In the past two months, major auction houses have been busy with autumn auctions. Following the success of Sotheby’s, Christie’s, China Guardian, and others this season, the upcoming November auction at Phillips will feature the mother of American modern art, Georgia O’Keeffe, in New York and Hong Kong, as well as a series of works by one of the most influential contemporary artists, Yayoi Kusama, to kick off the auction season!
Georgia O’Keeffe is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, her works featuring vibrant, oversized flowers have become classics of American modern art, and the most expensive artwork by a female artist ever sold at auction comes from her flower series. Her unique style influenced the “Polka Dot Queen” Yayoi Kusama’s work, encouraging her to move to New York and thus shaping Yayoi Kusama’s distinctive artistic language and remarkable achievements in the contemporary art world.
At the “20th Century and Contemporary Art” evening auction held in New York this season, Georgia O’Keeffe’s famous painting from the “Hawaii” series, “Red Ginger Flower – Hawaii,” will make a significant appearance. This painting, which is the first to appear at the auction in nearly 30 years, is one of the most important works from the “Hawaii” series. Its prestigious origin, having been privately held for a long time, now reappearing at the auction is expected to attract intense bidding.
The “Hawaii” series originated in 1939 when the artist was invited to stay in Hawaii for two months. During this journey, she created about 20 pieces, with 14 already included in museums, making the remaining pieces in private collections extremely rare, including the “Red Ginger Crab Claw Flower – Hawaii” presented this season. This piece showcases the artist’s unique visual language and bold use of colors, perfectly capturing her independent spirit, love for adventure, and the inspiration she continuously discovers from nature.
In addition, the Hong Kong Autumn Auction is also full of highlights! Christie’s will present a joint “20th Century and Contemporary Art and Design” auction with Poly Auction this season, featuring several representative works by Yayoi Kusama. In addition to the previously announced museum-grade large-scale soft sculpture “Repetition,” there are also masterpieces featuring the artist’s most iconic polka dot and net elements such as “Infinity Net (OPRT),” “Star of Summer QPTW,” and “Butterfly,” offering a retrospective of Yayoi Kusama’s legendary artistic journey.
“The Infinity Net” is the most iconic series by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, and this season presents “Infinity Net (OPRT)” as a moving masterpiece in this series. Unlike the earlier black and white tones, this charming pink painting embodies her incorporation of color into the theme of nets, with a more spontaneous brushstroke compared to other works in the “Infinity Net” series. The irregular net patterns overflow the canvas, appearing more dynamic and lively, making this predominantly pink piece a rare find in the “Infinity Net” series, showcasing its uniqueness.
“Summer Starlight (QPTW)” evokes the immediate joy brought by her giant flowers and pumpkin sculptures. These dots bathe in a red background, each presented individually with differences in color and size. The spheres emerge from a pool of blood, vaguely suggesting the continuous reproduction of pathogens, symbolizing different celestial bodies connected by gravity and orbit. These dots expand and contract, derive and decay, succinctly embodying the theme of Yayoi Kusama’s art creation – “decomposition and accumulation, reproduction and separation, the annihilation of cosmic particles, unheard echoes.”
“Butterfly” is a delicate work that brings together the classic artistic vocabulary of artists such as net patterns, dots, and nature. Butterflies have a very high symbolic significance in Japanese culture, where it is commonly believed that the recently departed soul will take the form of a butterfly and fly to eternal life and peace. Yayoi Kusama, who shuttles between Japan and the United States, dealing with personal ups and downs and unpredictable spirits, her butterfly imagery can be seen as a powerful symbol of the artist’s self-transformation.
In this season’s New York and Hong Kong “20th Century and Contemporary Art” auctions, Sotheby’s will bring two leading figures representing modern art from the East and West to collectors, creating much anticipation! With the works of these two art masters, will Sotheby’s be able to achieve outstanding auction results this quarter? Everyone is eagerly waiting to find out!
Learn more: Phillips
