Auction Alert: We Ain’t dED Yet

We Ain’t dED Yet is a timed, online auction that’s live right now. It ends on Sunday 17^th September 2023 at 3pm. There are 26 lots in total, donated by artists such as Gavin Turk, Adam Broomberg, Jeremy Deller and Imranovi. In the run-up to the sale, the items form an exhibition at Gallery 46 in Whitechapel, London.

Back for its 4th edition, Art the Arms Fair and Demilitarise Education are presenting We Ain’t dED Yet, an exhibition aiming to expose and oppose DSEI arms fair through art. The award-winning art exhibition runs from 11-17 September and culminates with a cross-category online auction… The proceeds will be donated to support the work of Demilitarise Education in their campaign for universities to sever ties with the global arms trade.

Lot 1: EPI

‘GUNRUNNER’
Silkscreen print on 350gsm watercolour paper. Unframed dimensions: 59.4cm x 84.1cm. Produced in 2023 specifically for this exhibition. This is a unique work. The artist produced 2 smaller sized AP’s in the following dimensions: 29.7cm x 42cm.
Estimate: £1,000 – £3,000

To participate in Art The Arms Fair this year will be a wonderful opportunity both to protest against the senseless commercialisation of war, and in some small way to lend my voice along with some hugely talented artists in supporting the commendable work of dED_ucation. Plus it’s one in the eye for Oxford University, who turned me down for a modern languages degree and forced me into a life of painting crap for a living. C’est la vie, I suppose. – EPI

Lot 2: Ken Nwadiogbu

‘Freedom to Love 2’
Charcoal and acrylic on cardboard paper. This is a unique work. Signed on verso. Produced in 2022. Unframed dimensions: 41cm x 41cm.
Estimate: £1,200 – £1,900

I recall an article I encountered, bearing the headline “FINALLY FREE.” It sparked a reflection on the significance of freedom and our unending pursuit to liberate ourselves from various burdens: be it pain, debt, memories, obstacles, illness, or the chains of enslavement. The discourse on freedom serves as a poignant reminder of its immeasurable worth, reigniting our resolute commitment to its attainment. Within the realm of Freedom Protesters, my endeavor revolves around crafting a protest tableau utilizing the simplest of protest materials—the humble cardboard paper. – Ken Nwadiogbu

Lot 4: Kyle Goen

‘Gaza Love Stamp’
30 stamps on a sheet. Dimensions of each unframed stamp sheet: 21.6cm x 28cm. The auction lot includes 5 sheets. Produced in 2023. Limited edition of 100. Numbered on recto. Artwork for sale includes 51/100, 52/100, 53/100, 54/100, 55/100.
Estimate: £200 – £600

Gaza Love was more influenced by General Idea’s AIDS piece and Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Renegades’ album cover than Robert Indiana. However I realize neither transgression would have been possible without Indiana’s iconic LOVE.
Why am I participating in this year’s edition of Art The Arms Fair? Any chance to act in solidarity with Palestine or with people working in solidarity with Palestine, is a must for me. – Kyle Goen

Lot 6: Kyle Goen

‘Let Art Be Training in the Practice of Freedom’
Button up shirt, mixed media. Framed dimensions will be updated in due course. This is a unique work, artist’s own. Produced in 2022.
Estimate: £320 – £480

The ‘Let Art Be Training In the Practice of Freedom’ shirt was in my show of the same name, and is a humble attempt at honouring Vivienne Westwood for everything she did trying to transform society. – Kyle Goen

Lot 10: Gavin Turk

‘Fire Water’
Gold foil, glass bottle and shelf. This is a unique work. Produced in 2019. Sculpture dimensions: 36.2cm x 9.8cm x 7.7cm. Shelf dimensions: 25cm x 15cm x 13cm. COA provided by the artist upon acquisition.
Estimate: £8,000 – £12,000

In today’s political and environmental climate, it is more important than ever to decouple education and the arms trade, and bring about peace and understanding – Gavin Turk

Lot 12: Dr.d aka Subvertiser

‘Reduce Greed Now’
Hand-pulled screen print on a recycled road sign, made with permanent vegetable inks (eco-friendly, water based). Limited edition of 50, numbered and signed on verso. Artwork for acquisition is 3/50. In collaboration with Carry On Screening. Unframed dimensions: 52.7cm x 44cm. COA available upon acquisition from the artist. Produced in 2022.
Estimate: £150 – £300

