High price for Ishida Tetsuya painting at Christie’s Amsterdam Postwar and Contemporary Art auction
The work, an oil on canvas, shows a figure of a young boy taking shelter below a school desk, while his teacher –shown in a miniature classroom setting on the surface of the school desk – continues teaching. Ishida is known for his surrealist works, which often include self-portraits and give the viewer an uncanny feeling. He sadly died very young due to a train accident, although it is also said it might have been suicide. In total his oeuvre counts a little over 186 paintings. In the same auction three other Japanese art works found a new owner: two works by Kusama Yayoi and a painting by Japanese ‘pop’ artist Key Hiraga (1936-2000). For more information on Key Hiraga see my essay in The Elegant Life of Key Hiraga. A Japanese Artist in Europe 1965-1974 (London: Mayor Gallery / Amsterdam: Matthijs Erdman, 2008, pp. 7-11). For Christies’ notes on Ishida’s painting, visit the online catalogue of the auction. |