Sharon Core: 1606-1907 @Richardson

JTF (just the facts): A total of 12 color photographs, framed in white and unmatted, and hung in the main gallery space. All of the prints are archival pigment prints, available in editions of 7, made in 2011. Physical dimensions range from 18x15 to 30x23 (or reverse). (Installation shots at right.)

Comments/Context: Sharon Core's brand of image appropriation is wholly different than a commonplace cut and paste or an easy lift and recontextualize. In previous works, her meticulous process has included baking cakes and pies, growing vegetables, and scouring flea markets in search of period ceramics and tableware, all in the name of painstakingly recreating paintings via photography, with an eye for exacting detail.

In her newest works, Core has immersed herself in the genre of the floral still life, exploring the subtleties of how explosions of riotous color and delicate bouquets have been captured across three centuries of artistic activity. In each case, from an Dutch master from the early 1600s or a Modernist arrangement from the early 1900s, she has faithfully documented the conventions and idiosyncrasies of how flowers were presented, cultivating her own blossoms in her greenhouse to ensure period authenticity. Her images display a kind of technical accuracy that is thoroughly impressive, where backdrops, tabletop accessories (like shells and insects), and even the angle and strength of the light are controlled with precise perfection. Tulips, peonies, roses, and dozens of other varieties have never looked so good.

While there is a certain awe inspiring wonder that comes from standing in front of these fastidious pictures, even though we are flower collectors, I was surprisingly less than moved by the conceptual inversion being explored. I can imagine one of these pictures hanging in a collector's home, and having that person trick visitors with the image, gleefully explaining that it's not a painting but a photograph, and everyone nodding their heads in respectful, smiling amazement, putting their faces right up close to inspect the details. Or it seems likely that a museum might hang one directly next to a period painting to show the similarities and differences (see the link below). Either way, this of course dives directly into the idea of what truth means in photography, and into the evolution of approaches to "natural" picture making across various time periods. But somehow, while I was obviously struck by the technical mastery of these photographs, they made less of an overall impression than I was expecting. When the "gee whiz" factor wears off, we're still looking at beautiful floral compositions we've seen before (albeit in a different medium); I realize that this is the point, but if I tell the truth, while these are pictures I should love, they somehow left me with a sense of being slightly underwhelmed.

Collector's POV: The works in this show are priced between $7000 and $9500, based on size. Core's work has slowly begun to enter the secondary markets in recent years, with prices at auction ranging between $8000 and $81000. The images from her series of Thiebaud cake recreations have been routinely at the top end of that range.

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

Transit Hub:

• Feature: Minneapolis Institute of Arts blog (here)

Sharon Core: 1606-1907
Through December 23rd

Yancey Richardson Gallery
535 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011

Auction Results: Contemporary Art, Parts I and II, May 12 and 13, 2011 @Phillips

Phillips was resoundingly bested by its two larger rivals in terms of photography results in the Spring Contemporary Art season. Only 3 out of the top 9 photo lots in these sales found buyers and the Total Sale Proceeds missed the Low end of the range by a meaningful margin. With Sotheby's at roughly $10M and Christie's at roughly $12M for photo proceeds, Phillips tally at $1.5M looks pretty paltry indeed.

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

Total Lots: 50
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $2270000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $3338000
Total Lots Sold: 39
Total Lots Bought In: 11
Buy In %: 22.00%
Total Sale Proceeds: $1508975
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Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):

Low Total Lots: 12
Low Sold: 10
Low Bought In: 2
Buy In %: 16.67%
Total Low Estimate: $86000
Total Low Sold: $100375
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Mid Total Lots: 26
Mid Sold: 23
Mid Bought In: 3
Buy In %: 11.54%
Total Mid Estimate: $652000
Total Mid Sold: $654100
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High Total Lots: 12
High Sold: 6
High Bought In: 6
Buy In %: 50.00%
Total High Estimate: $2600000
Total High Sold: $754500

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 45, Andreas Gursky, Brasalia Plenarsaal II, 1994, at $500000-700000; it did not sell. The top outcome of the sales was lot 43, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #422, 2004, at $350500.

