Decade 1980-1989
See also : Top 10 Painting The Man Groups Christianity Animals Abstract art Abstract art II USA USA II Basquiat Warhol Later Warhols Germany Richter England Bacon China Modern China Zao Wou-Ki
1981 The Modern Bucolics
2015 SOLD for $ 37M including premium
In early 1981, success is immediate for Jean-Michel Basquiat. His fame soon transcends borders and Emilio Mazzoli invites him for an exhibition in Modena in May and June.
Jean-Michel painted during the trip. His mixed techniques on canvas 221 x 401 cm starring in life size a character and a cow is even his largest artwork from that seminal year as if he already desired to escape Annina Nosei's basement.
This work entitled The field next to the other road sounds like a holiday souvenir for the young artist who discovers Italy. On the left, it is typical of the already favorite themes of Jean-Michel through that thorn-crowned man with visible skeleton and full sex.
The cow on the right looks like a child's drawing with her innocent gaze and big udder. The line drawing is filled with colors but the artist avoids as always the classical artistic language: the color of one of the legs of the beast is outside the line drawing.
Made in a country with an incomparable artistic past, this painting is a fresco on the theme of life (milk) and death (bones) by a very young man eager for thrills and glory. The field is estimated $ 25M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 13, lot 55B.
Jean-Michel painted during the trip. His mixed techniques on canvas 221 x 401 cm starring in life size a character and a cow is even his largest artwork from that seminal year as if he already desired to escape Annina Nosei's basement.
This work entitled The field next to the other road sounds like a holiday souvenir for the young artist who discovers Italy. On the left, it is typical of the already favorite themes of Jean-Michel through that thorn-crowned man with visible skeleton and full sex.
The cow on the right looks like a child's drawing with her innocent gaze and big udder. The line drawing is filled with colors but the artist avoids as always the classical artistic language: the color of one of the legs of the beast is outside the line drawing.
Made in a country with an incomparable artistic past, this painting is a fresco on the theme of life (milk) and death (bones) by a very young man eager for thrills and glory. The field is estimated $ 25M for sale by Christie's in New York on May 13, lot 55B.
1982 The Energy of a Skull
2017 SOLD for $ 110M including premium
The participation of Jean-Michel Basquiat in a collective exhibition in February 1981 attracted the attention of three merchants who will separately have a leading role in the start of his career : Emilio Mazzoli, Annina Nosei and Bruno Bischofberger.
It is to the honor of Annina Nosei to have convinced Jean-Michel that her basement was more appropriate than the streets of New York to let his skills explode. This close collaboration during which the artist can finally work regularly on very large canvases lasted from September 1981 to November 1982.
During that first year Jean-Michel mostly displays characters in full length, apostles of negritude whose transparency of the flesh reveals the skeleton. His perfectly mastered technique with acrylic, spray and oilstick and his fast and accurate stroke bring the expression of an activism unprecedented in art.
A new year begins, with new advances in his artistic language. On May 18 in New York, Sotheby's sells at lot 24 a painting 183 x 173 cm executed in January 1982 for the Nosei Gallery. The April 19 press release announces an estimate over $ 60M.
Like many opus by Jean-Michel, it is untitled. The theme is limited to a huge head to which bright colors and aggressive teeth provide an angry expression. By its transparency, it is a skull or perhaps a mask. Without neck or body, it floats before a blue sky that is perhaps only a gap in a tagged wall.
The monumental heads painted in 1982 are the culmination of the art of Jean-Michel. The devil's head on a canvas 239 x 500 cm painted in March in Modena for Mazzoli was sold for $ 57M including premium by Christie's on May 10, 2016. Pairs of characters also appear : Dustheads was sold for $ 49M including premium on 15 May 2013, also by Christie's.
It is to the honor of Annina Nosei to have convinced Jean-Michel that her basement was more appropriate than the streets of New York to let his skills explode. This close collaboration during which the artist can finally work regularly on very large canvases lasted from September 1981 to November 1982.
During that first year Jean-Michel mostly displays characters in full length, apostles of negritude whose transparency of the flesh reveals the skeleton. His perfectly mastered technique with acrylic, spray and oilstick and his fast and accurate stroke bring the expression of an activism unprecedented in art.
