Phillips’ London New Now Auction on 13 July to be Led by Andy Warhol’s Flowers

Sale on 13 July to Feature Highlights Chosen by Stella McCartney from the McCartney A to Z Manifesto, and a Selection of Six Works Donated to Benefit the Africa First Residency Program

Phillips has announced highlights ahead of the New Now sale in London. The sale will be led by Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, KAWS, Banksy, Josh Smith, Kehinde Wiley, Lynn Chadwick, Alex Katz, and Kudzanai-Violet Hwami. Further highlights include works by younger stars Salman Toor, Erik Parker, Genieve Figgis, Jonas Wood, and Eddie Martinez. A group of 12 works chosen by Stella McCartney from her McCartney A to Z Manifesto will be offered in the sale, with proceeds going to charities chosen by the artists to feature, included amongst which are Joanna Vasconcelos, Sam Taylor-Johnson, and Cindy Sherman. For the first time, Phillips will offer an NFT in London, titled Phytocene by musician Agoria, Oscar-winning sound designer Nicolas Becker and bio-physicist Nicolas Desprat. Also on offer is a selection of works from contemporary African artists including Amani Lewis and Wonder Buhle Mbambo whose work has been donated by Africa First in order to benefit the Africa First Artist Residency Program. The New Now sale is comprised of over 230 lots and will take place on 13 July at 2pm.

Simon Tovey, Specialist, Head of New Now, said, “In true New Now fashion this vibrant contemporary curation presents blue-chip artists such as Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter alongside younger artists with rising markets such as Salman Toor and Genieve Figgis. We are delighted to feature 12 works by contemporary artists chosen by Stella for her McCartney A to Z Manifesto, with the proceeds going to charities chosen by the artist of each work. Another exciting group is a selection of works donated by Africa First to raise funds for their Artist Residency Program which provides essential support for emerging artists from Africa and the African diaspora. We are thrilled to present to both established collectors and those starting out with our sale this July and look forward to welcoming visitors to the preview exhibition in person at our galleries on Berkeley Square and online on Phillips.com from 7 to 12 July.”

Stella McCartney, said, “During lockdown, I reached out to 26 artists asking if they’d collaborate by picking a letter from my A to Z and visualising it with free rein. Many have been intimate friends for years while others I’ve met organically on my travels through fashion; some I just connected with because I’ve always admired them.

I was astonished when each of them kindly agreed to create a piece, and it has been a huge privilege and joy to work with them. My gratitude is boundless. Each artist’s letter is essential to our guiding alphabet, spelling out the conscious intentions we live by every day we go to work. I am honoured to see these works in the Philips New Now Sale alongside so many other incredible artists from around the world, helping to create a better future by raising funds for so many important causes.”

Leading the New Now sale is Andy Warhol’s Flower’s. A pioneering exponent of the Pop Art movement in the U.S. in the 1960’s, Andy Warhol found the inspiration for his iconic hibiscus silkscreen Flowers in the 1964 issue of Modern Photography. Painted in different colourways between 1964-1965, Flowers went on to debut at Leo Castelli Gallery. The present work is one of the original signed examples.

Key highlights of the sale include Gerhard Richter’s Zwei Kerzen, 1993, a uniquely executed Cibachrome, reminiscent of the artist’s highly regarded series of paintings of Candles from the 1980s. Other notable works include KAWS’s Untitled (C3PO), with a cartoon-like skull, each eye socket marked with an X, painted atop the robotic torso of the android C-3PO, an iconic character from the Star Wars franchise. The two crossed bones and ‘X’ eyes reimagine the universal symbol of the skull using the unmistakable iconography of Brooklyn-based artist, KAWS.

Younger artists to feature in this include Pakistan-born and New York-based figurative artist Salman Toor, who deftly blends European art historical reference with autobiographic elements, a style which is particularly pronounced in Holy Goat, where the vernacular of European Romanticism is fused with charged symbols particular to Pakistani and South Asian religious and cultural practice. Genieve Figgis’s Family in the Grass picks away at broader notions of English civility as much as more historically specific attitudes to land, women, and conceptions of ownership. The work embodies her appropriation of visual codes associated with the 18th century domestic family portrait or ‘conversation piece’ to gently ironise the socio-cultural ideals that it maintained. Other emerging artists to highlight in this sale include Jeff Sonhouse, Erik Parker, Jonas Wood, and Eddie Martinez.

A selection of 12 works chosen by Stella McCartney from her McCartney A to Z Manifesto will feature in New Now. This includes artists such as Joanna Vasconcelos, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Cindy Sherman, Chantal Joffe, Sir Peter Blake, Linda McCartney, and George Condo with the proceeds from the sale of these 12 works going towards charities chosen by the artists. More about the McCartney A to Z Manifesto: During the global pause brought on by the pandemic, Stella McCartney recognised that we could use the time spent in lockdown to drive a positive change for the planet and return to the world more mindful of what matters. She created the McCartney A to Z Manifesto which is a pledge to create and deliver a more sustainable future – a guiding alphabet defining who her brand is and what it hopes to be. To visualise the A to Z Stella reached out to contemporary artists to collaborate by picking a letter from the alphabet and creating a work of art inspired by the Manifesto’s values in their visions.

A group of six works donated by Serge Tiroche, the founder of Africa First, will feature. Previously held in the Africa First collection, proceeds from the sales of these works will go towards the Africa First Residency Program which supports emerging artists from Africa and the African diaspora. As well as supporting the work and international reach of established artists through its collection and well-established lending programme, the Africa First Residency Program is part of a movement aimed at improving and expanding the infrastructure for emerging talent through the provision of studio space, creation of new museums, galleries, art fairs and arts programmes. Drawing on traditional craft practices, digital technologies and a rich history of portraiture, the present works are from contemporary artists Wonder Buhle Mbambo, Amani Lewis, Simphiwe Ndzube, Moffat Takadiwa Igshaan Adams, and Emmanuel Taku.

Auction: 13 July 2021

Auction viewing: 7-12 July 2021

Location: 30 Berkeley Square, London

Click here for more information: https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/UK010321