Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated Auction Shares Art From Robert Pattinson’s Curatorial Lens
Sotheby's Contemporary Curated Auctions in New York have welcomed influential figures in music, business, fashion, film, and culture to curate
Victoria Liotta
Sotheby's Contemporary Curated Auctions in New York have welcomed influential figures in music, business, fashion, film, and culture to curate works of art by the most sought-after post-war and contemporary artists since 2013. With editions in London, Milan, and Hong Kong, previous curators including Swizz Beatz, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Aoki, Ellie Goulding, and more, each showcase their unique tastes and interests.
From September 23- September 29, there will be an exhibition of the latest edition of Sotheby's Contemporary Curated Auction in New York from Robert Pattinson, with the auction held on September 30.
“Only Acquire Pieces That You’re Going to Love”
Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Pattinson's advice to collectors is to “Only acquire pieces that you're going to love, no matter what." Adding in, "Just having something which you're going to keep for the rest of your life is probably the best idea.”
"What I look for is when a piece has its own language. It doesn't necessarily feel like it just exists for its own sake and has a presence that hums with a bit of life. It has the ability to communicate with you on a kind of primordial level. I sort of sway between things that feel very profound and cosmic and alien. Then even on the other side, I like subversive, naughty, slightly dangerous stuff as well…” stated Pattinson about his personal taste in art along with his curatorial process.
The 'Batman' star selected an edit of six superlative works of art in the form of many mediums – sculpture, paintings, collages, etc.
Artwork from names, such as Richard Serra and Willem de Kooning with rising stars such as Genieve Figgis and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, will be a panorama of contemporary art from post-war to present day.
Carefully Curated By Robert Pattinson
Courtesy of Sotheby’s
Willem de Kooning
Untitled
1964
Oil on vellum mounted on linen
Estimate: $1,800,000 – $2,500,000
“De Kooning can capture so much energy, and this work feels incredibly fresh, present, and exciting. Looking closely, it is incredibly sensual and quite tasty. At this time de Kooning is still using the same set of tools, but he's trying to create some kind of new form using the same framework as before. It represents an interesting period of transition," shared Pattinson
Richard Serra
Rotation #9
2011
Paint stick on hand-made paper
Estimate: $200,000 – $300,000
Pattinson explained his reason for choosing this one, “I love sculptors' sketches. There's an energy to this work, a kind of dynamism and Serra is just great at capturing movement. Up close, it's just a completely different thing with an enormous level of detail to it. I love the shape of it, and it feels so much
more dense and intricate, but still holds a lot of energy.”
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Old Rope
2006
Oil on canvas
Estimate: $100,000 – $150,000
“You can look at this painting and see Yiadom-Boakye is telling a story in color and texture and you can really feel that there's
a past and a future to her paintings. There's a kind of mystery to her work and an abundance of stories in them, but they all
feel very generous. She creates these characters that feel like they're kind of waiting for you, which is something I really like
about them. I just want to have one in my house, that's my main reaction; ‘Yeah, I want one of those," the actor explained.
Anselm Kiefer
Sag mir wo die Blumen sind (Where have all the flowers gone)
2012
acrylic, emulsion, oil and shellac on canvas
Estimate: $800,000 – 1,200,000
“I like a lot of Kiefer's works. Again, I was looking at a lot of different paintings in preparation for this and a lot of his paintings tower over you, but it's all-encompassing at the same time. I was looking at a lot of his different works and it kind of seems like they have a very intense, kind of viscous gravity," Pattinson shared.
“Curating this group of paintings has been a really exciting process and an honor for me. To be able to experience and have a dialogue with these works according to my taste–and to place massive titans of 20th-century art next to living artists–has been really satisfying," shared Pattinson.
He explained, "As an actor, I’ve always felt a certain amount of synesthesia between different art forms and being able to connect them together—whether that is a sculpture or a song or an acting part, all at the same time. Acting has made me realize that there is an interconnectedness between all art forms, and it made the process of curating the sale a fascinating and fun experience for me."
Visit Sotheby's to preview the rest of Robert Pattinson's vision for the auction on September 30.