Lot 49: JAMES COLEMAN (B. 1941)

JAMES COLEMAN (B. 1941)
16 Lights
signed 'Coleman' (on the reverse)
spray enamel, LED and electrical components incased in steel structure
35¼ x 35½ x 2½in. (89.5 x 90.4 x 6.8cm.)
Executed in 1972

Milan, Galleria Toselli, 1972.

Galleria Toselli, Milan.
Anon. sale, Sotheby's Milan, 23 November 2004, lot 60.
Private collection, London.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Artist's Resale Right ("droit de Suite"). If the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer also agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
James Coleman has emerged in recent years as one of the most important artists in contemporary art. He has exhibited extensively in international art museums and galleries since the 1970s. His work has informed critical debates about the status of the image in contemporary culture and influenced an entire generation of younger artists.

The lot offered is a rare example of his early practice. Executed in 1972, this seemingly simple device investigates the relations between perception, memory and anticipation and forces the spectator to be conscious of the act of perception.

Coleman represented Ireland at the 1973 Paris Biennale and has participated in Documenta IX (1992), X (1997), XI (2002), and XII (2007).