A new year begins, with new advances in his artistic language. On May 18 in New York, Sotheby's sells at lot 24 a painting 183 x 173 cm executed in January 1982 for the Nosei Gallery. The April 19 press release announces an estimate over $ 60M.
Like many opus by Jean-Michel, it is untitled. The theme is limited to a huge head to which bright colors and aggressive teeth provide an angry expression. By its transparency, it is a skull or perhaps a mask. Without neck or body, it floats before a blue sky that is perhaps only a gap in a tagged wall.
The monumental heads painted in 1982 are the culmination of the art of Jean-Michel. The devil's head on a canvas 239 x 500 cm painted in March in Modena for Mazzoli was sold for $ 57M including premium by Christie's on May 10, 2016. Pairs of characters also appear : Dustheads was sold for $ 49M including premium on 15 May 2013, also by Christie's.
1982 A Black Demon in Modena
2016 SOLD for $ 57M including premium
Jean-Michel Basquiat made two trips to Italy early in his career.
The first visit in the spring of 1981 was caused by the exhibition dedicated to him in Modena by Emilio Mazzoli. He discovered Europe and painted the very weird Field next to the other road. This mural sized canvas 221 x 401 cm tells that the basement of Annina Nosei is already not sufficient to match his grand vision. This painting was sold for $ 37M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2015.
Jean-Michel returns to Modena in March 1982. He executes a pair of paintings on the traditional Italian theme of paradise and hell but as usual he blurs the message to exacerbate his vision of the power to the blacks. An advised art critic would later comment that Jean-Michel Basquiat had been the Jimi Hendrix of painting.
On May 10 in New York, Christie's sells the devil's figure at lot 36 B. Jean-Michel understood the visual advantage of gigantism which will be one of the essential characteristics of the art of our time : the size of the canvas is 239 x 500 cm. It is painted in acrylic without oil stick, enabling to introduce some drippings below the puddles of bright colors surrounding the horned head.
Some critics see a self-portrait in this devil. This is an excessive opinion because the lines are stylized, but indeed this threatening tribal face reflects the ambition of the young artist to become a redeemer of the world.
Jean-Michel did not need to give a title to his Demon, unlike the divine figure which he called Profit 1 by one of his usual claw blows against capitalism. The contrast is striking : here the background is dark and tagged, the round mouth is shouting a sermon that nobody will listen.
The press release of April 15 indicates that this Untitled is estimated in excess of $ 40M.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's. This masterpiece is discussed by Brett Gorvy.
The first visit in the spring of 1981 was caused by the exhibition dedicated to him in Modena by Emilio Mazzoli. He discovered Europe and painted the very weird Field next to the other road. This mural sized canvas 221 x 401 cm tells that the basement of Annina Nosei is already not sufficient to match his grand vision. This painting was sold for $ 37M including premium by Christie's on May 13, 2015.
Jean-Michel returns to Modena in March 1982. He executes a pair of paintings on the traditional Italian theme of paradise and hell but as usual he blurs the message to exacerbate his vision of the power to the blacks. An advised art critic would later comment that Jean-Michel Basquiat had been the Jimi Hendrix of painting.
On May 10 in New York, Christie's sells the devil's figure at lot 36 B. Jean-Michel understood the visual advantage of gigantism which will be one of the essential characteristics of the art of our time : the size of the canvas is 239 x 500 cm. It is painted in acrylic without oil stick, enabling to introduce some drippings below the puddles of bright colors surrounding the horned head.
Some critics see a self-portrait in this devil. This is an excessive opinion because the lines are stylized, but indeed this threatening tribal face reflects the ambition of the young artist to become a redeemer of the world.
Jean-Michel did not need to give a title to his Demon, unlike the divine figure which he called Profit 1 by one of his usual claw blows against capitalism. The contrast is striking : here the background is dark and tagged, the round mouth is shouting a sermon that nobody will listen.
The press release of April 15 indicates that this Untitled is estimated in excess of $ 40M.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Christie's. This masterpiece is discussed by Brett Gorvy.
1982 The Hallucinations of Jean-Michel Basquiat
2013 SOLD 49 M$ including premium
In 1981, Basquiat was spreading a mystical message with heavy criticisms against mankind and society. In addition to the revolutionary language of the former street child, his artistic success is due to the exceptional quality of his technique and to the originality of his figuration.
