Both are unusual examples of the artists’ works, challenging typical perceptions of life and childhood.
October 20, 2022: Auction house Christie’s has announced that this season’s 21st Century Evening Sale is led by a duo of masterpiece sculptures: Jeff Koons’ Jim Beam - J. B. Turner Train (estimate: $15,000,000-20,000,000) and Charles Ray’s Revolution Counter-Revolution (estimate: $3,000,000-5,000,000). The works, by two of the most renowned contemporary artists, challenge one’s perception of quotidian objects, and explore themes of movement, physical space, childhood, and novelty.
Mr. Koons’ 1986 made Jim Beam - J. B. Turner Train marks one of the artist’s first forays into highly polished steel as a medium. He continues to use steel even todaynow. Filled with Jim Beam bourbon, the sculpture was originally inspired by a novelty object produced by the Jim Beam company to sell whiskey. It was a core component of Koons’ seminal Luxury and Degradation exhibition, largely recognized to be a turning point for the artist, marking the start of his meteoric rise to international fame.
Meticulously crafted, Revolution Counter-Revolution (1990-2010) is an iconic work by Mr. Ray, exemplifying the deliberation and purposeful pace that has marked his work. With a platform operating on one planar axis and the horses on another, Revolution Counter-Revolution is a self-contradicting carousel, presenting a desynchronization of time. Conflating whimsy and discord, it is demonstrative of the artist’s singular ability to create subversion within systems.
The sculptures will be on offer in the 21st Century Evening Sale on November 17, 2022.
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