This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd
Christie Manson & Woods Ltd
8 King Street, St. James's, London, SW1Y 6QT, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 2869
Brought to you by
Lot Essay
For his 2017 exhibition ‘New Paintings’ at the Saatchi Gallery, artist and fashion designer Arthur Yates employed a radical strategy. ‘In the past’, he said of his earlier paintings, ‘it was where I’d just create something that I liked, and they were just a bit pretty and didn’t have much to them, so I wanted to free myself from myself.’ To make this leap to freedom, Yates turned to the Internet. He called for submissions of pencil drawings, his only condition being that the subjects must be drawn from sight of memory. As he recalls, ‘the idea was to get sketches and works from public – so now I have this army online of people who create things for me. I get given what I get given, and I create a new canvas. All the randomness and the chaotic nature of this is what I like, and has freed me from expectations’. Layering the images he has been sent in rich, palimpsestic compositions like A Concerto Notes the Insect, Yates conjures a surprising beauty from this hive-mind of imagery. The work presents a mosaic of things seen by people around the world: a hand, a lightbulb, a tennis racket, bagpipes, a stuffed koala, a puppet, mugs of coffee, a pair of headphones. If many of the objects are recognisable or even comforting in their domesticity, they also speak of the journey of the creative process, of artists casting their eyes over their surroundings for inspiration. Hovering in delicate charcoal and pastel outlines against a flat, tan background, the drawings are as ghostly and intangible as ideas; they stop at a blank border, an endless space waiting to be filled with a layered diversity of human experience. Post Lot Text Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. VAT rate of 20% is payable on hammer price and buyer's premium.
Related Articles
Sorry, we are unable to display this content. Please check your connection.
More from
Online: Handpicked 50 Works selected by the Saatchi Gallery
You have agreed to be bound by the Conditions of Sale and if your bid is successful, you are legally obliged to pay for the lot you have won. The purchase price for a successful bid will be the sum of your final bid plus a buyer’s premium, any applicable taxes and any artist resale royalty, exclusive of shipping-related expenses.
Condition report
A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.
The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.
For condition report requests, please email the sale coordinator Marie-Claire Thijsen mcthijsen@christies.com
Print Report
Cost calculator
Enter your bid amount for an estimated cost
Bid amount
Please enter numbers onlyAmount must be higher than the starting bidAmount must be higher than the current bid