Lot 5015

Positano Hillside, 2021

By Kristen Coates

From Kristen's Archive

Acrylic on canvas

8"H × 10"W

Gallery Value: $750

Auction Estimate: $500–800

Opening Bid

$75

This lot has a reserve.

Description

One of the earliest paintings in my Positano Hillside series, this small work has quietly lived with Michael and me for nearly five years. I painted it after falling in love with the way the hillside seems to emerge from the sea, sunlit architecture layered against dramatic skies and impossibly blue water.

Unlike many of my later Italian paintings, this one feels more like a memory than a landscape. The architecture dissolves into expressive color and gesture, allowing light, atmosphere, and emotion to take the lead. There is a looseness to the brushwork that captures the feeling of arriving in Positano for the first time, when the place feels almost imagined.

As my work has evolved, I've chosen to keep only a handful of early paintings from this period. After living with this one for years, it finally feels ready to become part of someone else's home and story.

Details

Artist: Kristen Coates

Title: Positano Hillside

Acrylic on canvas

8"H × 10"W

Painted in 2021

Original artwork

From Kristen Coates' personal collection