Since it was established in 1972, Concept Art Gallery, located in the Regent Square neighborhood, has been both an exhibition venue and source for everything from contemporary art glass to Nineteenth Century European paintings. Its spring auction of Modern and contemporary fine art and Twentieth Century furniture and design on May 9 was filled with fresh merchandise from several local collections †the kind of consignments collectors salivate over.
Gallery owner and auctioneer Sam Berkovitz conducted a spirited sale whose lineup of art by contemporary masters, such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as local artists like Virgil Cantini, enticed about 150 people into the gallery, a good turnout that was bolstered by an active online component, phone and absentee bidding.
“The sale went very well,” said Alison Oehler, gallery director. “We saw fierce interest in Alviani’s optical aluminum sheeting sculpture, which sold for $45,630, and had come out of the Alcoa Collection.” The 1967 work by Italian artist Getulio Alviani (b 1939) was titled “Vibrating Surface Aluminum Relief,” measured 66 by 66 inches and was presented in its original Kulicke frame. The visually vibrating work obviously resonated with a bevy of phone and online bidders, all from Italy, who drove it way past its $5/15,000 presale estimate. The fierce bidding kept auctioneer Berkovitz as well as the firm’s Internet operator and seven phone lines busy, until two phone bidders ultimately slugged it out and one of them prevailed to win the lot.
Warhol’s “The Kick (Martha Graham)” serigraph charmed an in-house Pittsburghian, who successfully snagged the 1986 work for $14,750. The 36-by-36-inch work published by the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, pencil signed and numbered HC 1/10 on the reverse, was framed in a black wood frame.
An Internet bidder was victorious on the next highest lot, a William Congdon (American, 1912‱990) painting, “Night Pyramid #2,” with Betty Parsons Gallery provenance. The 1959 abstract oil on masonite panel measuring 51 by 55 inches went out at $7,670.
Another sculpture highlight in the sale, a signature “Spray” by Harry Bertoia (Italian American, 1915‱978), came out of the estate of Charles Franklin, Pittsburgh’s dealer of Knoll furniture. The patinated metal kinetic sculpture on a marble base created in the 1970s was unsigned and stood 38¾ inches high. It will stay in Pittsburgh, won by a left bid of $7,080.
Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923‱997) is always a classic Pop magnet at these sales, and one of the artist’s early brushstroke images, “Brushstrokes (Corlett #45),” from 1967, captured the fancy of an absentee bidder, who claimed the 23-by-31-inch screen print for $5,558.
A local collector was downsizing, so consigned to the sale a Christo (American, b 1935) wrapped Look magazine from 1965. The classic Christo wrapped image created as a copy of the popular periodical tightly wrapped in see-through plastic and cord, was created for a Spoerri project, a series of multiple objects called MAT (Multiplication d’Art Transformable). Each of the three MAT series that actually were released was produced in an edition of 100. A phone bidder won the lot at $3,800.
Realizing the same amount were two other lots, one a Saul Baizerman (Russian American, 1889‱957) hammered copper sculpture titled “Daughter of Israel,” dating to the mid-1950s, which went to an online bidder.
The other was an enamel abstraction by Pittsburgh artist Virgil Cantini (American, 1919′009). Titled “Computer Vision” and created in 1980, the enamel on steel work had been contributed to the sale by the Duquesne Light Company to benefit the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh. A recent corporate decision to reconfigure its headquarters office space spurred the electric utility to pare back its art collection, and both the YMCA and Concept Art Gallery patrons were the beneficiaries.
From the same collection came a work by local artist Robert Qualters (b 1934). “Nick’s Shoe Repair,” 1984, a mixed media painting of Nick busily working in his cluttered shop, sold for $3,245.
Additional sale highlights included a Warhol screen print, “Lincoln Center Ticket,” 1967, 45 by 24 inches, which sold for $3,240.
Prices reported include the 18 percent buyer’s premium. The gallery’s next sale is June 6, an estate antiques and fine art sale. For information, 412-242-92000 or www.conceptgallery.com .
