Juan (1946) Davila Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Juan (1946) Davila Art Value Price Guide

Nov. 13, 2024
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Verdeja 1996 screenprint, ed. A/P I/III 137 x 98cm (image); 162 x 114cm (sheet); 171 x 123cm (frame)
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Verdeja 1996 screenprint, ed. A/P I/III signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 1996 titled lower centre editioned lower left 137 x 98cm (image); 162 x 114cm (sheet); 171 x 123cm (frame) PROVENANCE: Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Juan Davila: Graphic!, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Queensland, 29 August - 15 November 2009 (another example) Juan Davila, Paintings and Works on Paper, La Galerie - Lothar Albrecht, Frankfurt, Germany, 25 May - 21 July 2007 (another example) LITERATURE: Fitzgibbons, A., Juan Davila: Graphic!, Griffith Artworks, Griffith University, Queensland, 2009, p. 11 (illus., another example) OTHER NOTES: Another example of this print is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Nov. 13, 2024
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) God and Country 1989 screenprint, ed. 18/20 49 x 96cm (image); 89 x 133cm (frame)
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) God and Country 1989 screenprint, ed. 18/20 signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 1989 titled lower centre editioned lower left 49 x 96cm (image); 89 x 133cm (frame) PROVENANCE: Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Juan Davila Retrospective, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 9 September – 12 November 2006 (another example) Juan Davila Retrospective, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 November 2006 - 4 February 2007 (another example) Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 11 April – 1 September 2013 (another example) LITERATURE: Brett, G. and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, pl. 119, p. 228 (illus., another example) Cotterell, S., ‘Review of Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style', Fusion Journal, no. 2 2013, p. 4 (another example) OTHER NOTES: Other examples of this print are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and State Library Victoria, Melbourne. "'God and Country' was created by Davila in the wake of the celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of European settlement. A year later it appeared as a huge poster over an inner suburban street in the company of advertisements for beer and printing centres. The patriotic title is in stark contrast to the word 'WOG' which almost obscures the comic-like illustrations of Aussie icons, and the buzz words of art history. It is a wry comment on the politics of inclusion." (Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne) © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
May. 20, 2024
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Untitled 2003 mixed media on paper 153 x 206cm
Est: $40,000 - $50,000
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Untitled 2003 mixed media on paper signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 2003 153 x 206cm PROVENANCE: Kalli Rolfe Contemporary, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne LITERATURE: Brett, G., and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, in association with Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, p. 242 (illus.), pl. 136 OTHER NOTES: RELATED WORK: Juan Davila, Women with a Parrot 2003, mixed media on paper, 188 x 234cm, private collection Art serves as a powerful medium for challenging societal norms, provoking thought, and igniting change. Artists often use their work as a means of critiquing and questioning the world around them, delving into issues of identity, culture, and power structures. Among these bold and incisive artists is Juan Davila, whose journey from political turmoil in his native Chile to becoming one of Australia's most acclaimed and uncompromising artists, speaks to his resilience and dedications to his craft. Davila's work, marked by its deliberate political overtones and engagement with historical and contemporary references, consistently pushes boundaries of traditional art forms integrating cultural, sexual, and social identities. Through his provocative approach, Davila has been able to reinterpret and subvert cultural images, particularly those that reinforce traditional norms and power dynamics. His take on well-known historical artworks, such as those by Fredrick McCubbin, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, and Gustave Courbet, offers viewers an opportunity to confront uncomfortable truths and reconsider their perspectives on the world. While visiting the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, Juan Davila encountered paintings by Gustave Courbet, particularly those featuring the artist's model and lover, Jo Heffernan. In many of these portraits Jo is depicted nude, serving as a public expression of Courbet's desire. Courbet's renowned portrait Woman with a Parrot 1886 embodies the artist's mastery of realism while also reflecting the limitations of the male gaze. She is positioned in such a matter that we cannot meet her gaze. Rather, our gaze goes to the makeshift theatrical presentation: a woman playing in bed with a bird.