89.74% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 4 surprises in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 246, Vik Muniz, After Yves Klein (Pictures of Color), 2001, at $56250 (image at right, top, via Phillips)
Lot 248, Vik Muniz, Tackle (Pictures of Chocolate), 2001, at $84100
Lot 249, Sharon Core, Various Cakes, 2004 at $27500 (image at right, bottom, via Phillips)
Lot 396, Paul McCarthy, Dick & Broom, 1997, at $12500
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Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Part I) and here (Part II).

Phillips De Pury & Company
450 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Auctions: Contemporary Art, Parts I and II, May 12 and 13, 2011 @Phillips

Phillips completes the Spring Contemporary Art season in New York later this week with a two-part various owner auction on Thursday and Friday. Compared to the other two major houses, the photo consignments in these sales are quite a bit more modest, with a Gursky and a pair of Shermans as the headliners. All in, there are a total of 50 lots of photography available across the two sessions, with a total High estimate for photography of $3338000.
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Here's the statistical breakdown:

Total Low Lots (high estimate up to and including $10000): 12
Total Low Estimate (sum of high estimates of Low lots): $86000
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Total Mid Lots (high estimate between $10000 and $50000): 26
Total Mid Estimate: $652000

Total High Lots (high estimate above $50000): 12
Total High Estimate: $2600000
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The top photography lot by High estimate is lot 45, Andreas Gursky, Brasalia Plenarsaal II, 1994, at $500000-700000.

Here's the short list of photographers represented by three or more lots in the sales (with the number of lots in parentheses):

Vik Muniz (5)
Thomas Ruff (4)
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(Lot 250, Sharon Core, Early American, Lemons, 2007, at $5000-7000, image at right, bottom, lot 388, Andy Warhol, Sweaters, 1976-1986, at $20000-30000, image at right, middle, and Nikki S. Lee, Part (8), 2003, at $5000-7000, image at right, top, all via Phillips.)

The complete lot by lot catalogs can be found here (Part I) and here (Part II).
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Contemporary Art, Part I
May 12th
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Contemporary Art, Part II
May 13th
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Phillips De Pury & Company
450 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Auction Results: Contemporary Art Evening and Day Sales, November 9 and 10, 2010 @Sotheby's

The positive run for contemporary photography continued at Sotheby's last week, with another set of sales results that topped their Total High Estimate. An Andreas Gursky print crossed the $2 million dollar threshold once again, for the second time this year. With an overall buy-in rate under 18% and more than two thirds of the photo lots that sold selling above their range, it was an excellent outcome all around, even with two out of the top three photo lots failing to find buyers.

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

Total Lots: 39
Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $2999000
Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $4351000
Total Lots Sold: 32
Total Lots Bought In: 7
Buy In %: 17.95%
Total Sale Proceeds: $4412875

Here is the breakdown (using the Low, Mid, and High definitions from the preview post, here):
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Low Total Lots: 0
Low Sold: NA
Low Bought In: NA
Buy In %: NA
Total Low Estimate: $0
Total Low Sold: NA

Mid Total Lots: 21
Mid Sold: 18
Mid Bought In: 3
Buy In %: 14.29%
Total Mid Estimate: $641000
Total Mid Sold: $713750

High Total Lots: 18
High Sold: 14
High Bought In: 4
Buy In %: 22.22%
Total High Estimate: $3710000
Total High Sold: $3699125

The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 8, Andreas Gursky, Frankfurt, 2007, at $1200000-1800000; it was also the top outcome of the two sales at $2098500. (Image at right, top, via Sotheby's.)

93.75% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 2 surprises in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 417, Marilyn Minter, Twins, 2006, at $74500
Lot 419, Sharon Core, Cakes, 2004, at $80500

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

Sotheby's
1334 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021

Auction Results: Carte Blanche and Contemporary Art, Parts I and II, November 8 and 9, 2010 @Phillips

Phillips opened the Fall Contemporary Art season in New York last week with a photographic bang, selling Cindy Sherman's Untitled #153 for $2770500, a new record for the artist and the highest price achieved for a photograph at auction so far in 2010. A second Sherman more than doubled its high estimate to add fuel to the fire. Add a few more positive surprises, and the Total Sale Proceeds for photography covered the high estimate with room to spare.

