104
104

NEW WAVE - NEW BEAT: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTION

William Kentridge
COLLAGE ON LEVIATHAN PAGES (COMMONWEALTH)
Estimation
Irrevocable Bids
Lots with this symbol indicate that a party has provided Sotheby’s with an irrevocable bid on the lot that will be executed during the sale at a value that ensures that the lot will sell. The irrevocable bidder, who may bid in excess of the irrevocable bid, will be compensated based on the final hammer price in the event he or she is not the successful bidder or may receive a fixed fee in the event he or she is the successful bidder. If the irrevocable bidder is the successful bidder, the fixed fee (if applicable) for providing the irrevocable bid may be netted against the irrevocable bidder’s obligation to pay the full purchase price for the lot and the purchase price reported for the lot shall be net of such fixed fee. If the irrevocable bid is not secured until after the printing of the auction catalogue, a pre-lot announcement will be made indicating that there is an irrevocable bid on the lot. If the irrevocable bidder is advising anyone with respect to the lot, Sotheby’s requires the irrevocable bidder to disclose his or her financial interest in the lot. If an agent is advising you or bidding on your behalf with respect to a lot identified as being subject to an irrevocable bid, you should request that the agent disclose whether or not he or she has a financial interest in the lot.
UK: Greenford Park
Lots marked W will be sent to Greenford Park Fine Art Storage Facility immediately after the auction.
Artist's Resale Right
Purchase of lots marked with this symbol will be subject to the payment of the artist's resale right.
Double Dagger
Indicates that the lot is being sold whilst subject to Temporary Importation, and that VAT is due at the reduced rate
Guaranteed Property
Guaranteed Property. The seller of lots with this symbol has been guaranteed a minimum price from one auction or a series of auctions. If every lot in a catalogue is guaranteed, the Conditions of Sale will so state and this symbol will not be used for each lot.
120 000 — 180 000
GBP
Lot. Vendu 175,000 GBP (Prix d’adjudication avec commission acheteur)
ACCÉDER AU LOT
104

NEW WAVE - NEW BEAT: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTION

William Kentridge
COLLAGE ON LEVIATHAN PAGES (COMMONWEALTH)
Estimation
Irrevocable Bids
Lots with this symbol indicate that a party has provided Sotheby’s with an irrevocable bid on the lot that will be executed during the sale at a value that ensures that the lot will sell. The irrevocable bidder, who may bid in excess of the irrevocable bid, will be compensated based on the final hammer price in the event he or she is not the successful bidder or may receive a fixed fee in the event he or she is the successful bidder. If the irrevocable bidder is the successful bidder, the fixed fee (if applicable) for providing the irrevocable bid may be netted against the irrevocable bidder’s obligation to pay the full purchase price for the lot and the purchase price reported for the lot shall be net of such fixed fee. If the irrevocable bid is not secured until after the printing of the auction catalogue, a pre-lot announcement will be made indicating that there is an irrevocable bid on the lot. If the irrevocable bidder is advising anyone with respect to the lot, Sotheby’s requires the irrevocable bidder to disclose his or her financial interest in the lot. If an agent is advising you or bidding on your behalf with respect to a lot identified as being subject to an irrevocable bid, you should request that the agent disclose whether or not he or she has a financial interest in the lot.
UK: Greenford Park
Lots marked W will be sent to Greenford Park Fine Art Storage Facility immediately after the auction.
Artist's Resale Right
Purchase of lots marked with this symbol will be subject to the payment of the artist's resale right.
Double Dagger
Indicates that the lot is being sold whilst subject to Temporary Importation, and that VAT is due at the reduced rate
Guaranteed Property
Guaranteed Property. The seller of lots with this symbol has been guaranteed a minimum price from one auction or a series of auctions. If every lot in a catalogue is guaranteed, the Conditions of Sale will so state and this symbol will not be used for each lot.
120 000 — 180 000
GBP
Lot. Vendu 175,000 GBP (Prix d’adjudication avec commission acheteur)
ACCÉDER AU LOT

Details & Cataloguing

Contemporary Art Day Auction

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Londres

William Kentridge
B. 1955
COLLAGE ON LEVIATHAN PAGES (COMMONWEALTH)
signed and dated 2000 on the 18th sheet
printed paper collage, coloured pencil, graphite and pins on linen, in 24 parts
each: 29.2 by 19.1 cm. 11 1/2 by 7 1/2 in.
overall: 193.4 by 89.9 cm. 76 1/8 by 35 3/8 in.
Lire le rapport d'état Lire le rapport d'état

Provenance

Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2000

Description

This theatrical collage comprising 24 uniquely individual character drawings represents a truly rare collection of William Kentridge works based on his Puppet Drawing Series executed in 2000. The brooding figures illustrated in Collage on Leviathan Pages (Commonwealth) have all been delicately cut and assembled from ripped pages of construction paper; their edges blurred forming an incomplete series of images. Their rough outlines are tentative and subject to manipulation with contours personifying a distant cloud or jagged mountain range. However ambivalent the shapes appear, they are clearly characters of intense misery, hunched, cloaked and dragging their emotional oppression.

Kentridge’s work focuses on his deep entrenchment in the social and economic situation of South Africa, specifically Johannesburg when he grew up. In his work, which encompasses a variety of media, including drawing and paintings, installations and video or set and costume design for opera and theatre, the artist aims to project a profound personal statement, imbuing all of his production with a deeply authentic biographical narrative, delving into deep exploration of the thorny world of the late apartheid.The ambiguous characters that populate his creations, represent the harrowing result of the unending social devastations of the landscape, with an intense focus on oppression and power divide. The dramatic shadows we see in Collage on Leviathan Pages (Commonwealth) are heightened in melodrama due to their textured monochromatic facade contrasting the intriguing pages they lie on.

Kentridge’s choice for the background of this collage was no accident. The book Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes was written in 1651 and describes the social complexities and warfare of the emerging world and is considered a founding text of Western thought. Kentridge draws comparisons from this body of text to his thoughts towards the hostiles in South Africa. Hobbes highlights "during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is every man against every man"(Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan Volume I, London 2011, n.p.).

Collage on Leviathan Pages (Commonwealth) is a kinetic flow of heightened expressivity where we are drawn into the relationship between each character as our gaze passes over the composition. In parallels to Kentridge’s Procession series, the present work announces the beginning of a fluid production, creating appetite and anticipation for the next scene as the imagery develops. Through Kentridge’s spontaneous inventiveness, the drawings flourish from his accidental and transformative imagination where surrealist techniques animate his creative imagery. Collage on Leviathan Pages (Commonwealth) is a truly unique piece of artistry, combining Kentridge’s delicate interpretation of life following a devastating conflict with Hobbes written accusation of men’s consistent desire for blood, wealth and power.   

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Contemporary Art Day Auction

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Londres