3rd Mar, 2019 12:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
98
Stephen Conroy (United Kingdom 1964-)
Head Study
oil on board
Artwork date: 1990
Signature details: signed and dated on the reverse; inscribed with the title on an artist's label on the reverse
Condition Report
Previously framed behind glass, good.
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 on board
Artwork date: 1990
Signature details: signed and dated on the reverse; inscribed with the title on an artist's label on the reverse
(1)
24.5 x 20 cm
Notes:
Stephen Conroy was born in 1964 in Dumbarton in Scotland, and studied at the famous Glasgow School of Art from 1982 to 1987. His reputation as a brilliant, intelligent and evocative figurative painter was established early on, with much positive critical reception for his sold-out degree show, and a Royal Academy prize under his belt before even graduating.In 1987 he was the youngest artist included in ‘The Vigorous Imagination’, the main exhibition at the Edinburgh Festival of that year, and the show which helped establish contemporary Scottish art as one of the most important European enclaves. The exhibition recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, and commemorative shows hung Conroy’s work alongside that of the slightly older and, at the time, more famous Steven Campbell, now deceased, and with whom Conroy’s work is often compared.Conroy went on to hold his first one-person show at Marlborough Fine Art, one of the most prestigious London dealers, in 1989. His style and thematic have remained consistent, driven by his depiction of quite softly realised, warmly lit but enigmatic figurative subjects. Often these subjects strike curiously formal poses, and are often depicted in a liminal, threshold space, as in The Entrance I, posed irresolutely in a dimly-lit doorway. The comparison beween this work and Head Study is instructive for the ways it demonstrates his characteristic palette, depiction of a crepuscular light, and the uncannily uniform appearance and deadpan faces of his subjects. It has been suggested that, in the subtle evocation they have of another time, as well as the lack of obvious emotion, that his figures echo the work of Gilbert and George. But his oeuvre is without doubt his own, peopled with a mysterious and timeless cast of beautifully observed characters, of which these two paintings are perfect examples.
James Sey
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Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 3rd Mar, 2019
Aspire Art Auctions set a new bar for the market in its Autumn 19 Auction in Cape Town, with a South African auction record for its cover lot.
An early work, by international star Marlene Dumas, Love Lost (1973/4) achieved R7 283 200, more than doubling its pre-sale estimate of R3 000 000. Further successful sales included a range of paintings by Alexis Preller from across his career, and new world records for work by Jane Alexander, Simphiwe Ndzube, and Moshekwa Langa. These results further establish Aspire’s growing reputation as the discerning auction house for handling contemporary South African art.
HIGHLIGHTS
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