28th Oct, 2018 8:30
Historic, Modern and Contemporary Art
55
Keith Alexander (South Africa 1946-1998)
Barley Fields
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 1990
Signature details: signed and dated
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 1990
Signature details: signed and dated
(1)
300 x 169 cm
Notes:
The enigmatic, hyper-realist and compelling work of Keith Alexander is mesmerizingly demonstrated in these two examples of very different landscapes, Barley Fields (1990) (Lot
55) and The Delivery (1990) (Lot 56) which, at this scale, are not often seen by the artist. His meticulous desert landscapes, often with a surrealistic touch, are what many think of as definitive of his work – fantasy ruins rise out of the sand; a gemsbok, often a lead character in Alexander’s imagination, surveys a postapocalyptic vista. His definitively Africanised, if fantasised, scenes are perhaps why his reputation was so cemented in international markets, often selling out European exhibitions. These two deceptively straightforward paintings are given their gravitas partly by both being three metres high – massive panels depicting two very different tableaux.
In Barley Fields a solitary pied crow perches on a blasted tree trunk emerging from the titular barley field. It surveys a rich, undulating field of grain, partly reaped in geometric patterns. In the upper two-thirds of the canvas the immense Southern African summer sky, the same one to stretch over Alexander’s beloved Zimbabwe and Namibia, builds up in meticulously painted cumulonimbus storm clouds. The Delivery depicts a very different landscape, albeit returning to his favourite arid sites for inspiration. In a remote desert town, two workers deliver crates of Lion Beer (as their Ford Model T delivery truck indicates) to what may be a hotel bar in the Karoo. The hotel itself looms, immaculately rendered, in the right foreground. Above the two deliverymen, reduced in the landscape to an insignificant detail, a very different sky, though still a Southern African one, is laid out, dusted with high cirrus clouds. The vastness of both landscapes, though really both are skyscapes, is only possible with canvases of this size. Every inch of each is put to minutely detailed use by this consummate painter.
James Sey
You can place an absentee bid through our website - please sign in to your account on our website to proceed.
In the My Account tab you can also enter telephone bids, or email bids@aspireart.net to log telephone/absentee bids.
Join us on the day of the auction to follow and bid in real-time.
The auction will be live-streamed with an audio-visual feed.
Auction: Historic, Modern and Contemporary Art, 28th Oct, 2018
Aspire Art Auctions brought a significant double-header of top lot leads to this sale.
Stellar results were achieved for internationally prominent William Kentridge and Alexis Preller, one of South Africa’s most respected and collectable modern artists. Collectors were attracted to Kentridge’s remarkable, Drawing from Stereoscope (Double page, Soho in two rooms) (1999), which sold for R6 600 400, while Preller’s Adam (1972), sold for a world record at R9 104 000. Modern offerings also included works by Peter Clarke, Kenneth Bakker, and Douglas Portway, while the contemporary segment included Moshekwa Langa, Penny Siopis, Simon Stone, Clive van den Berg, and Georgina Gratrix, amongst others.
HIGHLIGHTS
Currency conversions are based on the exchange rate at the auction's start time and date. Bidders should verify the current exchange rate on the day of the sale. All invoices and payments must be made in South African Rands.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Logistics
While we endeavour to assist our Clients as much as possible, we require artwork(s) to be delivered and/or collected from our premises by the Client. In instances where a Client is unable to deliver or collect artwork(s), Aspire staff is available to assist in this process by outsourcing the services to one of our preferred Service Providers. The cost for this will be for the Client’s account, with an additional Handling Fee of 15% charged on top of the Service Provider’s invoice.
Aspire Art provides inter-company transfer services for its Clients between Johannesburg and Cape Town branches. These are based on the size of the artwork(s), and charged as follows:
Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R480
Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R960
Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,440
Over-size: Special quote
Should artwork(s) be collected or delivered to/from Clients by Aspire Art directly, the following charges will apply:
Collection/delivery ≤20km: R400
Collection/delivery 20km>R800≤50km
Collection/delivery >50km: Special quote
Packaging
A flat fee of R100 will be added to the invoice for packaging of unframed works on paper.
International Collectors Shipping Package
For collectors based outside South Africa who purchase regularly from Aspire Art’s auctions in South Africa, it does not make sense to ship artworks individually or per auction and pay shipping every time you buy another work. Consequently, we have developed a special collectors’ shipping package to assist in reducing shipping costs and the constant demands of logistics arrangements.
For buyers from outside South Africa, we will keep the artworks you have purchased in storage during the year and then ship all the works you have acquired during the year together, so the shipping costs are reduced. At the end of the annual period, we will source various quotes to get you the best price, and ship all your artworks to your desired address at once.
Aspire Art will arrange suitable storage during, and cost-effective shipping at the end, of the annual period.
Collections
Collections are by appointment, with 24-hours’ notice
Clients are requested to contact the relevant office and inform Aspire Art of which artwork(s) they would like to collect, and allow a 24-hour window for Aspire Art’s logistics department to retrieve the artwork(s) and prepare them for collection.
Handling Fee
Aspire Art charges a 15% Handling Fee on all Logistics, Framing, Restoration and Conservation arranged by Aspire.