On May 27 at 1pm Gray’s 19th Century, Modern and Contemporary Fine Art auction will be offering a rare Shimon Okshteyn, oil painting and serigraph on paper mounted on canvas.  It is estimated very conservatively at $8,000 – $10,000. The painting is comprised of four individual colored and painted serigraphs laid down on canvas, with the image of Mona Lisa painted on all four. The signature is on the lower right panel in the lower right corner. Okshteyn’s work is described by Robert Sandelson as “a new kind of Pop Art, engaging, shocking and baffling.” It is a massively scaled work in which Okshteyn expands upon his signature sensational mimetic representation of an old master painting.  Standing at an overall size: h: 84 x w: 94 in. Each panel is individually: h: 42 x w: 47 in.

Shimon Okshteyn emigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union in 1980.  He currently lives and works in New York City. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art, NY, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY, and the State Russian Museum of Art, Russia, to name a few. In 2007 Dialogue with Objects, a traveling retrospective exhibition organized by the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow resulted in a catalogue raisonné also titled Dialogue with Objects.

This small & select auction of 178 lots also features Lot 76: a dynamic Clement Meadmore (Australian/American, 1929-2005) bronze Cross Current, standing at 13 in tall. “In a typical sculpture by Clement Meadmore, a single, rectangular volume repeatedly twists and turns upon itself before lunging into space, as if in a mood of aspiration or exhilaration, or simply to release physical forces held in tension.” In 1994 The Sculpture of Clement Meadmore was published by Hudson Hills Press, New York.

Lot 24 is by Edmond Jean-Baptiste Tschaggeny (Belgian, 1818-1873) a stunning pastoral scene, oil on canvas featuring a shepherdess, sheep, cattle and a dog stopping for a rest beside a stream; a delightful narrative by this well known and respected animal painter.  Lot 73, by Oscar Dominguez (Spanish, 1906-1957) Nude Woman with Fruit, Ink on Paper signed and dated 1935. Oscar Dominguez showed his work in the Exposition Surréaliste de Copenhague in 1935 and then at the exhibits in London and Ténérife in 1936. His 1937 oil painting The Infernal Machine sold for $ 404,375 on June 8th 2000 at Drouot-Montaigne in Paris. Lot 120A is a Louis Icart (French, 1888-1950) Miss America, colored etching, signed lower right "Louis Icart" Upper left "copyright 1927 by Les Graveurs Modernes - 194, Rue de Rivoli Paris".

Gray’s Auctioneeers & Appraisers are located at 10717 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. Live online bidding for all Gray’s auctions is through LiveAuctioneers.com and Gray’s Live.  Founded by Deborah J. Gray & partner Serena Harragin in 2006, Gray’s Auctioneers are cementing their reputation as the leading auctioneers and appraisers in Northeast Ohio holding specialized live auctions every month.  Please visit GraysAuctioneers.com to view catalogues for the May 27, 19th Century, Modern & Contemporary Fine Art auction; and the June 3rd Fine Jewelry auction.  For more information please contact Serena Harragin at serena@graysauctioneers.com or on 216.458.7695.