Auctions – Material Culture

ABOUT THE CHINALAI COLLECTION

Lee and Vichai Chinalai Welcome to our auction and thank you to Material Culture for making it happen. Why now? First and foremost, this sale reflects our near-historic lack of restraint in buying Southeast Asian and Chinese ethnographic antiques! It is also about our love of learning and for the artifacts and cultures that created them; and for the people who share our passion. We started this business over forty years ago with the philosophy that we only would buy what we would be happy to have ourselves. This removed a certain pressure from us: it meant we didn’t have to study the market or try to forecast its trends when we preferred to devote our time to studying the pieces we were buying. We believed in intrinsic value rather than value dictated by fashion or whim. Not that the market didn’t influence sales but it nearly always was more by coincidence than by design. For example, there was one time at a show when we displayed ten lingam stones of varying sizes, all standing upright on rubber O rings. We thought they were stunning together but O seemed to stand for zero attention. Then Indiana Jones and [...]

Material Culture2020-07-23T17:34:49-04:00July 22nd, 2020|Auctions|

CHINALAI COLLECTION | AUCTION: AUG 17

Browse the Virtual Print Catalog Asian & Ethnographic Art and Antiques | Chinalai Collection Live Online Auction: Monday, August 17, 10AM ET Please note: Due to covid-19 safety measures, preview viewing is available by appointment only, Saturday and Sunday, August 15-16, 10am – 3pm. Please email a time and the lots you wish to view to expert@materialculture.com Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on these Portals: Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) ABOUT THE CHINALAI COLLECTION Lee and Vichai Chinalai Welcome to our auction and thank you to Material Culture for making it happen. Why now? First and foremost, this sale reflects our near-historic lack of restraint in buying Southeast Asian and Chinese ethnographic antiques! It is also about our love of learning and for the artifacts and cultures that created them; and for the people who share our passion. We started this business over forty years ago with the philosophy that we only would buy what we would be happy to have ourselves. (continue reading) SOME SELECT AUCTION LOTS

Material Culture2020-08-06T09:36:38-04:00July 22nd, 2020|Auctions|

Artist Nina Martino | Talk & Reception | Saturday, October 12, 1pm

ART 360 | FINE, FOLK, OUTSIDER & ETHNOGRAPHIC ART Live Showroom Auction: Sunday, October 13, 2019, 11AM ET Exhibition: October 10-12, 11AM-4PM Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on these Portals: Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) Join Us! Gallery Talk, Reception & Refreshments | Saturday, October 12, 1pm Artist Nina Martino takes us on a personal artistic journey: Growing Up Martino: A Philadelphia Family of Artists Nina Martino Nina Martino (b. 1952), daughter of the Philadelphia artists Giovanni and Eva Martino, was born into an extended family of painters: her father’s seven brothers–notably Antonio Martino–were painters as well. While Ms. Martino’s most influential teachers were her parents, she attended Moore Institute of Art at the age of 10, and continued her art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She holds a BFA from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, a Diploma from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy, and a MFA from the Instituto Allende, University of Guanajuato, Mexico. Martino’s landscapes are calm, simplified studies depicting Philadelphia and its environs. The award-winning artist is represented in numerous museum and private collections. Martino’s work was recently featured in the traveling [...]

Material Culture2020-01-30T14:33:32-05:00September 30th, 2019|Auctions|

Auction, October 13 | Fine, Folk, Outsider & Ethnographic Art

ART 360 | FINE, FOLK, OUTSIDER & ETHNOGRAPHIC ART Live Showroom Auction: Sunday, October 13, 2019, 11AM ET Exhibition: October 10-12, 11AM-4PM Join Us! Gallery Talk & Reception | Saturday, October 12, 1pm Artist Nina Martino takes us on a personal artistic journey: Growing Up Martino: A Philadelphia Family of Artists Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on these Portals: Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF)

Material Culture2020-01-30T14:33:32-05:00September 28th, 2019|Auctions|

Join Us | Exhibition, Gallery Talk & Barbecue, Sunday, June 9

JOIN US SUNDAY, JUNE 9 AUCTION EXHIBITION: STRAIGHT UP | AMERICAN OUTSIDER ART | NO RESERVES 11AM-4PM GALLERY TALK: Folks Coming Home: The Golden Age of 20th Century American Folk/Outsider Art, An Illustrated Lecture by Norman Girardot, Author of Envisioning Howard Finster: The Religion and Art of a Stranger From Another World (University of California Press, 2015) 2:00PM REFRESHMENTS: A GOOD OLD FASHIONED AMERICAN/BALKAN BARBECUE NOON-2:00PM Free | Open to the Public | Unlimited Free Parking STRAIGHT UP | AMERICAN OUTSIDER ART | NO RESERVES Live Gallery Auction: Monday, June 10, 2019, 11AM ET  Exhibition: June 7-9, 11AM-4PM Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on these Portals: Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) JOIN US | Special Guest Speaker | Reception & Barbecue Reception & Barbecue: Sunday, June 9, Noon-2PM Norman Girardot Talk: Sunday, June 9, 2PM FREE | OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | UNLIMITED FREE PARKING Folks Coming Home: The Golden Age of 20th Century American Folk/Outsider Art An Illustrated Lecture by Norman Girardot, Author of Envisioning Howard Finster: The Religion and Art of a Stranger From Another World (University of California [...]

