Atong Atem, Fruit of the Earth 2016. Pigment ink-jet print. 77.0 x 51.0 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Mars Gallery (Melbourne).
I love a good artist auction. What is an artist auction you may ask? It’s when an artist donates a work of theirs for a cause that they want to support. Buying a piece from an artist-led auction is a great way to achieve a number of art collecting goals simultaneously – buy an original artwork (tick), support the artist’s practice (tick) and support a cause that’s close to the artist’s heart and yours (tick tick).
To celebrate the Monash Gallery of Art (MGA)’s 30 year anniversary, they are joining forces with some of their (and our) most beloved Australian photographers to auction off 21 artworks on Wednesday 26 May. Sale proceeds will be shared equally between the artists who have donated their work and the MGA, and the MGA’s portion will go towards supporting their programs and exhibitions (which in turn, support artists and the community too).
Here I’ve share my top 5 picks from the auction with you, our Art Collector and Art Supporter members. If you’d like more information on any of these works, or would like to register to bid, get in touch and I’d be happy to assist. Tickets are also available to attend the auction event, complete with the all-important beverages and canapes from here.
Bill Henson
Born Australia 1955
Untitled 2017–18
Pigment ink-jet print
69.8 x 90.8 cm
Courtesy of the artist, Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (Sydney)
Edition: 1/5
Estimate: $10000
To start off we have the big macher (that’s Yiddish for big shot FYI), Bill Henson. No introduction necessary, Bill is one of the leading living Australian photographers, with a practice spanning decades and representation in all of Australian’s national collections. In this piece, the metallic pearl paper glows right through the boys’ body. With Henson’s signature use of light, we can almost feel the touch of the boys’ hand and his shimmering fingertips. Note also the limited edition size – a (small) edition of 5 is highly unusual for a photographer artist, and it’s a very practical size too.
Katrin Koeninng
Born Germany 1978; arrived Australia 2003
The hours 2015
From the series The crossing
Pigment ink-jet print
30.0 x 30.0 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Reading Room (Melbourne)
Edition: 4/6
Estimate: $1500 – $2000
Another photographer who achieves that which is often unachievable – Katrin Koenning elevates the image to an artwork. What is captured here is the moody temperament of the crashing waves. Is it really a photograph? Maybe it’s a painting? What is the difference between the two? Koenning won the 2019 Bowness Photography Prize and had a solo exhibition Swell in the same year at the MGA, which addressed the collective state of environmental urgency in which we find ourselves.
Hoda Afshar
Born Iran 1983
Twofold 2014
From the series In the exodus, I love you more
Pigment-ink-jet print
47.0 x 59.0 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Milani Gallery (Brisbane)
Edition: 2/5
Estimate: $2500 – 3500
Twofold by Hoda Afshar captures so many of the themes her practice is preoccupied with – migration, exodus, longing and love. This photograph is from an ongoing series which according to Hoda has been “shaped by my having been away; by that distance that increases the nearness of all the things to which the memory clings, and which renders the familiar… strange, and distant.” She was winner of the 2018 Bowness Photography Prize for her iconic portrait of Behrouz Boochani.
Atong Atem
Born Ethiopia 1991
Fruit of the Earth 2016
Pigment ink-jet print
77.0 x 51.0 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Mars Gallery (Melbourne)
Edition: 1/1
Estimate: $2500 – $3000
An art star on the rise, a number of Atong Atem’s studio portraits were recently featured in the NGV Triennial (not hung in the most ideal of ways though, in a gallery corridor – did you notice?). Atem explores black identity through portraiture, with vibrant colours, patterns and textiles used to adorn herself and her friends. In taking control of the image, she casts a critical eye over traditional depictions of the black body in photographs. In Fruit of the Earth the subject’s eyes are closed and we focus our attention on the adorned foliage, fruit and colourful face paint. Note that this is a one-off edition – 1/1.
Christian Thompson
Born Australia 1978; Bidjara people
Danger will come 2012
From the series We bury our own
Chromogenic print
100.0 x 100.0 cm
Courtesy of the artist, Sarah Scout Presents (Melbourne) and Michael Reid (Sydney + Berlin)
Edition: 8/10 + 2AP
Estimate: $9000 – $12000
Confession – I did curate an early career retrospective of Christian’s work at what was then known as SCAF – the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Sydney – now the SCCI – Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas – and I’ve enjoyed following Christian’s career trajectory since. Danger will come is from a series of works that mark an important point in the development of Christian’s practice. Created while Christian was undertaking a PhD in Fine Art at Oxford University, the artist undertook a process of spiritual repatriation while working with objects from the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford. In this work we see Christian’s hands but his face is hidden, we see a portrait but more than a literal depiction of a person. This is a technique which Christian has revisited time and again since.