Lot 16: Elizabeth Eade

‘Bang’
Mixed media, including second world war bullets, crystals and 24k gold. Dimensions are approx. 45cm x 45cm x 45cm. Produced in 2023 specifically for this exhibition. This is a unique work.
Estimate: £2,000 – £4,000

‘Bang’ commands attention. Yet, beneath the surface lies a profound exploration of the consequences of our actions and the lasting impact they leave on the world. The striking contrast between the burgundy velvet base and the mirror, immediately draws the viewer’s attention. The darkness of the bloodied velvet serves as a poignant backdrop for the shattered round mirror, hinting at a narrative of destruction and loss. The choice of 24k gold-plated Second World War bullets accentuates the sculpture’s underlying message. Each bullet, adorned in gold, carries with it the weight of historical conflicts and human suffering. The juxtaposition of opulence and warfare serves as a powerful commentary on the links between luxury culture, capitalism and war. – Elizabeth Eade

Lot 23: Zedsy

‘Stop Bombing’
Spray paint on aluminium road sign. Unframed dimensions: 45cm x 45cm. Produced in 2023. This is a unique work. COA provided by the artist upon acquisition.
Estimate: £400 – £600

Graffiti artists and military personnel have a lot in common – we both spray our ammunition. But paint is a bit less deadly and can be used as a force for good. – Zedsy

Designer Desire: Wayne Thiebaud

If Edward Hopper ever painted cakes and ice cream, his artworks would probably look like this. Wayne Thiebaud’s work is intrinsically American; the subject matter, the style, the colour…

If you really look at a lemon meringue pie or a beautiful cake, it’s kind of a work of art

Born in Mesa, Arizona, artist Wayne Thiebaud (1920-2021) grew up mainly in Long Beach, California where he remembers that he:

…sold papers on the beach, was a lifeguard in high school. So the beach was, and is, very much a part of my memory and my actual experience.

Another one of his jobs was at Mile High and Red Hot, a café famed for its stacked ice-cream cones and hot dogs. There were also, Thiebaud remembers, “rows of pies”.

After he graduated from high school in 1938, Thiebaud took on a variety of jobs, including one as a cinema usher. He worked at the Rivoli in Long Beach, where he illustrated the occasional promotional poster. The many hours that he spent milling around the snack counter and the reception area – which was furnished with promotional stills and lobby cards, had a great effect on him. Cinema snacks such as candy, soda, ice cream and popcorn have all featured prominently in his work since then, as have masks, show girls, ticket-sellers and other theater-related subjects.

As a boy, Thiebaud dreamed of becoming a cartoonist, like his uncle, and did a brief stint at Disney as an “in-betweener”, drawing the interstitial actions of animated characters between their headline motions. Apparently, he’d trained himself to draw Popeye with both hands simultaneously, which helped him get the gig. Unfortunately, this job lasted a mere three months, he was fired for participating in union activities.

He spent the early stages of his career in commercial art and advertising, honing his drawing and learning about shadow, light and line. He served an apprenticeship as a sign painter/showcard illustrator at Sears, Roebuck and Company.

During World War II, Thiebaud served in the U.S. Army Air Force; he didn’t become a pilot, instead, he was part of the Special Services Division where his tasks included drawing comic strips for the newspaper at a military base.

After the war, he earned his bachelors and masters degrees from Sacramento State College (now California State University, Sacramento) and commenced being an art teacher. He enjoyed teaching and encouraged his students to learn from the great painters but to plow their own furrow creatively. In 1960, he was appointed to the faculty of the University of California Davis, where he taught for over 30 years.

Thiebaud experimented using different media, such as pen and ink, oils, watercolours, charcoal and pencils. Around 1964, he branched out into printmaking, collaborating on etchings and other projects with Crown Point Press in California.

Thiebaud’s career as a fine artist didn’t really take off until a watershed 1962 exhibition at the Allan Stone Gallery in Manhattan. He’d travelled to New York City from California with a bundle of his food paintings – which had received a less than enthusiastic reception from most dealers. However, Stone was intrigued and offered him a solo show.

