Visual harmonies: How to pair works in different mediums
We asked three specialists to pair two of their favourite works from on paper | online, a new cross-category sale which offers a contemporary approach to an age-old medium
Rachael White, Post-War and Contemporary Art specialist
Rachael White, Post-War and Contemporary Art specialist, with George Baselitz’s Untitled (Red Mother with Child), painted in 1985, and the larger Rains, by Kenneth Noland, from the same year
In spite of the differences in their subject matter and the nationalities of their makers, I see something comparable in these two artworks. I think it’s perhaps that both artists decided to use rich, bold, saturated colour palettes together with heavy textures, whether it’s the embossed quality of Kenneth Noland’s Rains or the brushy, painterly feel of Georg Baselitz’s Untitled (Red Mother with Child).
Georg Baselitz (b. 1938), Untitled (Red Mother with Child), 1985. Gouache and watercolour on paper. 29¾ x 23 in (75.6 x 58.4 cm). Estimate: $15,000–25,000. This work is offered in on paper | online, 23 February–7 March
Kenneth Noland (1924–2010), Rains, 1985. Monotype in colours with hand-colouring on handmade paper. Sheet: 81½ x 52½ in (207 x 133.3 cm). This work is unique. Estimate: $8,000–12,000. This work is offered in on paper | online, 23 February–7 March
There is also a strong sense of abstraction elicited by both artworks. As Baselitz does with all his inversion paintings, by flipping the figures in Untitled (Red Mother with Child) upside-down he challenges us to look objectively at the artwork — primarily focusing on colour and shape — just as we might do with a purely abstract work of art such as Noland’s Rains.
Anne Bracegirdle, Photographs specialist
Anne Bracegirdle, Photographs specialist, holds Untitled, 1982, by Sean Scully, alongside David Maisel’s Terminal Mirage 5, created in 2003
I chose these two vibrant works because they exemplify the Abstract Expressionist influence and aesthetic parallels seen across categories in this sale. Similar to his paintings, Sean Scully’s works on paper are a steadfast commitment to abstraction.
David Maisel (b. 1961), Terminal Mirage 5, 2003. Chromogenic print, flush-mounted on Dibond, face-mounted to Optium Acrylic. Image/sheet/flush mount: 48 x 48 in (122 x 122 cm). This work is number five from an edition of five. Estimate: $8,000–12,000. This work is offered in on paper | online, 23 February–7 March
Sean Scully (b. 1945), Untitled, 1982. Pastel and graphite on paper. 11 x 14 in (27.9 x 35.5 cm). Estimate: $15,000–25,000. This work is offered in on paper | online, 23 February–7 March. Property from the Collection of Ruth and Jerome Siegel
The visual harmony and rich saturation of Untitled (1982) are mirrored in the photograph from David Maisel’s Terminal Mirage series, which focuses on industrial pollution in and around Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Both artists exhibit a controlled use of abstraction that establishes a tension that is at once thoughtful and beautifully complex.
Lindsay Griffith, Prints specialist
Lindsay Griffith, Prints specialist, with her choice of Night Sky 3, 2003, by Vija Celmins, alongside Fulton Ferry Landing, Manhattan Skyline, Brooklyn, New York, June 1996, by Vera Lutter, from 1996
I’ve always been drawn to works in black and white across mediums, and two of my favourite examples from this sale are the Vija Celmins Night Sky print and Vera Lutter’s Fulton Ferry Landing, Manhattan Skyline, Brooklyn, New York photograph. Both images have much in common, particularly the technique that was used and the artists’ melding of traditional and contemporary iconography.
Vija Celmins (b. 1938), Night Sky 3, 2003. Copperplate bright white paper. Image: 14⅝ x 18⅝ in (37.2 x 47.3 cm); sheet: 19⅞ x 23¾ in (50.5 x 60.3 cm). This work is a special proof aside from an edition of 65. Estimate: $6,000–8,000. This work is offered in on paper | online, February 23–7 March
Vera Lutter (b. 1960), Fulton Ferry Landing, Manhattan Skyline, Brooklyn, New York, June 1996. Photogravure with aquatint and drypoint. Image/sheet: 18⅞ x 23¾ in (47.9 x 60.3 cm). Estimate: $7,000–9,000. This work is offered in on paper | online, February 23–7 March
Lutter’s photograph uses the camera obscura technique to capture the New York skyline, an effect that she achieved by projecting images through a pinhole. Negative and positive space play a similar role in the print by Celmins, in which different gradations of light and shadow are conveyed with a variation in ink tone. I also love that both images share a strict economy of form, where the most basic shapes, tones and lines are used to create something novel and compelling.