12-15-201212-15-2012
Skinner Auctions
Skinner AuctionsBoston MA
2626BBoston
December 15, 2012 10:00 AMCalender
549

Cletus Johnson (American, b. 1941) Moon

Sell one like this
$1,920$1,600
Auction: 20th Century Design - 2626BLocation: BostonDate / Time: December 15, 2012 10:00AM

Description:

Cletus Johnson (American, b. 1941)

Moon, 1975
Identified on a label from A.M. Sachs Gallery, New York, affixed to the reverse.
Mixed media (wood, enamel, plastic, glass and electric fixtures) construction, 36 1/4 x 31 x 12 in.
Condition: Good.

Exhibitions: Cletus Johnson, Inaugural Exhibition, The James Prendergast Library Association Art Gallery, July 17 to August 25, 1978, no. 3.

Note: The present work is a shadow box construction from Johnson's "Theaters" series, which Hilton Kramer described as "imaginary movie-palace entrances and facades painted a ghostly monochrome gray and embellished with beguiling architectural details and eerie, tiny lights" which have a "nostalgic dreamlike quality." (1) The exhibition pamphlet for Cletus Johnson and a letter from the artist accompanies the lot.

(1) Hilton Kramer, "Art: Cletus Johnson's 'Theaters'. New York Times, May 21, 1976, p. 73.
Estimate $800-1,000

Keywords

A.M. Sachs Gallery, Mixed media, Theaters, The James Prendergast Library Association Art Gallery, New York Times