Big Bang Art Auction
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Big Bang Art Auction From the Legendary Collection of Sonny Burt and Robert Butler Proceeds from the collectors’ estate will benefit the Booker T. Washington School for the Visual & Performing Arts PREVIEW: June 7 - 24, 2016 AUCTION: Saturday, June 25, 2016 TIME: doors open at 10am; auction begins at 5:00 p.m. All artworks are presently located at Talley Dunn Gallery and may be viewed by appointment only from April 20th until the preview begins on June 7, 2016. The Inspiration for the “Big Bang Art Auction” Art is an experience in all of its forms and as we interact with it whether as observer, creator, or collector. Art engages us individuals and make us uniquely who we are. I first visited Sonny Burt and Bob Butler’s home when I was twenty-one years old. Even though I had grown up in Dallas, I had never experienced or seen a home anything like theirs. As a recent college graduate and in my first week of working at a gallery in 1990, I walked through their doors completely unprepared for what was on the other side. Sonny and Bob built a beautiful Preston Hollow home that they created for their art collection. Bob was an architect and Sonny was a designer. They were partners for forty-five years, and their home was extraordinary. To put it simply, their home was “over the top”, and they would not have had it any other way. Upon my first visit, I literally froze in place as I stepped through the front door. Just one step into their home was breathtaking to the unsuspecting first-time visitor. The first glimpse of the home’s interior was extraordinary and glorious. There was color, texture, humor, and energy. There was Christo, Jenny Holzer, Luis Jimenez, Melissa Miller, and Peter Saul. There was David Bates, Linda Ridgway, David Szafranski, and the Art Guys. Every direction I looked, there were outstanding examples by great artists that have shown in this city. The collection oozed with personality, engagement, and fun. Their home was a work of art in itself, and the creators of its design were “Sonny and Bob.” In 1990, only a small handful of Dallas galleries were struggling to exist (most of which have since disappeared), and there were far more artists in the community than there were galleries to represent them. The artists that they collected waited tables in Dallas restaurants (Julian Schnabel), taught at community colleges (David Bates), and showed at grassroots alternative spaces such as 500X (Helen Altman). Sonny and Bob were part of the fabric of the Dallas art community, and they were beloved. For me they represent the “old-fashioned” form of collecting art without art fairs, the internet, or art consultants. They went to every museum opening and visited every alternative space. They experienced art through looking, laughing, and questioning. They came to each experience with an open mind and a sense of humor. They formed friendships and relationships with artists from all over the world that would last a lifetime. From the first artwork collected in 1956 by Alexander Calder for $75.00 to the spectacular Christo, Sonny and Bob bought artwork with unabandoned enthusiasm. They supported artists by purchasing their masterpieces and their tiniest of efforts. They collected certain artists in depth, purchasing works from their graduate school days to their mid-career years and beyond. From deflated balloons to a hand-dryer and a hose, they collected what they loved. They collected artwork that brought them pleasure. In the end, they amassed one of the most important collections that Dallas has known. However, if you knew Sonny and Bob, you knew that the artwork they collected was just part of the story. And there were stories . lots of them. For decades, they opened their home to artists living in Dallas and artists visiting Dallas. They connected with artists, and they maintained those connections. For many artists, a visit to Dallas was incomplete without a visit to Sonny and Bob. Their contact with artists spanned twenty, thirty, and in some cases, forty years. For many, a visit to their home was a test of art knowledge, people, places, and happenings. The artwork represented moments in their own lives as well as moments in the lives of so many others. On the eve of my twenty-fifth year as an art dealer, I am humbled and honored to be representing their collection, as it is dispersed over the coming years with all funds from the estate going the Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts. I cannot think of a more appropriate place for Sonny and Bob support than a school for artists. This auction event is dedicated to two extraordinary men that made the Dallas art community a very special place for me and many others. Thank you, Sonny and Bob, for such a truly amazing experience. Talley Dunn Rev. 6/17/16 THE BIG BANG Art Auction June 25, 2016 Helen Altman Maelstrom, 1988 Mixed media with blender and music box 24 