Ed Tang’s Top Picks From First Open/NYC
Ed Tang
Specialist, Head of First Open, Post-War & Contemporary Art
LOT 250
Peter Fischli (b. 1952) & David Weiss (1946–2012)
Der Furz (from the Quiet Afternoon series)
$20,000–30,000
“I’ve always loved photography and this work by Swiss conceptual artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss is a very iconic piece with a strong exhibition history. The composition has a wonderful sense of movement with chairs and various bottles suspended in space. Ultimately, it’s a great piece at a great price point.”
LOT 28
Jim Nutt (b. 1938)
Gulf
$50,000–70,000
“This somewhat quirky work—in a signature ‘Nutt’ frame—ticks all the boxes of a great Jim Nutt work. It’s a vibrant display of the artist’s painterly precision and uniquely whimsical approach to portraiture. The sitter’s asymmetrical stare and bewildering nose conjure an otherworldly vision reminiscent of Picasso, and Nutt himself has influenced a wide range of artists, including Jeff Koons. Street artist KAWS is also a big fan.”
LOT 33
Gerhard Richter (b. 1932)
Mustangs
$250,000–350,000
“Gerhard Richter is one of my favorite living artists. I really love how this work—a photographic print of a painting that Richter completed in 1964—plays with his artistic practice and shows the depth of what he’s able to do as an artist. It’s got great presence, and it features a really beautiful motif…in fact, this specific model of plane would have held significant personal resonance for Richter, as the Mustang was deployed in the British assault on Dresden in 1945, an event witnessed by the artist during his childhood.”
LOT 188
Matthew Barney (b. 1967)
Drawing Restraint 9
$90,000–120,000
“This rare, museum-quality work fuses together film and sculpture brilliantly. While invited to prepare a solo show at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Japan, Barney became fascinated by how Japanese customs and Shinto practices build relationships between objects and people. Throughout his film Drawing Restraint 9, Barney highlights the power of these relationships from the perspective of two foreign characters, played by him and his partner at the time, the Icelandic singer Björk who composed the music for the film and whose MoMA retrospective begins in March.”
LOT 177
Jon Pestoni (b. 1969)
High Life
$20,000–30,000
“This is the first time we are offering at auction a work by Jon Pestoni, and we are very excited about this work. With its impressive scale and arresting colors, it’s a very strong work visually and physically. I love the sentiment—the optimism—behind the work, which is summed up in its title, High Life.”