Ken Price Geometric Cup on the Block at Cowan's + Clark + DelVecchio's November 4-5 Ceramics Auction Following the success of Cowan's + Clark + DelVecchio's June 4, 2011 ceramics sale, we are pleased to announce our third ceramics auction to take
place the weekend of November 4-5, 2011. The two day
result of two strands of inquiry that stretch through Mason's oeuvre. One is his use of the cross form, a shape, together with "X", that has fascinated the artist from the start. The other
strand is conceptual mathematics, which in part produced the intriguing complex geometry of this work.
A lamp by Dan Dailey titled Nude Surprised in the Garden is estimated at $60,000/80,000. This work is from a small group of lamps that Dailey made in 1997-98. He tried to create a feeling in each piece that has to do with the
presence of character in the particular figure, in this case a posturing in a way which suggests a proud and independent atttitude.
A piece by David Smith titled Plate with Nude, is estimated at $35,000/50,000. The plate is a unique work, painted and drawn into the green-hard porcelain
directly from a life model. Smith went to great lengths to ensure that the composition of the figure within the round format of the plate was appropriate, dragging a huge steel pipe into the studio and posing his models inside.
Another sculpture by Peter Voulkos titled Standing Bull, is expected to sell for $25,000/45,000. Standing Bull is an exceptional muscular work by Voulkos
that was not previously known to exist. It is an exciting addition to the artist's oeuvre. It was authenticated in a 2003 letter from Rudy Autio to the current owner. The bull appears in drawings on early pots and later in 1954
when Voulkos was appointed Professor of Ceramics at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angelos.
Garth Clark notes, "One of the great things about an auction is that it flushes out the attic and in this case there are 3 pieces by Voulkos that have not been
seen before, most notably this "Bull" sculpture.
A pair of Jackson Pollock Bookends are estimated to bring $10,000/15,000. One who is mainly known for his abstract expressionist work, Pollock's ceramic work
rarely surfaces. Pollock was involved in a battle to win the heart of a fellow student, Alice Crosby, in competition with his close friend at the school, Philip Guston. To woo her, he and Guston drew portraits of Alice and gave them
to her as gifts. Three of these drawings, one by Pollock and the others by Guston, are part of this lot. Pollock decided to up the ante and made her a pair of bookends in the ceramics department, which remained in her possession with the drawings until they were acquired by the current owner in 1984.
A Nakashima Floor Lamp is estimated at $10,000/15,000. Three horizontal holly rings and three vertical walnut uprights surround a laminated rice paper. The
main walnut support is connected to a very thick triangular walnut base with a free edge front.
A Glass Head titled Ned by Hank Adams is expected to bring anywhere between $12,000/18,000. Adams has been awarded three Fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts. His work has been featured in numerous one-man exhibitions both
