Last March 14th, Christie’s Paris held the auction 4013 Bande dessinée et illustration, in which they offered a total of 446 lots by european and american artists. Among others, the auction included Albert Uderzo, Will Eisner, Hugo Pratt, Jean-Pierre Gibrat, Enki Bilal, Moebius y Milo Manara.
Romulo Royo‘s work was featured in this auction with two pieces: Goddesses of Nibiru (2014, airbrush and oil on fabric mounted on backlighted methacrylate, 153 x 123 cm) and Cement and Oxide (2012, airbrush and oil on canvas, 174 x 141 cm), by Romulo Royo and Luis Royo. The event was a great success.
Goddeses of Nibiru was sold for a final price of 11.875€ / 13.759,74$, going over estimated opening price of 8.000€-11.000€ / 9.269,64$-12.745,76$, while Cement and Oxide reached 20.000€ / 23.183,00$.
2014
Airbrush and oil on fabric mounted on backlighted methacrylate
153 x 123 cm (60,23 x 48,42 in.)
Goddesses of Nibiru belongs to homonym series by contemporary artist Romulo Royo, a series that stars femenine beauty represented by goddesses pulled from ancient mithologies and presented before the current viewer from the lense of the fantasy genre. So, Goddesses of Nibiru is a collection of different ancestral beings from a fictitious planet, Nibiru. That is why the figures we see are quasi-totems, solid as well as delicate. It is why silence reigns, but mystery and restraint do too, as they treasure what is most sacred of all: knowledge. Their size within the space results from their desire to hold our full attention and, on the other hand, demonstrate their dominance and importance, just like those ancient civilisations which were, in the artist’s words, “so monumental, we struggle to process it”. This is why many of these deities appear with their eyes closed, surrounded by ethereal mists, showing the “distance” that separates them from mere mortals. Ultimately, these feminine figures, strong and confident, but also sensual, allow us a glimpse into that world, Niburu.