos and visceral energy of the original.
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The main area of the lobby is covered with dangling paper chains, the kind pre-schoolers make out of construction paper and staples. LaChapelle's chains are double sided standing nudes, where heads, torsos, and legs get twisted and recombined into an endless connection of anonymous body parts, running the spectrum of light to dark pink. It's an easygoing, straightforward riff, mostly decorative I think. On the glass side walls of the lobby, LaChapelle has affixed two circular areas of translucent stickers, one pink circle of male nudes and one purple circle of female nudes. Perhaps a little like a stained glass window, they seemed more like a petri dish to my eye, with tiny blobs of tadpole humanity swimming in tight swirling circles.
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While I didn't particularly resonate with the end results here, I found some of the process ideas worth thinking about further, including the creating of multi-level surface via the collaging of photographic imagery and the use of transparency to open up the "art against a flat wall" effect.
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Collector's POV: David LaChapelle is represented by Fred Torres Collaborations in New York (here). LaChapelle's work is intermittently available in the secondary markets, ranging in price from $10000 to 140000 in recent years.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)
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Transit Hub:

• Artist site (here)
• Feature: NY Observer (here)

David LaChapelle: From Darkness to Light
Through September 2

Lever House Art Collection

390 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022