(1) In 2003, Davila created this own interpretation of Courbet's Women with a Parrot with two works on paper, one being of the same title, along with Untitled. In these works, Davila introduces an Australian setting and cultural references, situating the narrative in his own cultural environment and challenging traditional perspectives. By repositioning the woman's body and altering the visual composition, Davila disrupts the viewer's expected gaze and infuses the artwork with psychological complexity. In contrast to Davila's Women with a Parrot where the female figure is depicted nude, Untitled features the same female subject clothed, with her gaze meeting the viewer's, expanding on the notion that the female sitter need not be portrayed nude, as is common in many of Courbet's paintings. The metaphor of the parrot has been expanded; it is now a pictogram representing the Lacanian psychotic structure of holes without signifiers, as explored in the nude woman's analysis.(2) Davila integrates a male sitter, possibly an analyst, into the composition, offering a new perspective on the events and contributing to a more nuanced interpretation of the narrative. Davila's art acts as a bridge between eras and perspectives, creating a tapestry of anxieties, celebrations and introspection that challenges and confronts the viewer with an unfamiliar perspective. His ability to reimagine iconic works, infusing them with Australian context and fresh interpretations, enriches the narrative and transcends conventional limitations. His influence is felt across Australia, South America, North America, and Europe, with his works included in major international events such as the 1982 and 1984 Biennales of Sydney and the 1998 Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil and prominently featured in Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany, in 2007. In 2006, a major retrospective exhibition was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Today, his contributions are recognised and appreciated in major public collections worldwide. Hannah Ryan Art Specialist (1) Brett, G., Benjamin, R. and Davila, J., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, p. 216 (2) Brett, G., Benjamin, R. and Davila, J., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, p. 216 © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Apr. 10, 2024
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Lichtenstein 1984 screenprint, ed. A/P 77 x 50cm
Est: $4,000 - $5,000
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Lichtenstein 1984 screenprint, ed. A/P signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 84 editioned lower left 77 x 50cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Melbourne OTHER NOTES: Other examples of this print are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne. © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Mar. 19, 2024
§ JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Carmen Gallardo 2005 gouache and synthetic polymer paint on paper and Perspex 126 x 85cm
Est: $7,000 - $9,000
§ JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Carmen Gallardo 2005 gouache and synthetic polymer paint on paper and Perspex signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 2005 126 x 85cm PROVENANCE: Kalli Rolfe Contemporary, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne Menzies, Melbourne, 24 July 2014, lot 115 Private collection, Melbourne OTHER NOTES: © Juan Davila, Licensed by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Aug. 29, 2023
Juan Davila (born 1946) The Terrorist, 2006
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Juan Davila (born 1946) The Terrorist, 2006 signed lower right: 'J. Davila 2006.' signed, dated and inscribed verso: ''TERRORIST' / JUAN DAVILA / 2006' oil on canvas 60.0 x 50.0cm (23 5/8 x 19 11/16in).
Bonhams
Dec. 15, 2022
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) I am Positive and I am Negative 1989 lithograph, ed. 40/40
Est: $1,200 - $1,800
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) I am Positive and I am Negative 1989 lithograph, ed. 40/40 signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 1989 editioned lower left titled lower centre 121 x 79 cm (sheet) PROVENANCE: Private collection, South Australia EXHIBITIONS: Group Show, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 8 December 1990 – 25 January 1991 (another impression) OTHER NOTES: Other impressions of this print are currently held in the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; and Met Museum, New York. © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Nov. 23, 2022
JUAN DAVILA born 1946, Waltzing Matilda 1995
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 Waltzing Matilda 1995 oil on canvas 102.0 x 87.0 cm signed and dated lower left: Davila 95. signed, dated and inscribed verso: "WALTZING MATILDA"/ JUAN DAVILA 1995.
