Jennifer Tonkin
Co-Head of Department UK
Lot 47
KEVIN COATES: SCULPTURE "ICARUS", 1980-1
12 November 2020, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£2,500 - £3,500
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KEVIN COATES: SCULPTURE "ICARUS", 1980-1
The acrylic block with the figure of Icarus as a youth in upward motion, with head turned and eyes glancing down, the golden sun above beaming down a rainbow of heat and sunlight, mounted in gold, silver and gold leaf, signed and dated on the reverse, dimensions: 14.5cm x 4.8cm x 3.6cm
Footnotes
Illustrated and described in "Kevin Coates, A Hidden Alchemy. Goldsmithing: Jewels and Table-Pieces", Stuttgart, 2008, No 53.S.80.
Icarus as an 'angel figure' appears frequently in Coates' work, the present lot probably being one of the first produced. Other early examples include a large-scale memorial sculpture of 1984 titled, 'Ikaros' dedicated to his father (ill. No 112.S.84) and its 1981 prototype cast in oxidised and patinated silver with gold leaf detail (ill. No 72.S.81).
In Greek mythology, Icarus is imprisoned on the island of Crete with his father, Daedalus, the legendary craftsman who makes wings of feathers and wax for each of them to make their escape. Despite his father's warnings, Icarus flies too close to the sun. His wings melt in the heat and Icarus plunges to his death by drowning in the sea.
