Next month will see the ICA and Sotheby’s join forces to raise funds to benefit the pioneering contemporary art institution in its 75th year. More than 20 internationally renowned artists have generously donated artworks, with Yinka Shonibare, John Currin and Raymond Pettibon each creating entirely new pieces for this sale. All of the artists involved have played an important part in the ICA’s history, and conversely, many credit the institute with inspiring their work and supporting their practice from the very beginning of their careers.
Having been a Londoner for three decades now, I can’t think of a single year in which the ICA didn’t enrich, surprise and contribute to my understanding of art in the context of the UK and the wider world around us. It is an honour to be part of this ongoing journey in its 75th year. The ICA is needed now more than ever as an independent advocate and platform for the next generation of artists, whose work strives to answer to the pressing challenges of our time.
Wolfgang Tillmans, Chairman, ICA
Encompassing sculpture, paintings, prints and appliqué, highlights of the auction include a vibrant canvas by Richard Prince, who in 1983 staged a solo exhibition at the ICA, a 2019 watercolour by Anish Kapoor and a large-scale fluid Freischwimmer print by ICA’s Chair, Wolfgang Tillmans. Enrico David, whose first major public exhibition took place at the institution in 2007, has also donated an artwork alongside Tacita Dean, Marlene Dumas, Isa Genzken and Antony Gormley, among others.
The collection will go on public view in Sotheby’s London galleries from 8th October, before the works are offered as part of the Contemporary Art Day Auction on 15th October. Proceeds from the auction will support the future of the ICA which, since its inception, has been a progressive, alternative, and safe place for artists who are looking beyond the mainstream: the ones who are willing to go beyond the status quo, the artists who take risks and defy definitions. Under the leadership of new director Bengi Ünsal, the ICA hopes to continue in its mission to present a multidisciplinary programme across the arts and media – which challenges the past, questions the present and confronts the future – for the next 75 years.