Menzies
Nov. 16, 2022
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Verdeja 1996 screenprint, ed. P/P I/II
Est: $1,600 - $2,600
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Verdeja 1996 screenprint, ed. P/P I/II signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 1996 editioned lower left titled lower centre 137 x 96cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Larry Rawling, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Juan Davila: GRAPHIC!, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Queensland, 29 August - 15 November 2009 (another impression) Juan Davila, Paintings and Works on Paper, LA Galerie - Lothar Albrecht, Frankfurt, Germany, 25 May - 21 July 2007 (another impression) LITERATURE: Fitzgibbons, A., Juan Davila: GRAPHIC!, Griffith Artworks, Griffith University, Queensland, 2009, p. 11 (illustrated, another impression) OTHER NOTES: "Chilean-born Juan Davila, who relocated to Australia in 1974, is a passionate advocate of the need for art to debate issues of social and political significance. Davila's complex, beautiful and challenging paintings are known for their thorough interrogation of cultural, sexual and social identities, within an international context." (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne) © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Nov. 16, 2022
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) I am Positive and I am Negative 1989 lithograph, ed. 40/40
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) I am Positive and I am Negative 1989 lithograph, ed. 40/40 signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 1989 editioned lower left titled lower centre 121 x 79 cm (sheet) PROVENANCE: Private collection, South Australia EXHIBITIONS: Group Show, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 8 December 1990 – 25 January 1991 (another impression) OTHER NOTES: Other impressions of this print are currently held in the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; and Met Museum, New York. © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Nov. 16, 2022
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Carmen Gallardo (Blue) 2005 screenprint, ed. P/P I/III
Est: $1,600 - $2,600
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Carmen Gallardo (Blue) 2005 screenprint, ed. P/P I/III signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 2005 editioned lower left titled lower centre 95 x 59cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Larry Rawling, Melbourne OTHER NOTES: RELATED WORK: Juan Davila, Guacolda del Carmen Gallardo 2004, oil on canvas, 120 x 90cm, The Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. © Juan Davila, licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Oct. 16, 2022
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946), Wotan 2013
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) Wotan 2013 mixed media signed, dated and inscribed lower left: Juan Davila 2013 Fig. 145 45 x 65cm © Juan Domingo Davila/Copyright Agency, 2022
Gibson's
Jul. 27, 2022
JUAN DAVILA, UNTITLED, 1994
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
JUAN DAVILA Chilean/Australian, born 1946 UNTITLED, 1994 oil on canvas 101.5 x 86.5 cm signed and dated lower right: Juan Leger 94 signed and dated verso: JUAN DAVILA 1994. PROVENANCE Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above in 1994 Christie’s, Melbourne, 25 June 2002, lot 31 The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, Melbourne, acquired from the above EXHIBITED 3-D Semblance, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, February 1994 on long term loan to Gippsland Art Gallery, Victoria LITERATURE Nainby, B., Stanhope, Z., and Furlonger, K., The Cbus Collection of Australian Art, in association with Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne, 2009, pp. 19, 166 (illus.), 216 ESSAY After fleeing the Pinochet regime in his native Chile, Juan Davila arrived in Australia in 1974, and had an almost immediate impact on the Australian art world with his distinctive, hard-hitting and politically focused work that unflinchingly brought to the fore complex issues around identity, race, gender and sexuality. As is now well known, Davila’s notoriety reached a crescendo in 1982 with the impounding of his large-scale mural Stupid as a Painter, 1981 – 82 by the NSW Vice Squad after complaints received by the conservative religious organisation the Festival of Light, spearheaded by its leader and NSW Parliamentarian, the Reverend Fred Nile.1 Yet this significant and deeply troubling event in no way curbed Davila’s desire to slaughter the ‘sacred cows’ of Australia’s art history and national myths. Since that time, his astute and biting appropriation of the imagery of European, North and South American and Australian artists in his work has seen him become one of this country’s most instantly recognisable and celebrated postmodern artists. Steadfastly committed to figuration, and to painting, as it has gone in and out of favour, Davila’s work reminds us of the capacity of art to speak to power, and of its ability to challenge societal injustice and prejudice. Tellingly, in recent years, he has increasingly turned his caustic gaze to the ongoing traumatic legacy of Australia’s colonisation and to our unconscionable treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. Untitled, 1944 Is one of several Davila paintings of the 1990s based on French artist Fernand Léger’s iconic Nude on a Red Background, 1927. In each iteration, Davila