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

Total Lots: 88

Pre Sale Low Total Estimate: $5344500

Pre Sale High Total Estimate: $7804500

Total Lots Sold: 61

Total Lots Bought In: 27

Buy In %: 30.68%

Total Sale Proceeds: $7939875

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

Low Total Lots: 29

Low Sold: 20

Low Bought In: 9

Buy In %: 31.03%

Total Low Estimate: $194500

Total Low Sold: $164500

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Mid Total Lots: 46

Mid Sold: 30

Mid Bought In: 16

Buy In %: 34.78%

Total Mid Estimate: $1100000

Total Mid Sold: $640625

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High Total Lots: 13

High Sold: 11

High Bought In: 2

Buy In %: 15.38%

Total High Estimate: $6510000

Total High Sold: $7134750

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The top photography lot by High estimate was lot 14, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #153, 1985, at $2000000-3000000; it was also the top outcome of the sale at $2770500. (Image at right, top, via Phillips.)
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88.52% of the lots that sold had proceeds in or above the estimate range. There were a total of 7 surprises in these sales (defined as having proceeds of at least double the high estimate):

Lot 17, Thomas Schütte, Old Friends, 1993, at $962500 (image at right, middle, via Phillips)

Lot 19, Cindy Sherman, Untitled #420, 2004, at $1426500

Lot 33, Matthew Day Jackson, The Lower 48, 2006, at $410500

Lot 275, Roe Ethridge, Cove Corners, Wellfleet, MA, 2005, at $20000

Lot 276, Sharon Core, Boston Creams, 2004, at $16250 (image at right, bottom, via Phillips)

Lot 445, Dash Snow, Untitled (Why Grow Old), 2007, at $16875

Lot 523, Frank Thiel, Stadt 10/04 (Berlin), 2000, at $35000

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Complete lot by lot results can be found here (Carte Blanche), here (Part I) and here (Part II).

Phillips De Pury & Company

450 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022

and

450 West 15th Street
New York, NY 10011

Sharon Core, Early American @Yancey Richardson

JTF (just the facts): 10 chromogenic prints of various sizes, all from 2007/2008, displayed throughout the main gallery (installation shot at right). In editions of 7, some of which are sold out.

Comments/Context: In looking back at my college Art History classes, there was virtually no mention of photography and its relationship to painting. While we might have looked at a few iconic photographs, the influence photography had on painting and vice versa was never discussed or even acknowledged. And yet we know that with the invention of both the Daguerreotype and the Calotype, painting was affected almost overnight, both by the use of photography as a seeing tool, and by the reaction against the sharp detail that was inherent in photography. Since then, the two mediums have played off each other time and again. Pictorialism, where photographs were made to look like paintings, and Photo-Realism, where paintings were made to look like photographs, are two obvious examples, but more subtle influences in color, composition, framing, and usage of light can be found between the two arts over time with very little effort.

Sharon Core has taken this conversation between the two mediums in a new and unexpected direction. Her photographs are still lifes, made in the style of the artist Raphaelle Peale, an American painter of the early 19th century. Still life painting of this type, of course, goes all the way back to the mid 1500s, where Dutch artists made exquisitely detailed and "realistic" paintings of carefully composed tabletop scenes. Peale's paintings represent an American spin on these earlier works, complete with fruits, vegetables, flowers, and utensils common to that particular time and place in American history. Core has steeped herself in the work of Peale (ironically via photographic reproductions in books and catalogs) and made her photographs "in the style" of his work.

Core began this mind bending kind of art a few years ago, with a series of photographs re-enacting the cakes and desserts of Wayne Thiebaud. Taking the original paining as a guide, she would meticulously bake the cakes and set the stage to imitate the sugary world of Thiebaud. These new still life works follow along on this conceptual track. At one level, they can be read as beautifully composed still life photographs; on another level, they can be seen as a multi-layered riff on the interrelationships between the mediums of photography and painting. In particular, because of the "real life" nature of the original paintings, the "truth in photography" discussion is raised again in an original way by these works.

Collector's POV: These prints are priced between $4000 and $7750, depending on size and availability. Magnolia with Wild Leeks, 2008 (shown above at right) was our particular favorite, but all the works are accomplished. The prints benefit from a careful, up close inspection; it is only by really looking carefully that you can see how Core uses photography to imitate painting, down to the painstaking highlights and details. Overall, this is an impressive body of work.

Rating: * (1 star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Sharon Core, Early American

Through December 6th

Yancey Richardson Gallery

535 West 22nd Street

New York, NY 10011