x 6 x 6 inches Lot 1 Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500 Buy It Now: $3,000 Starting Bid: $400 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Purple zone closes at 9:00 PM Charles Andresen Turtle Dance, 1994 Acrylic on canvas Lot 2 54 x 46 inches Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000 Buy It Now: $7,000 Starting Bid: $500 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM Peter Arno American, 1904 - 1968 A Horrible Mistake…New Yorker, 1940 Ink on paper 26 x 20 inches Lot 3 Estimate: $4,000 to $6,000 Buy It Now: $5,000 Starting Bid: $500 Note: this artwork has a reserve Bid increments are $100 Purple zone closes at 9:00 PM THE BIG BANG Art Auction The Art Guys Bottom of the Sixth, 1990-1991 Baseball, bat, pennies, copper nails Lot 4 Installation dimensions variable Estimate: $3,500 - $5,500 Buy It Now: $4,500 SOLD! The Art Guys Eight Oz. Coca Cola Bottle Sphere, 1992 Coca Cola bottles, glue 21 x 21 inch diameter Lot 5 Estimate: $6,500 - $8,500 Buy It Now: $7,500 Starting Bid: $500 Note: this artwork has a reserve Bid increments are $200 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM The Art Guys Word Play, 1995 Lot 6 Wood boxes Dimensions variable Estimate: $4,500 - $6,500 Buy It Now: $5,500 SOLD! THE BIG BANG Art Auction The Art Guys Copper Pennies Cross, 1991 Wood, ink, pennies Lot 7 18 x 14 x 1 ¾ inches Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500 Buy It Now: $1,800 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM The Art Guys Pop Game, 1995 Mixed media Lot 8 Installation dimensions variable Estimate: $400 - $600 Buy It Now: $500 Starting Bid: $50 No reserve / Bid increments are $50 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM The Art Guys Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder, 1988 Bra and concrete Installation dimensions variable Lot 9 Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500 Buy It Now: $1,800 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM THE BIG BANG Art Auction The Art Guys The Duke, 1996 Jock strap and concrete Dimensions variable Lot 10 Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500 Buy It Now: $1,800 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM The Art Guys Collection of Toothbrushes, including: America the Brush, 1991 Cutting Edge, 1990 International Klein Blue Brush, 1990 Pencil Brush, 1990 Lot 11 These Brushes Are Made For Walking, 1991 Toothfuck, 1990 Toothwrench, 1990 Triple Header, 1990 Estimate for Collection: $800 - $1,400 Buy It Now: $1,000 Starting Bid: $75 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Orange zone closes at 6:45 PM Artist Unknown – German School, 20th century Liebfrauenkirche, Trier, 1965 Lithograph 26 x 20 inches Lot 12 Edition 4 of 50 Estimate: $100 - $200 Buy It Now: $200 SOLD! THE BIG BANG Art Auction Scott Barber (American, 1963 – 2005) Yellow, 1999 Lot 13 Urethane foam and Plexiglas 24 x 18 inches Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800 Buy It Now: $1,500 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Orange zone closes at 6:45 PM Paul Booker Clear Frames: Cantilever #2, 2002 Ink, mylar, steel pins Lot 14 9 x 3 x 18 inches Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800 Buy It Now: $1,500 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Green zone closes at 7:30 PM Paul Booker 2 Illustration 1-1, 2001 Lot 15 Mixed media 25 x 18 inches Estimate: $2,400 - $3,400 Buy It Now: $2,800 Starting Bid: $400 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Green zone closes at 7:30 PM THE BIG BANG Art Auction Paul Booker Muffle, 2000 Carved wood sculpture with paint in two parts Lot 16 6 ½ x 12 x 6 ½ inches and 7 ½ x 16 x 7 inches Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500 Buy It Now: $2,000 Starting Bid: $400 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Purple zone closes 9:00 PM Brian “Camp” Bosworth Johnnie Law, 1996 Oil on wood 20 x 29 ½ inches Lot 17 Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800 Buy It Now: $1,500 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM Brian “Camp” Bosworth Budweiser Beer Bottle, 1999 Oil on wood Lot 18 18 ½ x 7 ½ inch diameter Estimate: $800 - $1,400 Buy It Now: $1,000 Starting Bid: $200 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Purple zone closes at 9:00 PM THE BIG BANG Art Auction David Brownlow (American, 1915 – 2008) Doves, not dated Lot 19 Oil on Masonite 8 x 10 inches Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800 Buy It Now: $1,500 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM David Brownlow Lot 20 Old House, New Roof, not dated Oil on canvas 21 ¾ x 17 ½ inches Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800 Buy It Now: $1,500 Starting Bid: $300 No reserve / Bid increments are $100 Blue zone closes at 8:15 PM Yoon Cho Nuclear Family–Car Washing, 2006 Digital c-print 20 x 16 inches Estimate: $800 - $1,200 Lot 21 Buy It Now: $800 Starting Bid: $100 No reserve / Bid increments