reworks the blocky forms, articulated limbs and singular orb-like breast of Léger’s sitter, recreating her in a number of different guises. Set against a decorative background reminiscent of the patterns and colours of South American textiles, the subject of Davila’s Untitled is gender fluid, impassive, and defiant. Authorship of the painting is also characteristically thrown into question by the artist’s enigmatic signature, ‘‘Juan Léger”. As Elizabeth Ann Macgregor has noted: ‘Davila forces us to consider the question of what we want from artists today. He gives us a comprehensive answer: provocative, probing, witty, uncomfortable, unpalatable work which nonetheless aspires to a level of aesthetic pleasure – beauty even: work that cannot be forgotten and which leaves a lingering sense of unease, disturbing our world view at a time when dissent has become increasingly unacceptable. No-one escapes Davila’s excoriating gaze.’2 1. History repeated itself in 2019 when the Australian Christian Lobby called for the removal of Davila’s work Holy Family from the exhibition The Abyss at Griffith University Art Museum in Brisbane. The work remained on show. 2. Macgregor, E., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, p. vii KELLY GELLATLY © Juan Davila. Licensed by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Deutscher and Hackett
Jul. 27, 2022
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Carmen Gallardo 2005 screenprint, ed. P/P II/III
Est: $1,600 - $2,600
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Carmen Gallardo 2005 screenprint, ed. P/P II/III editioned, titled, signed and dated below image 95 x 59cm PROVENANCE: The Estate of Larry Rawling, Melbourne OTHER NOTES: RELATED WORK: Guacolda del Carmen Gallardo 2004, oil on canvas, 120 x 90cm, the Collection of the National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne. © Juan Davila. Licensed by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Apr. 10, 2022
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) Wotan 2013
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) Wotan 2013 mixed media signed, dated and inscribed lower left: Juan Davila 2013 Fig. 145 45 x 65cm © Juan Davila, Licenced by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Gibson's
Mar. 08, 2022
JUAN DAVILA, GOD AND COUNTRY, 1989
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
JUAN DAVILA Chilean/Australian, born 1946 GOD AND COUNTRY, 1989 colour screenprint 49.0 x 96.0 cm (image) 80.0 x 124.0 cm (sheet) 98.0 x 141.5 cm (frame) edition: 13/20 signed, dated and inscribed with title and number below image: 13/20 "God and Country" Juan Davila 1989 PROVENANCE Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne John Buckley collection, Melbourne Mossgreen, Melbourne, 13 May 2014, lot 33 Shannon Bennett, Melbourne EXHIBITED Juan Davila Retrospective, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 9 September – 12 November 2006, then touring to the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 November 2006 – 4 February 2007 (another example) Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 11 April – 1 September 2013 (another example) LITERATURE Brett, G. and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, pl. 119, p. 228 (illus., another example) Cotterell, S., ‘Review of Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style’, Fusion Journal, no. 2, 2013, p. 4 (another example) RELATED WORK Other examples of this print are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and the State Library Victoria, Melbourne. This image was reproduced at a larger size on a billboard as part of Add Magic: A National Billboard Project, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney in association with the Biennale of Sydney, 1990. Photographic documentation is published in Brett, G. and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, pl. 120, p. 229 © Juan Davila. Licensed by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art This item is located at our Melbourne gallery
Deutscher and Hackett
Jan. 27, 2022
JUAN DAVILA, EXHIBITION POSTER FROM 1989, TOLARNO GALLERIES, 59 X 42CM (SHEET), FRAMED: 63 X 46CM
Est: $300 - $500
JUAN DAVILA, EXHIBITION POSTER FROM 1989, TOLARNO GALLERIES, 59 X 42CM (SHEET), FRAMED: 63 X 46CM
Leonard Joel
Nov. 23, 2021
Juan Davila (b. 1946)
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
I Am Positive and I Am Negative, 1989 coloured lithograph on paper, edition: 9/40, numbered, titled, signed and dated below image '9/40, I Am Positive and I Am Negative, Juan Davila, 1989'
Shapiro Auctioneers
Nov. 23, 2021
Juan Davila (b. 1946)
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
I Am Positive and I Am Negative, 1989 coloured lithograph on paper, edition: 9/40, numbered, titled, signed and dated below image '9/40, I Am Positive and I Am Negative, Juan Davila, 1989'
Shapiro Auctioneers
Sep. 23, 2021
HOWARD ARKLEY and JUAN DAVILA (1951-1999), born 1946, Interior with Built-in Bar 1992
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
HOWARD ARKLEY and JUAN DAVILA (1951-1999), born 1946 Interior with Built-in Bar 1992 screenprint (diptych) 169.3 x 216.0 cm (sheet, overall) edition: Printer's Proof 3/4 (edition of 6 + 4 Artist's Proofs) numbered and signed upper left: PP III/IV Juan Davila signed with initials and dated within image lower left: H.A. 91. signed and dated within image lower right: Davila 92. signed and dated within image upper left: Roy Davila 92. titled within image upper right: Interior with Built-in Bar printed by Larry Rawling Fine Art Prints, Melbourne
