For fucks sake, I really wanted this piece from one of my favorite painters, but damn, it got away. I was very happy to see Taner Ceylan’s painting “Spiritual” go for a healthy 70,850 GBP that’s Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium. The lot went as part of the Contemporary Turkish Art Sale last week at Sothebys. From the catalogue note;

“The artist infuses this image of a boxer with a self-portrait; although the boxer is real, the blood and sweat are not. It is in these elements that the self-portrait is found. The year 2007 was a difficult one for the artist; slated in the local press and suffering from the onslaught both on his skills and his person, Ceylan transferred these emotions and experiences onto his boxer. The bleeding face, the punch-drunk gaze and the bruises all refer to his own emotional experience transferred to his pugilistic model, simultaneously shocking and piteous.”

He’s having his first NY show too, that is if you didn’t happen to catch the news of that opening on twitter, at 1-20, March 6 – May 2, 2009. Abstraction of Nothing, which consists of five new oil paintings by the Turkish artist. Transporter (Self-Portrait) and the cock sucking painting, The White Center 2008 are among my favorites.

Transporter (Self-Portrait) 2008, Oil on canvas, 55.12 x 78.74 inches (140 x 200 cm)