Hammering down TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art’s Live Auction for 20-plus years, Sotheby’s enlists the bid call of seasoned specialist Michael Macaulay.
The phenomenal achievements of TWO x TWO over the past twenty years are nothing short of a profound inspiration,” says New York–based Michael Macaulay, senior vice president and auctioneer at Sotheby’s. With a first-class art history degree from The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, he enthuses, “Its extraordinary team has been tirelessly dedicated to a truly transformative ambition: raising over $93 million in support of the vital work of amfAR and securing almost 300 acquisitions for the Dallas Museum of Art.”
A senior international specialist in contemporary art, Macaulay frequently takes major sales at Sotheby’s and conducts benefit auctions for nonprofits across the country. Advising international private collectors, museums, and institutions on both the buy and sell side, he will lead this year’s live auction on Saturday, October 23 during the TWO x TWO Gala. “Sotheby’s is incredibly proud to have supported TWO x TWO and its remarkable mission over the past two decades, and I am immensely honored to take up the gavel for 2021.
Local expert Charlie Adamski Caulkins, Sotheby’s head of Dallas office, recommends bidding on these lots.
CHARLIE’S AUCTION PICKS:
Theodora Allen: The first time I encountered Allen’s work was at Dallas-based gallery 12.26 in fall 2020. I was immediately struck by the luminescent quality of her paintings. Allen’s celestial and otherworldly compositions hold their own and draw you into the canvas. This talented young artist is one to watch.
Hilary Pecis: I have been a fan of Pecis’ bright, painterly compositions for a long time, and it has been exciting to watch her rising star. Her vibrant compositions of domestic spaces have been exhibited at galleries on both coasts as well as several museums. Most recently, Pecis’ vibrant paintings lit up Rockefeller Plaza in New York. With its layered textures and patterns adorned with man’s best friend, fur whimsically rendered, Jake with Pillows is a wonderful example of this artist’s strong visual language. Her paintings are not easy to come by these days, so this is a great opportunity.
Trevor Paglen: At 70 x 90 in., Bloom has wall power! Paglen’s photographs are not only visually arresting, but representative of his critical analysis of the historical times we live in. For this series, Paglen developed an algorithm which has compiled imagery and concepts collected through artificial intelligence, challenging our perceptions of the real world and encouraging the viewer to acknowledge the historical times we live in.
Karl Benjamin: Known for his lively, hard-edge geometric abstractions, Karl Benjamin rose to fame in the late 1950s. His work is held in numerous museum collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, to name a few. Painted in 1990, #4, is a strong example of Benjamin’s mastery at fusing color and form to create dynamic imagery.
Romare Bearden: Born in 1911, African American artist Romare Bearden was a man of many talents: artist, musician, teacher, writer, activist. Amongst the most important artists of the 20th century, he had a long, prolific career and was known for pushing the boundaries to create his very own visual language. With its fragmented collage-like imagery, you can almost sense the music swirling around the musicians in Jazz Deluxe II, transporting us to another era.–TERRI PROVENCAL