Menzies
Aug. 03, 2021
JUAN DAVILA, YES, 2013
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 YES, 2013 silkscreen print on paper 50.0 x 65.0 cm (sheet) edition: 17/30 signed, dated and numbered below image PROVENANCE Courtesy of the Artist and Michael and Eleonora Triguboff CONDITION This silkscreen print is in excellent, stable and original condition. The work is offered unframed. Image courtesy IMAAC
Deutscher and Hackett
Aug. 16, 2020
DAVILA Juan (b.1946), 'Untitled Figure 100,' 2013., Ink & Gouache, 55.5x39.5cm
Est: $1,800 - $2,500
DAVILA, Juan (b.1946) 'Untitled Figure 100,' 2013. Provenance: Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne (cat #JD-2013.014-WP). Ink & Gouache 55.5x39.5cm
Davidson Auctions
Jul. 29, 2020
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) The Field 1988 screenprint 16/30
Est: $1,600 - $2,600
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) The Field 1988 screenprint 16/30 editioned, titled, signed and dated below image 92 x 64cm OTHER NOTES: © Juan Davila. Licensed by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
Leonard Joel
Oct. 29, 2019
JUAN DAVILA, UNTITLED FIG. 100, 2013
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 UNTITLED FIG. 100, 2013 ink and gouache on paper SIGNED: signed, dated and inscribed below image: Fig. 100 Juan Davila 2013 DIMENSIONS: 50.0 x 65.0 cm PROVENANCE: Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne (cat. JD-2013.014-WP) Private collection, Sydney, acquired from the above in 2013 EXHIBITED: Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Sydney Contemporary, Sydney, 19 – 22 September 2013 This work is located in our Sydney gallery.
Deutscher and Hackett
Aug. 28, 2018
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 Woman in a Landscape 1998 oil on canvas 160 x 224 cm
Est: $60,000 - $80,000
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 Woman in a Landscape 1998 oil on canvas signed and dated 'J. Davila 98.' lower right; signed, dated and inscribed '"WOMAN IN A LANDSCAPE" / JUAN DAVILA 1998 / JUAN DAVILA 1998' verso 160 x 224 cm PROVENANCE Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Juan Davila, Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide, 2 February - 4 March 2000, no. 4
Smith & Singer
Jun. 13, 2018
JUAN DAVILA , born 1946, Chilean/Australian, NOTHING, 1987 , oil on canvas, fourteen panels
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
JUAN DAVILA , born 1946, Chilean/Australian, NOTHING, 1987 , oil on canvas, fourteen panels SIGNED: signed, dated and inscribed with title verso: "NOTHING" / JUAN DAVILA 1987 DIMENSIONS: 241.0 x 251.0 cm PROVENANCE: Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne Holmes à Court Collection, Perth Company collection, Sydney Deutscher~Menzies, Sydney, 10 March 2003, lot 12 Gene and Brian Sherman collection, Sydney EXHIBITED: The Australian Bicentennial Perspecta, Art Gallery New South Wales, Sydney, 14 October - 29 November 1987; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 5 - 17 April 1988; Wurttembergische Kurstverein, Stuttgart, Germany, March - April 1989 Juan Davila, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 9 September - 12 November 2006; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 November 2006 - 4 February 2007 LITERATURE: Brett, G., and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne in association with Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, pl. 35, pp. 54, 112 (illus.), 253 ESSAY: Juan Davila lives and works in Melbourne SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2015 Green Room. Juan Davila, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane 2013 Melbourne Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 2007 Andy and Oz: Parallel Visions, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, USA 2007 Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany 2006 Juan Davila Retrospective, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney 2002 Juan Davila: Works 1988 - 2002, Australian National University Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra 2002 Fieldwork, Australian Art 1968 - 2002, National Gallery of Victoria SELECTED LITERATURE Briggs, K., Juan Davila : the moral meaning of wilderness, ANU Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, 2010 Brett, G., and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne in association with Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006 Juan Davila : works 1988-2002, ANU Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, 2002 SELECTED COLLECTIONS Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth National Gallery of Australia, Canberra National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Heide Museum of Modern Art, Victoria Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo, Spain Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane REPRESENTED BY Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 30, 2017
JUAN DAVILA born 1946, Untitled (Conquistador) 1994
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
JUAN DAVILA born 1946, Untitled (Conquistador) 1994 JUAN DAVILA born 1946, Untitled (Conquistador) 1994 oil on canvas on board, 69.5 x 49.5 cm signed and dated lower right: Davila 94. signed and dated verso: JUAN DAVILA 1994. , , Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne Private collection, Sydney
Menzies
Sep. 21, 2017
Juan Davila, (Chilean, 1946- ), “Eclipse of the Sun” embossed print, hand colored, signed, 15.5"x20.75"H framed.
