• Spreading Clown 2008
  • Oil on board
  • Painting
  • 30 * 39.8 cm
  • signed, titled and dated 'Tala Madani 2008 "Spreading Clown"' on the reverse
Sell at - Auction House
17 July 2019
Estimation
Realized Price
150%
Artwork Description

The present work belongs to Tala Madani’s Dazzle Men series, first exhibited at Pilar Corrias, London, in 2009. The title of the series refers to Dazzle Ships or Dazzle Camouflage, a technique employed in World War I to confuse the targeting of U-Boat commanders. War ships were decorated with complex patterns of geometric shapes in contrasting colours, which interrupted and intersected each other; instead of concealing the ships, the intention was to dazzle and mislead the enemy. This technique was linked to the contemporaneous avant-garde art scene, with artists such as Edward Wadsworth overseeing the design and painting of 2,000 ships. In her works from the Dazzle Men series, Madani has employed her dark humour to create uncanny mise-en-scènes, featuring groups of bald men in varying sizes, engaged in absurd attempts at camouflage which manifest in playful and often perverse microcosms.
More lots by Tala Madani

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Estimation
$20,000
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$30,000
Realized Price
$0
100%
Sale Date
Phillips Auction - 16 July 2026
Artist Performance at Auctions

Realized Price 20,475 USD
Min Estimate 11,624 USD
Max Estimate 17,150 USD
Average Artwork Worth
+51.337%
 
Average Growth of Artwork Worth
Sales Performance Against Estimates
Average & Median Sold Lot Value
2022 - 2026
Performance vs. Estimate
2022 - 2026
Sell-through Rate
2022 - 2026
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