Mapping Modernities charts the trajectories of artists who both physically and artistically traversed the globe throughout the 20th century. Indeed, a map does not just chart, or guide one’s journeys - it unlocks and formulates meaning, forming bridges between disparate ideas that we did not know were previous connected.
This curated auction showcases how artists migrated from East to West and vice versa; how traditions from the Orient informed and transformed avant-garde ideas in Europe and North America, and likewise how artists from throughout Asia redefined modernity in light of external influences. Such journeys are rarely linear or simple, Sotheby’s Mapping Modernities curates works that delves into the complexities and wonders of such explorations.
綜觀整個二十世紀，全球各地的藝術家四出遊歷，彼此交流，他們在現實世界中留下足跡，同時在藝術版圖中烙下思想火花碰撞的印記。本次拍賣以「現代紀」為題，為上世紀的藝壇繪製一卷波瀾壯闊的百年地圖。地圖本來用作記錄山川水文，或者為旅人指路；除此之外還能發揮引導作用，發掘全新的文化內涵，不同思想體系之間搭建溝通橋樑。
本次拍賣會反映了東、西方藝術家昔日的往來，窺探遙遠東方國度的傳統如何影響並改變歐美藝術的前衛思想，以及亞洲藝術家面對西學東漸時，如何重新定義作品的現代性。這種雙向影響很難透過一條時間線簡單呈現，蘇富比透過本次拍賣，深入探討這段複雜的歷史，並從中掇菁擷趣，以饕藏家所求。
Following Sotheby’s historical sale of Mai Trung Thu’s Portrait de Mademoiselle Phuong which set a new record for any Vietnamese artwork at auction, the Modern Art, Asia team is proud to present Memory and Modernity: Mai Trung Thu Paintings from an Important Private European Collection, an extraordinary ensemble of four paintings by the artist from his early days in the 1930s to the dusk of his life in the 1970s. Emerging from an Important European private collection, they bear witness to the exquisite taste of their owner, a friend of the master’s family. The four paintings were acquired in the 1990s directly from the family of Mai Trung Thu, giving the artworks an even more meaningful dimension.
繼枚中栨（梅忠恕）名畫《芳小姐的肖像》刷新越南藝術品的拍賣紀錄後，蘇富比現代藝術部在本次拍賣誠獻一組重要歐洲私人收藏的枚氏精品。此組作品以「撫今追昔」為主題，創作時期橫跨1930 年代至 1970 年代，涵蓋藝術家近半世紀的創作人生。此組作品的藏家與枚氏家族交好， 90年代直接向枚氏家族購得此四幅畫作，可見其品味之清雅高致。
Leading the abstract section is a magnificent work by Zao Wou-Ki, 25.09.60 hailing from a golden era that witnessed the launch of the Hurricane Period, Zao's most significant period of maturity and originality. Conveying an abstract scene of otherworldly charm, this masterpiece exemplifies Zao Wou-Ki’s experimental fusion of Western oil painting and Eastern aesthetic doctrine.
領銜抽象佳作當屬趙無極的《25.09.60》，這幅出自藝術家黃金時期的傑構見證了「狂草時期」的誕生，開展其創作生涯裡充滿原創精神的成熟篇章。趙無極嘗試結合西方油畫技巧與東方美學，淬煉出別樹一幟的抽象風格，此畫正是箇中典例。
25.09.60
oil on canvas, 1960
油畫畫布，1960年作
Estimate: 35,000,000 - 45,000,000 HKD
The auction will feature the works of abstract masters, including Chabris by Georges Matheiu, an early canvas work that structures with a modern architectural aesthetic, Sol y tractor II by Fernando Zobel, a painting showcases the artist’s enhanced understanding of color and his highly systematic abstract vernacular, and Untitled by Jose Joya, a rare composition embraces the core principles of American Expressionism through the medium of ceramic.
同場呈獻之抽象佳作包括法國抒情抽象大師喬治·馬修六〇年代以建築美學為創作基礎的《沙布里》、西班牙裔藝術家費南度・索培爾通過色彩層次來探索抽象視覺效果的《太陽與曳引機II》、以及菲律賓最早涉足抽象繪畫之一的藝術家荷西·荷雅以陶瓷為媒材探索抽象表現主義精髓的三聯屏作品《無題》。