Est: $100 - $200
Juan Davila, (Chilean, 1946- ), “Eclipse of the Sun” embossed print, hand colored, signed, 15.5"x20.75"H framed.
Cedarburg Auction & Appraisals LLC
May. 04, 2016
JUAN DAVILA, born 1946, MONOGRAM, 1989, oil and collage on canvas
Est: $80,000 - $120,000
JUAN DAVILA, born 1946, MONOGRAM, 1989, oil and collage on canvas SIGNED: signed, dated and inscribed verso: MONOGRAM - JUAN DAVILA 1989 DIMENSIONS: 280.0 - 280.0 cm LITERATURE: Brett, B. and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, p. 132 (illus.) PROVENANCE: Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne Juan Davila, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, 1989 Juan Davila, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, - September - 12 November 2006; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 November 2006 - 4 February 2007 ESSAY ‘We seem to have lost the capacity to relate to any other culture or being but the Western one…. Social issues, disturbance, difference, misery, madness and strangeness are silenced by emphasising in the other only that which resembles us, or by distancing the other and its desire as alien, thus erasing the capacity of anyone to address or challenge us…’1 With his unswerving belief in the role of the artist as ‘provocateur’, for over four decades now Chilean-born artist, Juan Davila has consistently interrogated prevailing cultural, social and sexual identities to create an art that is as uncomfortable at times as it is compelling. Whether critiquing the Australian political system, the greed of late-capitalism, the oppression exerted by Western art history or the treatment of marginalised people in both Chile and Australia, his work is strident and confrontational, yet strangely seductive and always unforgettable – bestowing a lingering sense of disquiet and inevitably disturbing our world view. Throughout his rich and varied oeuvre, one of Davila’s signature techniques has been his ‘cultural quotation style’ which juxtaposes allusions and references to other artists alongside the visual landscape of the street (comic strips, tarot cards, pornography, political cartoons etc). While this challenge to the ‘high-low’ divide is reminiscent of the Western avant-garde as espoused by Dada and Pop Art, importantly the strategy also evokes the hybrid modernism of his native Latin America which typically incorporates indigenous, colonial and external influences. Betraying contradictory qualities of refinement and tackiness, mimicry and invention, celebration and condemnation, Monogram, 1989 encapsulates the fragmentary implications of this ‘collage’ approach, invariably employed by the artist to promote uncomfortable ambiguity and create subtle shifts in perception. Overwhelming both in their scale and myriad cast of art world identities, Davila’s elaborate tableaux from 1989 (including Retablo, Hybrid and The Barricade) are undeniably considered among the most powerful of his career – and certainly, Monogram is no exception. A direct parody of the ‘combine’ painting of the same name by Robert Rauschenberg in which the American artist juxtaposes the taxidermied head of a goat (here Davila employs a kangaroo instead), indeed Monogram illustrates well Davila’s use of mimicry as a strategy of reinvention through the recombination of cultural forms. In the same vein for example, Davila comically conflates Brack’s signature ballroom dancers with his feted portrait of Fred Williams in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia; performance artist Mike Parr appears with his head anamorphically distorted; and fellow South-American social realist, Antonio Berni, is referenced in the figure of Juanita Laguna (a fictional character from his collaged narratives condemning the poverty engendered by neocolonialism in Argentina) – to list but a few of the many allusions to the ‘art economy’ incorporated by Davila as ciphers to be decoded. Moreover, the dismantling of pictorial unity that occurs through the collision of so-called ‘high art’ with mundane imagery here (Australian memorabilia from literature and advertising, kitchen linen reproductions etc) not only forces the viewer to question the hierarchies applied to images, but serves to undermine the power historically accorded to the artist as the originator of art’s fixed meanings, and ultimately, to de-stabilise the Western tradition as the dominant cultural narrative. Highly respected for his resonant social voice, Davila has exhibited widely throughout Australia, South America, North America and Europe since the 1970s. His work was included in the 1982 and 1984 Biennales of Sydney and the 1998 Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil, and featured prominently in Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany, in 2007. In 2006, a major retrospective exhibition was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, while other notable recent achievements include The Moral Meaning of Wilderness, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2011 and the non-acquisitive Benalla Nude Art Prize which he was awarded in 2014. Today his work is held in all major public collections throughout Australia, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Museo Extremeno e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporaneo, Madrid. 1. Davila, J., ‘A Brief Commentary by the Artist’ in Juan Davila: Works 1988-2002, The Australian National University Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, 26 September – 3 November 2002, p. 13 VERONICA ANGELATOS
