Bowie/Collector at Sotheby’s New Bond Street
By Rachel McleanSotheby’s New Bond Street is currently hosting Bowie/Collector, an exhibition of David Bowie’s private art collection including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenneth Armitage and Damien Hirst. This is the first and last time Bowie’s private art collection will be available to the public, as the pieces, on display until November 10, will be auctioned off on November 10 and 11.
Including some 400 works from a variety of artists from all over the world, Bowie’s love of art is clear in his collection. The pieces come in a variety of forms from paintings to sculptures to creative furniture, such as Michele de Lucchi’s ‘Lido’ Sofa. The exhibit also includes the only piece in his collection created by Bowie himself. Beautiful, hallo, space-boy painting is a spin painting created by Damien Hirst in collaboration with David Bowie. The two worked on the spin piece in 1995 in Hirst’s studio in New York while Hirst says they discussed the questions “What does an artwork say about an artist’s personality?” and “Is the person of the artist always present in the piece of art?”
After the exhibition closes at noon on November 10, the auctioning off of Bowie’s collection will take place in three parts. The first “Bowie/Collector Part I: Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Auction” will take place on November 10 and will include the most valuable work in the collection, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Air Power, estimated to be worth £2.5 million to £3.5 million. The second and third portions of the auction will happen throughout the day on November 11. The majority of the bidding is set to be online and through absentee.
Text by Rachel E McLean