Sotheby’s set to make outdoor sculpture sale in Asia

ISTANBUL

The show features 16 monumental works by the award-winning international artist Zadok Ben-David.

Leading international auction house Sotheby’s has announced plans to host its first exhibition of outdoor sculptures in Asia.

The show will feature 16 monumental works by award-winning international artist Zadok Ben-David at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said yesterday.

Sotheby’s, with many years’ experience staging monumental sculpture exhibitions at Isleworth in Florida and at Chatsworth in the United Kingdom, now takes a proven formula further afield. The exhibition is partly sponsored by Bank Sarasin, and will be free and open to the public.

Ben-David, who was born in Yemen, raised in Israel and is now based in London, has a well-established reputation in Asia. In 2007, he was the subject of a solo exhibition at Guangdong Art Museum in China and in 2008 he was commissioned to create a landmark sculpture for the Beijing Olympics. Ben-David’s celebrated Blackfield installation, featuring a forest of 20,000 tiny botanical sculptures, has been on a world tour since its creation in 2008 and has elicited a rapturous response in every location.

For the exhibition at the Singapore Botanic Gardens this autumn, Ben-David has created 12 new works, drawn from themes from some of his most powerful sculpture series. Figures, trees and butterflies are entwined in works which challenge perceptions of reality. Each is a unique creation made of Corten (or “weathering”) steel.

Discussing the exhibition, one of the first collaborations on such a scale and nature in Asia, Wong said: “During this period of dramatic growth in the art market, collectors in Singapore have been transacting with ever-increasing enthusiasm, particularly in the field of outdoor sculpture. We are grateful to [the organizers], the Singapore Tourism Board and the National Parks Board, for providing us with an exceptional opportunity to stage an exhibition.” The exhibition will run from Oct. 23, until Jan. 31.