Deutscher and Hackett
Dec. 01, 2015
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Untitled 1975 ink, pencil and watercolour on paper
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
JUAN DAVILA (born 1946) Untitled 1975 ink, pencil and watercolour on paper signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 75 70 x 57.5cm PROVENANCE: Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, cat. no. 4 (label verso) Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Aug. 25, 2015
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 Ned Kelly 1984 oil on canvas
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 Ned Kelly 1984 oil on canvas signed, dated and inscribed 'JUAN DAVILA 1984. / "NED KELLY"' verso 137 x 137 cm PROVENANCE Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above on 31 January 1991 EXHIBITED Juan Davila, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 17 September - 5 October 1985, no. 7 (label verso) LITERATURE Paul Taylor (ed.), Hysterical Tears: Juan Davila, Greenhouse Publications, Melbourne, 1985, pp. 90, 91 (illustrated)
Smith & Singer
May. 06, 2015
JUAN DAVILA, born 1946, THE STUDIO, 1984, oil on canvas
Est: $90,000 - $120,000
JUAN DAVILA, born 1946, THE STUDIO, 1984, oil on canvas SIGNED: signed, dated and titled verso: "THE STUDIO" / JUAN DAVILA 1984. DIMENSIONS: 200.0 x 200.0 cm EXHIBITED: Juan Davila Retrospective, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 30 November 2006 – 4 February 2007 Juan Davila, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 25 September – 12 November 2006 Juan Davila: Paintings 1980/84, Galleria Su, Santiago, 1984 LITERATURE: Davila, J. and Taylor, P., Juan Davila: Hysterical Tears, Greenhouse Publications, Melbourne, 1985 (illus. p. 95) Brett, G., and Benjamin, R., Juan Davila, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006, p. 103 (illus. pl. 28) PROVENANCE: Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne ESSAY: ‘We seem to have lost the capacity to relate to any other culture or being but the Western one…. Social issues, disturbance, difference, misery, madness and strangeness are silenced by emphasising in the other only that which resembles us, or by distancing the other and its desire as alien, thus erasing the capacity of anyone to address or challenge us…’1 With his unswerving belief in the role of the artist as ‘provocateur’, for over four decades Chilean-born artist, Juan Davila has consistently interrogated prevailing cultural, social and sexual identities to create an art that is as uncomfortable at times as it is compelling. Whether critiquing the Australian political system, the greed of late capitalism, the oppression exerted by Western art history or the treatment of marginalised people in both Chile and Australia, his work is strident and confrontational, yet strangely seductive and always unforgettable – bestowing a lingering sense of disquiet and inevitably disturbing our world view. Throughout his rich and varied oeuvre, one of Davila’s signature techniques has been his ‘cultural quotation style’ which juxtaposes allusions and references to other artists alongside the visual landscape of the street (comic strips, tarot cards, pornography, political cartoons etc.). While this challenge to the ‘high-low’ divide is reminiscent of the Western avant-garde as espoused by Dada and Pop Art, importantly the strategy also evokes the hybrid modernism of his native Latin America which typically incorporates indigenous, colonial and external influences. Betraying contradictory qualities of refinement and tackiness, mimicry and invention, celebration and condemnation, The Studio, 1984 encapsulates well the fragmentary implications of this ‘collage’ approach, invariably employed by the artist to promote uncomfortable ambiguity and create subtle shifts in perception. Situating himself here as the central figure, Davila offers a complex fusion of Pop Art ‘quotations’ – from the hallmark ‘Ben Day Dots’, yellow and red primary palette enclosed with thick black lines, and presence of the ‘mushroom cloud’ so characteristic of Roy Lichtenstein’s comic-book strip paintings, to the