The debut Phillips X exhibit will be held at the auctioneer's London galleries. Image credit: Phillips
Auction house Phillips is creating an immersive art buying experience with the debut of a new exhibition platform for contemporary art.
Dubbed Phillips X, the platform is kicking off with a showcase of artist Carlos Cruz-Diez’s work, which fuses light, optical illusion and color. For Phillips, this format enables the auction house to showcase pieces from some key talents of the current and last century.
"One of the most innovative artists to emerge from the twentieth century, Carlos Cruz-Diez was an ideal choice for our first Phillips X exhibition," said Valentina Garcia, Latin American art specialist at Phillips, Miami. "As an artist whose work engages viewers' senses through their immersive and multidimensional qualities, we believe this exhibition of Cruz-Diez will appeal to both young and old, as well as seasoned and emerging collectors, making it the perfect kickoff show for Phillips X.
"Phillips has always dedicated itself to promoting Latin American art through all of our platforms and, despite his international renown, Cruz-Diez has yet to have an exhibition of this size in London," she said. "Coming off the heels of Art Basel where his work was included both in the Art Basel Unlimited and the UBS Lounge, we believe now is the perfect moment to showcase his work in the U.K."
Immersive environment
Phillips X will include exhibitions and private sales of work from the 20th and 21st centuries.
The first event in the platform is “Carlos Cruz-Diez: Luminous Reality.” Being held at Phillips’ galleries at 30 Berkeley Square in London, the show will present masterworks from the titular artist.
Mr. Cruz-Diez is a Franco-Venezuelan artist whose work centers on color. His pieces are designed to change appearance depending on where the viewer is standing, building on his research into color perception.
His art therefore requires visitors to be active participants rather than passive viewers.
Carlos Cruz-Diez. Image courtesy of Phillips
One piece featured in the exhibit, from the Environement Chromointereferent series, responds to consumers' movements in the space, creating a changing 3D environment.
The artist’s Induction Chromatique series similarly aims to produce images that last in a viewer’s vision after they are seen.
Phillips' exhibit will be up from July 16 to Sept. 6.
On display
Exhibitions offer auction houses the opportunity to engage with an audience beyond buyers.
For instance, auction house Christie’s took on a significant responsibility with its Aubrey Hepburn exhibition, using a variety of social tools and virtual reality to make a lasting impact.
Audrey Hepburn: The Personal Collection exhibition at Christie’s in London was a collection of important artifacts owned and relating to the iconic late actress. Living up to the importance of Ms. Hepburn’s legacy, the exhibition has adopted a variety of online marketing strategies to engage with consumers, most importantly being a 360-degree tour of the exhibit (see story).
In 2016, international auction house Sotheby’s held a three-part sale of the art collection of one of the world’s most beloved figures.
Sotheby’s displayed the art owned by rock ‘n’ roll legend David Bowie, who passed away on Jan. 10 that year from cancer he kept hidden from the public, in its galleries ahead of a three-part auction. Mr. Bowie was a well-known admirer of artists ranging from Andy Warhol to Damien Hirst, and the breadth of his collection and the enormity of his popularity promised large crowds (see story).
"Phillips X was launched to distinguish our private selling exhibitions from the auction-side of the business, with which Phillips’ identity has become so closely associated," Ms. Garcia said. "In reality, our services extend far beyond the live auction calendar, with private selling exhibitions, such as this one, panel discussions, arts partnerships and appraisals services.
"With exhibitions like Carlos Cruz-Diez: Luminous Reality, we are trying to present private sales material in a new, coherent and thoughtful way, as we aim to engage with our collectors outside of our standard sales calendar," she said.