Material Culture2020-01-30T14:33:31-05:00May 31st, 2019|Auctions|

Hector Hyppolite: Haitian Vodou and Surrealism

ART 360 | FINE, FOLK, OUTSIDER & ETHNOGRAPHIC ART Live Auction: Sunday, May 5, 2019, 11AM ET Exhibition: May 3-4, 11AM-4PM Also accepting online, phone and absentee bidding Click here for more information Hector Hyppolite: Haitian Vodou and Surrealism Reposted from Bidsquare's Blog, "On the Square" Apr 25,2019 | 12:00 EDT By Jessica Helen Weinberg, Senior Content Editor Lot 74, Hector Hyppolite, "Poisson A Tete De Femme", Oil painting on board; Estimate $20,000-$40,000 He claimed that La Sirene, The Goddess of the Sea, was his life-partner and for a third generation Vodou priest with an aptitude for painting, they would have undoubtedly made a wondrous pair. "He" is Hector Hyppolite, the mythical painter considered to be the spiritual father of the Haitian Art Movement. Hector Hyppolite was born in 1894 in Saint-Marc and began his early life continuing his family tradition as a Houngan (Vodou priest) who also, on occasion, made shoes and painted houses. However, it wasn't until Philippe Thoby-Marcelin, a Haitian poet and novelist, noticed Hector Hyppolite's painterly talents that Hyppolite's rather isolated life began to unfold into a noticeable career in the arts. In 1946, Philippe Thoby-Marcelin brought Hyppolite to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince where he [...]

Material Culture2019-04-26T14:21:03-04:00April 26th, 2019|Auctions|

Material Culture Auction Results | Outsider Art

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Material Culture2019-03-04T15:07:24-05:00March 4th, 2019|Auctions|

Material Culture Auction Results | Haitian Art

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WISH TO CONSIGN? Click here for information on selling at auction

Material Culture2019-02-21T11:19:24-05:00February 21st, 2019|Auctions|

AUCTION | RICARDO VIERA COLLECTION | DEC. 16

FINE | FOLK | OUTSIDER | ETHNOGRAPHIC Live Auction: Sunday, December 16, 2018, 11AM ET  Exhibition: December 14-15, 11AM-4PM Join Us | Exhibition Reception & Refreshments, Saturday, December 15, 1pm-4pm | Unlimited Free Parking Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on these Portals: Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF) The Ricardo Viera Collection (Lots 212 through 342) Ricardo Viera Ricardo Viera Will Hug You Close And Help You to See the Glorious and Mundane Wonder of the World Through His Aesthetically Attuned Eyes As a colleague, friend, “partner in crime” in the “Eat Art Collaborative,” and a long-time co-promoter of the late-great outsider artists Howard Finster and Mr. Imagination (as well as, among others, Purvis Young, Charlie Lucas, Lonnie Holley, Mario Mesa, and Norbert Kox), I am delighted to introduce you to the extraordinary man behind the fine, folk, ethnographic, and outsider artworks and photography being auctioned at Material Culture. I refer to Ricardo Viera who is the recently retired Professor Emeritus at Lehigh University, the founder and Director the Lehigh University Art Galleries, and a force of nature and a dynamic advocate for the arts throughout the Lehigh Valley. But beyond his regional identity [...]

Material Culture2020-01-30T14:33:31-05:00December 5th, 2018|Auctions|

AUCTION | ART 360: FINE, FOLK, OUTSIDER & ETHNOGRAPHIC | SUN. DEC 16

FINE | FOLK | OUTSIDER | ETHNOGRAPHIC Live Auction: Sunday, December 16, 2018, 11AM ET  Exhibition: December 14-15, 11AM-4PM Join Us | Exhibition Reception & Refreshments, Saturday, December 15, 1pm-4pm | Unlimited Free Parking Browse the Auction Catalog and Bid Live on these Portals: Absentee Bid Form | Telephone Bid Form | Terms and Conditions (PDF)

Material Culture2020-01-30T14:33:31-05:00December 4th, 2018|Auctions|