female figure in stiletto heels which is clearly borrowed from the work of British Pop artist, Allen Jones. There are similarly echoes of Allan D’Arcangelo in the pictorial backdrop which draws the viewer’s eye to the horizon along an American highway, and Swedish-American artist, Claes Oldenburg in the motif of the ‘everyday object’ couch. Notably, Davila also deliberately includes – yet simultaneously attempts to efface – the figure representation of Richard Lindner and emphatically strikes a line through his name in the index, suggesting his disdain for the German-American painter renowned for promoting gender roles in the media. Blatantly acknowledging his sources here through the use of stencilled red numbers (itself a device pioneered by Lichtenstein) and an index of multiple authors, Davila thus pointedly challenges the Western concept of ‘originality’ as symbolised by the artist’s signature – undermining the systems of authentication that confirm identity, ownership and value in capitalist culture. Moreover, the dismantling of pictorial unity that occurs through the collision of so-called ‘high art’ with mundane imagery (the tissue box, mirror and experiments bubbling over on a stovetop for example, all described as ‘etcetera’) serves not only to question the hierarchies applied to images, but to destabilise the power both historically accorded to the artist as the originator of art’s fixed meanings and ultimately, the Western tradition as the dominant cultural narrative. Highly respected for his resonant social voice, Davila has exhibited widely throughout Australia, South America, North America and Europe since the 1970s. His work was included in the 1982 and 1984 Biennales of Sydney and the 1998 Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil, and featured prominently in Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany, in 2007. In 2006, a major retrospective exhibition was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, while other notable recent achievements include The Moral Meaning of Wilderness, Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, 2011 and the non-acquisitive Benalla Nude Art Prize which he was awarded in 2014. Today his work is held in all major public collections throughout Australia, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Museo Extremeno e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporaneo, Madrid. 1. Davila, J., ‘A Brief Commentary by the Artist’ in Juan Davila: Works 1988-2002, The Australian National University Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra, 26 September – 3 November 2002, p. 13 VERONICA ANGELATOS
Deutscher and Hackett
Jul. 24, 2014
JUAN DAVILA born 1946
Est: $12,000 - $16,000
Carmen Gallardo gouache and synthetic polymer paint on paper and perspex signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 2005 signed and dated lower right: Juan Davila 2005
Menzies
Mar. 20, 2014
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 Portrait of Enriqueta
Est: $75,000 - $95,000
JUAN DAVILA born 1946 Portrait of Enriqueta Gallardo (Buckley's Return) 1999 oil, gold leaf and mixed media on canvas laid on board signed and dated lower left: J Davila 1999|signed, dated and inscribed verso: "PORTRAIT OF ENRIQUETA GALLARDO"/ JUAN DAViLA 1999/ JUAN DAViLA 1999|
Menzies
May. 09, 2013
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) Grafting 1989 screenprint H.C. 1/11
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) Grafting 1989 screenprint H.C. 1/11 signed and dated lower right titled lower centre editioned lower left 114 x 76cm
Leonard Joel
Apr. 07, 2013
Juan Davila (b.1946) Untitled 1994 (Conquistador) Oil on canvas on board
Est: $10,000 - $12,000
Juan Davila (b.1946) Untitled 1994 (Conquistador) Oil on canvas on board Signed & dated lower right & verso 59 x 70 cm Provenance: Purchaed: Kalli Rolfe Gallery Melbourne
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Nov. 22, 2012
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) Pre-Modern Self-Portrait 1988 screenprint 30/30
Est: $600 - $800
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) Pre-Modern Self-Portrait 1988 screenprint 30/30 92.5 x 64.5cm
Leonard Joel
Nov. 22, 2012
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) The Field 1988 screenprint 30/30
Est: $600 - $800
JUAN DAVILA (BORN 1946) The Field 1988 screenprint 30/30 92.5 x 64.5cm
Leonard Joel
May. 29, 2012
Juan Davila (born 1946)
Est: £60,000 - £80,000
Juanita Laguna 1995 signed and dated 'Juan Brack 95' lower right; inscribed 'Juanito Laguna / JUAN DAVILA 1995' on vers oil on canvas 123.0 x 107.5cm (48 7/16 x 42 5/16in).
Bonhams
Apr. 14, 2008
JUAN DAVILA (1946 - ) Surreal Image signed
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
JUAN DAVILA (1946 - ) Surreal Image signed 'Davila' and dated '75' lower right pencil, 49 x 32 cm.
Leonard Joel