On 16 January, The Auction Collective will hold Lend Your Ears + Open Your Eyes at The Koppel Project in London. Taking its name from a quote by Wassily Kandsinksy, the sale explores the intersection of music and art and features more than 30 collaborations of contemporary artists and musicians. Here are some highlights from the inspiring array.
Requested for the jazz musician Matthew Halsall’s anniversary albums Sending My Love and Colour, Flux is an experimental painting informed by Jon Llewelyn’s impressive 22-year career in graphic design. The work showcases Llewelyn’s passion for Bauhaus art, exploring the relationship and balance between shape, texture and colour. Never out of style, mid-century design is nevertheless having a current resurgence in popularity, making this work particularly enticing at auction.
The story behind the photograph that became the cover art of Hayden Thorpe’s 2019 album Diviner seems almost like an act of divine intervention: Thorpe fell off of his bicycle mere minutes before the scheduled shoot with his friend, the internationally acclaimed photographer Oliver Chanarin. He escaped relatively unscathed, not hurt except for a neat trace of blood on the tip of his index finger, or ‘diviner.’ The two artists took the incident in stride, resulting in a beautifully balanced photograph with an intriguing backstory.
Perfectly capturing the allure of the modern star, this shot by Jordan Curtis Hughes shows The Streets frontman Mike Skinner crowdsurfing among his adoring fans, surrounded by raised hands and a haze of lights from mobile phone cameras. Encapsulating the grit and glamour of the contemporary hip hop scene, the arresting photo was taken right before Skinner dislocated his shoulder. Hughes is adept at photographing other artists, working with everyone from Taylor Swift to John Boyega, and his editorial, advertorial, portrait and live music photography is highly sought after.
Created in conjunction with a single from Kid Acne’s LP HAVE A WORD, the spray painted You Get What You’re Given is a beautiful example of the artist’s trademark style. The album itself is an artistic collaboration, featuring guest emcees Juga-Naut, Juice Aleem and New Kingdom. Emerging in the ‘90s as a graffiti artist, Kid Acne’s slogan murals have now adorned entire facades from Gateshead to Venice Beach, and he has collaborated with brands such as Prada, Kenzo, Elle and Warp Records.
One of three Gareth Halliday pieces featured in the auction, Living on the Edge was created for Noel Gallagher’s 2017 High Flying Birds album Who Built The Moon. Halliday was inspired by the “otherworldly quality of the instrumental arrangements” to create a visual world completely at one with the music. The result is a surreal piece featuring swimmers with inner tubes as though they are about to jump off the edge and float on the clouds, a slightly dark but entirely captivating concept.
Reservoir 3 was created by Eleanor Meredith as part of a series of projections that lit the stage for the Aurora Orchestra as they performed the Moon Concert. This inception lends the work a particular immediacy to the music, and the minimal lines are vibrant and cheerful. Meredith is known for her charming abstractions, and is interested in capturing subconscious interactions and fleeting moments.
The auction will take place on 16 January at The Koppel Project, 49 Poland St, London. The exhibition is on display from 10-16 January, 10am-6 pm at The Koppel Project. Besides being present, there is the option for absentee bidding and telephone bidding.
![Simon Gate, engraved glass bowl, model 122, Orrefors, 1923 [detail]. Photo: Bukowskis](https://images.prismic.io/barnebys/1a48de6d-7561-4707-8be8-5a410a13ad6c_Cover.jpg?auto=format,compress)