Phillips Editions, Photographs, and Design

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Phillips is pleased to announce highlights from the Editions, Photographs, and Design Auction in Hong Kong on 12 December. Featuring nearly 120 lots, the sale brings a diverse selection of Editions from blue-chip artists and rising stars, including Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, David Hockney, Zao Wou-ki, Mehdi Ghadyanloo, and Ewa Juszkiewicz; important works by 20th and 21st century photographers, such as Steven Klein, Flip Schulke and Eiji Ohashi; and an array of Japanese and Scandinavian Design. Prior to the auction, the preview will be held at Phillips’ Asia headquarters in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District from 3 to 12 December.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM EDITIONS
One of the top lots in the Editions section is Yoshitomo Nara’s sculpture, Mori Girl. Executed in his characteristic kawaii style, Nara’s most pervasive motif, a little girl poses as a tall forest tree. With Mori Girl’s large, cartoon-like eyes and her reserved, endearing smile, Nara departs from the usual humorous and satirical style in his previous works, returning to a more pure and peaceful state of mind. Also highlighting the sale is Yayoi Kusama’s A Pumpkin (YOR-A) (K. 326), which brings together the artist’s most recognisable motifs. Kusama is one of the most coveted artists in the world, and for collectors looking to shape their body of work, an editioned Kusama work has become a popular way to begin. Besides a series of paintings in portraits of his friends and family, Tiananmen is an exceptional subject matter throughout Zhang Xiaogang’s artistic career, such as Tian’anmen Series (7 works) featured in this season’s auction. With the establishment of the new China era, to Zhang, Tiananmen Square is the portrait of the Chinese people.

Phillips is pleased to present works hailing from three prominent collections in the Editions section this season, including lithographs and etchings by Zao Wou-Ki, from the collection of the artist’s daughter, Sin-May Roy Zao. Further highlights are a group of Yoshitomo Nara’s iconic etchings published by the Japanese KIDO Press Gallery, and a selection of Western works from a private Asian collection, including three works by David Hockney highlighted by the screenprint Above and Beyond, from Some More New Prints (G. 1625, M.C.A.T. 339).

HIGHLIGHTS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
A diverse and exciting selection of photographs showcases the full expressiveness of the medium. Following its Asian debut of ULTIMATE STEVEN KLEIN in June, Phillips is pleased to present Steven Klein’s Kate Moss Study #7, which illustrates his distinctive approach to fashion photography as a means of storytelling. Eiji Ohashi’s serene and evocative Roadside Lights #145 captures one of Japan’s ubiquitous vending machines in Hokkaidō after a record snowfall, presenting a meditation on nature and commercialism.

Flip Schulke’s Ali Underwater captures the strong ambition of young up-and-coming boxer Cassius Clay (later Muhammed Ali). Knowing Schulke’s success with water sports photography, Clay invited him to shoot while he trained in a pool, claiming that punching underwater was as effective as training with weights. Schulke captured a series of photographs of the boxer flexing, punching, and training in a hotel swimming pool. It was only later that Schulke found out that Clay did not typically train in a swimming pool and, in fact, did not know how to swim. Nonetheless, Schulke’s photograph has become one of the most definitive images of the legendary fighter.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM DESIGN
The Design section will feature pieces by Japanese and Scandinavian designers, led by Shiro Kuramata’s Early ‘How High the Moon’ two-seater sofa. Widely admired for his ability to free designs from gravity and use materials in ways that defied convention, Kuramata creates objects that stretch structural boundaries and are also visually captivating. The present lot represents themes central to Kuramata’s oeuvre in both its use of industrial material as medium to blur the boundaries between art and design, and the artist’s characteristic imbuement of cerebral musings into his designs: in this case, the endeavour to minimise gravity while simultaneously occupying expansive volume through the use of planes of porous mesh welded to construct the sofa’s visually massive form.

A pioneer of Danish modern design, Hans J. Wegner is celebrated for his iconic creations that seamlessly blend craftsmanship and artistic innovation. He designed this now-iconic ‘China’ chair after seeing an illustration of an antique round-back Chinese chair in a book about chair typologies throughout history. He simplified the form into its most clear and logical design while also utilising the best materials and superb craftsmanship, making it a classic example of Danish Modern design.