Auction: 11:00 AM Central Time, Wednesday, November 19

Our curators picked their favorite items from our upcoming November 19 Modern & Contemporary Art Signature® Auction.
| Frank's Picks Frank Hettig | Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art
John Chamberlain Tonk #2-86, 1986
When I look at Chamberlain’s Tonk #2-86, I’m struck by how much force and feeling he draws out of something so small. It’s made of crushed, painted steel — tough, industrial material — yet it feels spontaneous and alive, almost like it’s caught mid-movement. That contrast is what makes it powerful to me. Chamberlain didn’t just recycle metal; he reshaped how we see it. (Chamberlain acquired the contents and scrap parts from an abandoned Tonka Toy factory). Tonk #2-86 carries his belief that beauty can come from the unexpected - that energy, chaos, and emotion can live inside the roughest materials. It’s raw, direct, and completely unpretentious, which is precisely why it still feels so modern.
Arturo Herrera Felt #15 (Orange), 2008
Arturo Herrera, born in Venezuela and now based in Berlin, has a remarkable way of turning the familiar into something quietly unsettling. His use of felt — soft, colorful, and tactile — feels deceptively simple at first. But through cutting, layering, and abstraction, he transforms it into something emotional and ambiguous, hovering between memory and imagination. I love how he takes a material associated with childhood and gives it real weight and mystery. It's a reminder that art doesn't have to shout to stay with you — sometimes it just hums softly in your mind.
| Holly's Picks Holly Sherratt | Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art, West Coast
Alison Saar Max Schmeling and Joe Louis (pair), 1982
Alison Saar, a Los Angeles sculptor, explores race, identity, and memory through figures made of wood, metal, and found objects. Her sculptures of heavyweight champions Joe Louis and Max Schmeling recall their 1930s fights, when the boxing ring became a political stage—Schmeling’s 1936 win was claimed by Nazi Germany as proof of Aryan supremacy, but Louis’s decisive first-round knockout in 1938 resounded as a triumph of American democracy and Black pride.
Salvador Dalí Lady Godiva with Butterflies, 1976
The legend of Lady Godiva tells of an English noblewoman who, moved by the suffering of her people, rode naked through the streets of Coventry to persuade her husband to lift the crushing taxes he imposed. Out of respect, the townspeople stayed indoors, allowing her to complete her act of courage. In Lady Godiva avec des papillons, Salvador Dalí reimagines this story as a vision of metamorphosis and moral awakening: Godiva sits astride a pale horse, her hair flowing as collaged butterflies with raised wings surround her.
Vik Muniz Burning Standard, After Ed Rusha (from Pictures of Cars series), 2008
In Burning Standard, After Ed Ruscha, Vik Muniz reworks Ruscha’s well-known gas station image as a scene of fire and transformation. Made in 2008 as part of his Pictures of Cars series, the piece was built from photographed car parts and reflective materials, then rephotographed to create a vivid, cinematic image. The burning station suggests both destruction and renewal, showing how a familiar icon can be reborn through another artist’s vision. Shown alongside two original Ruschas, it sparks a lively exchange between their ideas and styles.
| Alissa's Picks Alissa Ford | Vice President, American & Western Art
Ernie Barnes Bluebird, 1982
Having studied dance, particularly jazz and ballet, my entire life, I have always been drawn to Ernie Barnes’ elongated figures in motion. His subjects possess a dynamic energy and effortless grace that mirror the expressiveness of dance itself. Barnes grew up in an environment that nurtured both his athletic and artistic abilities; after playing professionally in the NFL, he devoted himself fully to art. His distinctive style merges physical dynamism with lyrical expression, capturing the rhythm and vitality of human life. Bluebird exemplifies this vision, portraying a young woman striding across an open field, her elongated form and flowing blue fabric symbolizing resilience, grace, and freedom. Through his masterful use of movement, color, and space, Barnes transforms ordinary moments into poetic meditations on strength, optimism, and the beauty of perseverance.
Ai Weiwei Thirteen Neolithic Vases, 2013
Ai Weiwei’s creations consistently captivate. Each time I encounter his work, I’m confronted by complex notions subtly concealed beneath aesthetic beauty. Thirteen Neolithic Vases transforms ancient earthenware into bold contemporary statements by coating millennia-old pots with industrial paint. The brightly colored vessels, juxtaposing traditional Chinese craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, provoke reflection on cultural preservation and destruction. Through his intervention, he challenges the notion of authenticity and the value placed on historical artifacts versus contemporary reinterpretation. Each pot becomes both an act of creation and vandalism, symbolizing China’s complex relationship with its cultural heritage and rapid modernization.
| Walter's Pick Walter Ramirez | Consignment Director, Urban Art
Jennifer Bartlett Egg #113 from The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, New York, 2014
Created for The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt in New York, Egg #113 exemplifies Jennifer Bartlett’s fusion of conceptual rigor and delicate draftsmanship. Known for her exploration of the boundaries between abstraction and representation, Bartlett adapts her distinctive visual language to the playful, symbolic form of the egg, an enduring emblem of birth, renewal, and luxury. Executed in ink and pencil, the work transforms the glossy fiberglass surface into a contemplative drawing space, bridging private studio practice with public art. Displayed at Rockefeller Center during the 2014 event, the piece reflects the tension between art as personal expression and art as communal spectacle. Egg #113 stands as a hybrid of sculpture, drawing, and event artifact, embodying Bartlett’s ability to infuse even large-scale, charitable projects with quiet precision and introspective depth.
| Taylor's Picks Taylor Curry | Director, Modern & Contemporary Art
Ron Gorchov Agron, 2012
Ron Gorchov changed the way we think about painting. Instead of the traditional flat rectangle, he built his canvases into curved, saddle-like shapes that make color and form feel alive in space. Agron from 2012 is a perfect example. Two bold blue forms hover over a deep black ground, shifting and vibrating as you move around it. Created during Gorchov's late, confident period and exhibited that same year at Cheim & Read in New York, the work captures the essence of his lifelong exploration of shape, surface, and color. With its strong exhibition history and gallery provenance, Agron is an exceptional opportunity to collect one of the most distinctive voices in postwar abstraction.
