28th Oct, 2018 8:30
Historic, Modern and Contemporary Art
72
Penny Siopis (South Africa 1953-)
Tapers
oil and candles on canvas
Artwork date: 1982
Exhibited: Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, Penny Siopis: Time and Again, December 2014.
Literature: Smith, K. ‘Penny Siopis’ in Sophie Perryer. (ed.) (2004). 10 Years, 100 Artists: Art in a Democratic South Africa. Cape Town, Bell-Roberts Publishing, p.346.; Smith, K. (ed.) (2005). Penny Siopis. Johannesburg: Goodman Gallery, colour illustration on p.14.; Viljoen, G. (ed.) (2014). Penny Siopis: Time and Again. Johannesburg: Wits University Press, colour illustration on p79.
Sold for R512,100
Estimated at R400,000 - R600,000
Condition Report
To be restored. Professional report to follow.
Please note, we are not qualified conservators and these reports give our opinion as to the general condition of the works. We advise that bidders view the lots in person to satisfy themselves with the condition of prospective purchases.
oil and candles on canvas
Artwork date: 1982
Exhibited: Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, Penny Siopis: Time and Again, December 2014.
Literature: Smith, K. ‘Penny Siopis’ in Sophie Perryer. (ed.) (2004). 10 Years, 100 Artists: Art in a Democratic South Africa. Cape Town, Bell-Roberts Publishing, p.346.; Smith, K. (ed.) (2005). Penny Siopis. Johannesburg: Goodman Gallery, colour illustration on p.14.; Viljoen, G. (ed.) (2014). Penny Siopis: Time and Again. Johannesburg: Wits University Press, colour illustration on p79.
(1)
99 x 99 cm
Notes:
Tapers (1982) offers multiple insights into the work of one of South Africa’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Penny Siopis. In a review of the artist’s 2009 Paintings exhibition,
Marilyn Martin, former Director of Iziko South African National Gallery, observed how the artist’s ‘career reveals extraordinary shifts and changes, but leitmotifs have presented
themselves since the beginning: allegory, ritual, sexuality, vulnerability, estrangement and the uncanny’,1 many aspects of which are present in this significant early work. Siopis’s cake paintings are amongst her most sought-after works, conjuring images of the family bakery in Vryburg in the Northern Cape that was so integral to her primal memories and
formative years.
Isolated on a veridian field, the columnar pedestal with its angled table top and tapers redolent of offering, becomes an iconic statement. Tapers, common to both celebratory and religious activities, and lit in votive rituals or for prayers of intercession, emerge from crumbling cakes. As luscious in their subject as in their materiality, the alluring associations of cake with sexuality and seduction are inescapable. Abundance swiftly shifts into acquisitive excess – the indulgence and decadence prescient of the crumbling of an
old order in the 1980s. In her remarkable painting, Siopis brings together ethics and aesthetics to raise questions about South African society. The question remains: ‘Can one have one’s cake and eat it?’
Emma Bedford
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.