It has never ceased to thrill and amaze me the magic of what happens when you put one bit of paint next to another.

Thiebaud’s work has been exhibited in major museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Smithsonian.

As you’d expect, a number of books and catalogues have been published about him and his work – many are available from Abe Books and Amazon.

I wake up every morning and paint,” he added. “I’ll be damned but I just can’t stop.
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Additional image credits:
The National Gallery of Art

Designer Desire: James McIntosh Patrick

Born in Scotland, James McIntosh Patrick (1907-1998) was an etcher, fine art painter, printmaker and educator.

From 1924, he attended the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art during which time he won many prizes and gained a scholarship. His meticulous landscape etchings caught the attention of a London print dealer, and in 1928 he received an important commission for editions of prints. With the collapse of the print market during the Great Depression, Patrick turned to oil painting, but his attention to detail in landscape remained his trademark.

From 1928, he showed at the Royal Acadamy and from 1934 at Fine Art Society. He was elected to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (the RSA) in 1957. He taught part-time at Dundee College of Art.

During WWII, Patrick served in the Camouflage Corps. Post-war was when he became famous for his intricate, realistic landscapes – especially of the area around his home town of Dundee.

Key solo exhibitions were held in 1967 at Dundee City Art Gallery and at Dundee, Aberdeen and Liverpool in 1987. A decade later, a 90^th birthday celebration was held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.

Patrick’s work is held in the collections of Dundee Art Galleries, Fleming Collection, Walker Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery amongst others.

As well as fine art landscape and portrait paintings in oils and watercolour, Patrick designed a number of publicity posters for British Railways of numerous Scottish tourist destinations including Crieff, Dunnottar Castle, Edinburgh, Loch Leven, Oban and St Andrews.

Easel in the Field: the Life of Mcintosh Patrick is available at Abe Books and Amazon. As well as the book, an auction sale catalogue was published in 1998 – Christie’s: The James McIntosh Patrick Collection – it accompanied a sale of personal effects furniture and artworks (his own and those of other artists) from his own collection.

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Additional image credits:
Art UK | Christies

Designer Desire: Maurice Wade

Maurice A. Wade (1917-1991) was a British painter who specialised in documenting the industrial landscapes of the Stoke-on-Trent area.

Maurice Wade worked in using a monochromatic or very limited palette in a manner reminiscent of Trevor Grimshaw or Jack Simcock. He had a very Northern Industrial sensibility, although he and his subject matter are from the Potteries. Even though

Wolstanton-born Wade studied at Burslem School of Art. After moving away for many years – initially serving in the army during WWII – Wade returned to the Potteries in 1951, to teach art at a local primary school. He made his home in Longport, an area that he would use as the subject of many of his landscape paintings, of which there’s believed to be around 300 to 340 in total.

During his career he exhibited at Société des Artistes Français (where he was a gold medallist and exhibitor hors concours), the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Industrial Painters Group.

On a simple level, these paintings of kilns, mills and huddled houses, often reflected in the tranquil canal waters, were recording the future past, but like Hammershoi’s grey Copenhagen facades and Hopper’s Cape Cod cottages, they tell us something about our own lives and of our own place in the world. ^_credit

Wade’s work is collected by OMD lead singer and bass guitarist, Andy McCluskey. The musician owns at least 21 of his paintings and held an exhibition of the works entitled Silent Landscapes which took place at Trent Art Gallery in 2022. A book to accompany the exhibition was published. Entitled Maurice Wade Silent Landscapes The Andy McCluskey Collection (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark OMD).it is available via Trent Art or Amazon.

McCluskey has shared:

These paintings are a snapshot of a moment in time – they don’t have any people in them – and they connect me to my own background. There’s a ubiquity to these neglected, northern industrial landscapes, although they are the same but different.

Wade’s work is held in the Government Art Collection, the V&A Wedgwood Collection (one of the most important industrial collections in the world and a unique record of over 260 years of British ceramic production), Beecroft Museum and the University of Hull.

Image credits:
ArtUK | Invaluable | Trent Art

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/mar/18/andy-mccluskey-maurice-wade-artist-silent-landscapes-exhibition

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Tag: fine art