Esteban Vicente Aria, 1994
Esteban Vicente is a foundational figure of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism. Born in Spain in 1903, he moved to New York in the 1930s and became a peer of de Kooning, Pollock, and Newman. Aria comes from his late, deeply expressive period, when his abstraction became more refined and meditative, less about gesture and more about harmony and light. For collectors of postwar abstraction, this is a quietly remarkable work that rewards slow looking and reveals something new each time you return to it.
| Desiree's Picks Desiree Pakravan | Consignment Director, Modern & Contemporary Art
Charles Bell Gum Ball I, 1971
I love this work because it transports me to my childhood; the glimmer of a candy machine, the kaleidoscope of colors, the childlike anticipation of a sweet reward. Painted with Bell’s signature photorealistic precision, it captures not just the gleam of glass and chrome, but the joy and innocence of mid-century Americana. Both a technical marvel and a sentimental memory, Gum Ball is a sweet dose of nostalgia.
Salvador Dalí Ant on Egg, 1979
This work truly captures everything about Salvador Dalí. The fragile curve of the eggshell, a symbol of birth and potential, contrasts sharply with the unsettling presence of the ant, a recurring Dalí motif representing decay, time, and obsession. This delicate drawing captures the tension between creation and destruction that lies at the heart of his art.
| Taylor's Picks Taylor Gattinella | Consignment Director, Modern & Contemporary Art
Rafa Macarrón Señora, 2013
This work by Rafa Macarrón is so fascinating to me. Characteristic of his whimsical portrayals of distorted, elongated human figures, it blends surrealism with a childlike sense of wonder. The intricate detail and fantastical imagination are even more impressive in that Macarrón is self-taught. Señora is at once playful and somewhat melancholy, featuring a cartoonish, hunched figure, cigarette in mouth, isolated in a celestial environment.
Li Hei Di Four Sisters, 2018
Chinese artist Li Hei Di is a fast-rising star of the contemporary art scene. Known for their layered atmospheric and lush abstract paintings, Li has had a breakout year. Just two months ago, a new six-figure auction record was set for their work, and Li is currently the youngest artist represented by Pace Gallery. Four Sisters is an early work from 2018, the same year Li received their BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art before moving to London. Li’s work can be found in the collections of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Long Museum, Shanghai; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and The Rachofsky Collection, Dallas, Texas, among others.
| Max's Picks Max Condon | Associate Specialist, Fine & Decorative Arts
Isamu Noguchi Sharpshooter (Homage to Martin Luther King), 1967
Unlike the malleable polish of much of his sculpture from the period, Isamu Noguchi’s Sharpshooter presents a striking, almost industrial exchange. As we look down the barrel, the two contrasting elements interlock, revealing the accommodating structure of the rigid base that allows it to cradle and steady this great weight. The only known example outside of the Noguchi Museum, this piece presents a truly unique opportunity for any collector.
Gene Davis Job's Mirror II, 1981
Job's Mirror II is quintessential Gene Davis. The longitudinal stripes almost pulsate with color as they stretch out of view, dazzling you as each line competes to capture the eye. Scaled at a happy medium between his monumental street works and his micro paintings, Job's Mirror II is perfect for any home.
| Ed's Picks Ed Beardsley | Vice President and Managing Director, Fine & Decorative Arts
Ed Ruscha Hollywood Sunset, 1983
Ed Ruscha Blue Hollywood, 1983
We are excited to offer two iconic drawings by Ed Ruscha that captures the artist's enduring fascination with language, landscape, and the aura of Los Angeles. In these drawings, the word "Hollywood" stretches across a glowing horizon of gradated color, evoking both the beauty and artifice of the city it names. The velvety texture of the dry pigment lends the image a cinematic radiance, while the fading light suggests the passage of time and the fragility of fame. At once serene and ironic, these works transform a familiar word into a poetic meditation on illusion, desire, and the fading glow of the American dream.
Sincerely,
|  | Frank Hettig Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art FrankH@HA.com (214) 409-1157
|  | Holly Sherratt Vice President, Modern & Contemporary Art, West Coast HollyS@HA.com (415) 548-5921
|  | Alissa Ford Vice President, American & Western Art AlissaF@HA.com (415) 548-5920
|  | Walter Ramirez Consignment Director, Urban Art WalterR@HA.com (212) 486-3521
|  | Taylor Curry Director, Modern & Contemporary Art TaylorC@HA.com (212) 486-3503
|  | Desiree Pakravan Consignment Director, Modern & Contemporary Art DesireeP@HA.com (310) 492-8621
|  | Taylor Gattinella Consignment Director, Modern & Contemporary Art TaylorG@HA.com (212) 486-3681
|  | Max Condon Associate Specialist, Fine & Decorative Arts MaxC@HA.com (312) 260-7234
|  | Ed Beardsley Vice President and Managing Director, Fine & Decorative Arts EdB@HA.com (214) 409-1137