MacDougall Auctions 2-3 December 2009
2 December 2009
* § 554. NEY, ALEXANDER B. 1939
Saxophone Player, c. 1980
Terracota, 63.5 by 28 by 43 cm.
4,000-6,000 pounds
Provenance: Private collection, USA.
Provenance has been confirmed by the artist
Authenticity has been confirmed by the artist.
Exhibited: Group Exhibition, Bowles-Hopkins Gallery, San Francisco, California, 1983.
Related literature: For similar works, see Alexander Glezer, Contemporary Russian Art, Tretya Volna, New York, Moscow and Paris, 1993.
In Pursuit of Meaning: Alexander Ney, Moscow, National Centre for Contemporary Arts, 2009.
Leningrad-born painter and sculptor Alexander Ney, a markedly individualistic member of the nonconformist movement during the late 1950s and 1960s, emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1972, which made him one of the earliest figures of the Russian Emigre Art scene. An exemplary piece from his prolific body of work, Saxophone Player employs the artist’s unique futuristic vision of the plasticities of the human form, complimented by a highly-detailed skin — painstakingly hand-perforated by the artist — that seems to breathe life into the terracotta sculpture. The breathtaking result, a fusion of both ancient aesthetic wisdoms and understandings of modern art, is a prime demonstration of this artist's valuable contribution to the history of contemporary art.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.