Description:

Bruce Conner (American/California, 1933-2008), "Still Life", 1963, ink on paper, signed, titled and dated on backing board, "Picasso Frames, Marina Del Rey, CA" and "Christie's 11-Jan-11, Lot 11" labels en verso, 23 3/4 in. x 17 3/4 in., matted and framed; accompanied by a coy of original Christie's 2011 invoice. Provenance: Property from the Collection of Dennis Hopper, Christie's New York, Rockefeller Center, Jan. 11, 2011, lot 11. Note: Bruce Conner was a pioneer in the San Francisco Beat scene in the late 1950s and first garnered critical success for experimental film projects and his assemblages composed of found objects. These sculptures, created between 1957 and 1964, were a passionate rejection of the consumerism in American society and challenged the traditional limitations of the art world. Determined to defy categorization, Conner continued to work in a large variety of media and styles throughout his career, remaining always inventive and unpredictable. In the work offered here, Conner depicts an interior scene in ink. The darkened and distressed chair upholstery harkens to Conner’s assemblage furniture pieces of the same period (Couch, 1963), providing hints of decay within an otherwise traditional interior. The line quality and mark-making along with utilization of negative space seamlessly combine to display Conner’s skill in composition, as well as conception. In the early 1960s, Bruce Conner met Dennis Hopper at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. Both born in Kansas, they would become lifelong friends. Hopper immersed himself in the West Coast art scene and collected works by many artists, some more profoundly than other, including Bruce Conner. “Still Life,” offered here, was previously sold at Christie’s in New York as part of the Dennis Hopper collection, which included 300 works from the late actor’s home in Venice Beach, CA. Ref.: Johnson, Ken. “Bruce Conner, San Francisco Artist with 1950s Beat Roots.” The New York Times. July 9, 2008. Ilnytzky, Ula. ”Dennis Hopper’s 300-Work Collection Up for Auction.” Washington Post. Jan. 9, 2011.

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