Ben Nicholson

Five Circles - Abstract British Circles Modernism

1934/1962

JEAN [HANS] ARP 1886-1966 Strasbourg, France 1886 - 1966 Basel, Switzerland (German/French) Title: Untitled, from Le Soleil Recerclé, 1962-65 (Black circle small shapes) Technique:...

This original aquatint in colours is hand signed by the artist in pencil "Sam Francis" at the lower right margin. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 25, at the lo...

This original lithograph in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist "G. Braque" at the lower right margin. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 75, at the lo...

This original etching and aquatint in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist “Miró” in the lower right margin. It is also hand numbered in pencil from the edition of 50, in ...

Beautiful modernist figurative abstract with birds, a large scale vertical dual panel original serigraph, "Golden Haven I, and "Golden Haven II", by Phil Paradise...

Shusaku Arakawa Still Life, from To and From Rrose Selavy, for Marcel Duchamp, 1967 Limited Edition Silkscreen on velincarton (thin board) paper 10 1/2 × 13 1/4 inches Limited Edition of 60 Hand signed, titled and dated on the front Unframed The entire portfolio, including the present work, is referenced in the Marcel Duchamp catalogue raisonne: Arturo Schwarz The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp, Abrams, P.532, 344c Eager to share Marcel Duchamp with Japanese audiences, Shuzo Takiguchi - a Japanese-born poet, critic, and artist with ties to Surrealist circles, assembled an international portfolio of graphic works by various artists with strong ties to Duchamp, to accompany the deluxe version of his monograph, "To and From Rrose Sélavy". The present work was created for this portfolio by one of Marcel Duchamp's friends, Shusaku Arakawa. It is signed, dated and titled on the front - and can be exhibited both vertically and horizontally - (see photos). The present work, along with others in the portfolio, was published in Japan and is rarely found stateside. Shusaku Arakawa (荒川 修作 Arakawa Shūsaku, July 6, 1936 – May 18, 2010) who spoke of himself as an “eternal outsider” and “abstractionist of the distant future,” first studied mathematics and medicine at the University of Tokyo, and art at the Musashino Art University. He was a member of Tokyo’s Neo-Dadaism Organizers, a precursor to The Neo-Dada movement. Arakawa’s early works were first displayed in the infamous Yomiuri Independent Exhibition, a watershed event for postwar Japanese avant-garde art. Arakawa arrived in New York in 1961 with fourteen dollars in his pocket and a telephone number for Marcel Duchamp, whom he phoned from the airport and over time formed a close friendship. He started using diagrams within his paintings as philosophical propositions. Jean-Francois Lyotard has said of Arakawa’s work that it “makes us think through the eyes,” and Hans-Georg Gadamer has described it as transforming “the usual constancies of orientation into a strange, enticing game—a game of continually thinking out.” Quoting Paul Celan...

John Baldessari Pillow Cases in Bespoke Presentation Box (one pillowcase hand signed by John Baldessari) for The Thing Quarterly Issue 22, 2014 Silkscreen on 100% cotton 320 thread count sateen pillowcases (Hand signed by John Baldessari) Boldly signed in ink by John Baldessari on one of the pillowcases (see photo) Unframed One of the pillowcases is hand signed in ink by John Baldessari: John Baldessari was one of the artists who were invited to contribute an object (or "thing") with text for a special project for "The Thing" publication (read on for more on "The Thing") ; the conceptual object therefore had to incorporate text. Baldessari's contribution in 2014 was a silkscreened pillowcase with text. A limited (unknown) number of these pillowcases were marketed and sold as a set of two in a bespoke box. However, exceptionally, Baldessari hand signed a very few of pillowcases in ink. This is one of the very special sets bearing one hand signed pillow case - purchased directly from "The Thing". (a copy of the 2014 receipt is shown here.) The rest of these boxed sets were not hand signed. The pillowcase is brand new, and will look gorgeous once pressed and framed by a professional framer. More about this boxed set: Issue 22 of THE THING Quarterly is by LA-based conceptual artist John Baldessari. It consists of two 100% cotton sateen pillowcases featuring an image of a woman clutching a pillow. The black and white image is taken from a Hollywood film still in Baldessari's collection and has been silkscreened on each pillowcase with environmentally-friendly, water-based ink. The pillowcases are standard-sized and envelope-style. For those who like their thread count high, the issue clocks in at a solid 320 thread count. Measurements: Box 10.5 inches by 13 inches by 2 inches Pillow 20 inches vertical by 26 inches What was The Thing Quarterly? THE THING was an experimental publication created in collaboration with Will Rogan as part of an artist residency. We saw it as a quarterly periodical in the form of an object. Each year, four artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers were invited to create an everyday object that somehow incorporates text. The object is reproduced and hand wrapped at wrapping parties and then mailed to the homes of the subscribers with the help of the United States Postal Service. It began as part of an artist residency in San Francisco’s Southern Exposure. Will and I had met in grad school at UC Berkeley and discovered our mutual affinity for quarterlies. He was a librarian at SFAI for five years and I had been a high school teacher for five years. WE were both interested pushing the boundaries of publication. Our plan was to create a 1 year publication with four artists, but from the very start the project generated so much interest and international excitement that we found ourselves running a publication complete with a brick and mortar storefront and a staff of four individuals. After 10 years, 34 issues, 59 projects and countless live events, we decided to end the publication in order to pursue our individual projects. We are still working together on a less ambitious new project, and hope to launch it at some point in 2021. CONTRIBUTORS: have included John Baldessari, Dave Eggers, Miranda July...

the painting is being offered with a work and authenticity certificate