1982 is another great year. Dustheads, 183 x 213 cm, is a fascinating work. Two characters side by side look at the viewer with stupidity and wickedness. The figure on the right dominates with his hilarious face and strident colors. Are they aliens or voodoo masks?
They may only be hallucinations. The title Dustheads comes directly from the slang of the drug. 1982 was a transition year for Basquiat, and this work is curiously close to the most disturbing figures of his former street art.
Despite its aggressiveness, Dustheads is an engaging work that has not yet been reached by the obscurity of his future political message. It is estimated $ 25M, for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15. Here is the link to the catalog.
I invite you to play the audio shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Well supported by the media effort of Christie's, this painting is recognized as one of the masterpieces by Basquiat. The result, $ 49M including premium, is exceeding all expectations.
1982 is another great year. Dustheads, 183 x 213 cm, is a fascinating work. Two characters side by side look at the viewer with stupidity and wickedness. The figure on the right dominates with his hilarious face and strident colors. Are they aliens or voodoo masks?
They may only be hallucinations. The title Dustheads comes directly from the slang of the drug. 1982 was a transition year for Basquiat, and this work is curiously close to the most disturbing figures of his former street art.
Despite its aggressiveness, Dustheads is an engaging work that has not yet been reached by the obscurity of his future political message. It is estimated $ 25M, for sale by Christie's in New York on May 15. Here is the link to the catalog.
I invite you to play the audio shared by Christie's.
POST SALE COMMENT
Well supported by the media effort of Christie's, this painting is recognized as one of the masterpieces by Basquiat. The result, $ 49M including premium, is exceeding all expectations.
1983 Wax on Flag by Jasper Johns
2014 SOLD for $ 36M including premium
Artistic creation has no limits in New York in 1954. Very young artists endeavor to reject into the past the Abstract Expressionism that was yet barely ten years old.
After meeting Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, aged 24, had one of the most successful intuitions of modern art. Duchamp had introduced the ready mades in artistic creation. Johns will remove the object under its own appearance.
The three colors of the American flag are to Johns an incentive for new art. His flags identical to the official pieces are painted on all kinds of materials including newspapers.
Like Cézanne, he works within the contours as in a cloisonné. Unlike Pollock and Rothko, the first meticulous gesture must be the right one. Any dripping is therefore intentional, which requires a fast drying : Johns painted in wax.
Leo Castelli understands how much the art can be changed by this innovation. Favoring the material instead of shape and color, Johns anticipates Manzoni's achromes and Ryder's white on white while his treatment of a recognizable object is announcing the pop art.
Castelli owned until his death in 1999 one of the earliest Flags by Johns. It was sold in private sale to Steve Cohen in March 2010. Details were not released but the price of $ 110M has not been denied.
On November 11 in New York, Sotheby's sells a small Flag 30 x 45 cm, lot 9 estimated $ 15M. Painted in 1983, it is a rare example of encaustic painting on an actual silk flag mounted on canvas. Its regular configuration in 6 rows of 8 stars was obsolete since 1959, confirming that the process of Johns is much more artistic than patriotic.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
After meeting Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, aged 24, had one of the most successful intuitions of modern art. Duchamp had introduced the ready mades in artistic creation. Johns will remove the object under its own appearance.
The three colors of the American flag are to Johns an incentive for new art. His flags identical to the official pieces are painted on all kinds of materials including newspapers.
Like Cézanne, he works within the contours as in a cloisonné. Unlike Pollock and Rothko, the first meticulous gesture must be the right one. Any dripping is therefore intentional, which requires a fast drying : Johns painted in wax.
Leo Castelli understands how much the art can be changed by this innovation. Favoring the material instead of shape and color, Johns anticipates Manzoni's achromes and Ryder's white on white while his treatment of a recognizable object is announcing the pop art.
Castelli owned until his death in 1999 one of the earliest Flags by Johns. It was sold in private sale to Steve Cohen in March 2010. Details were not released but the price of $ 110M has not been denied.
On November 11 in New York, Sotheby's sells a small Flag 30 x 45 cm, lot 9 estimated $ 15M. Painted in 1983, it is a rare example of encaustic painting on an actual silk flag mounted on canvas. Its regular configuration in 6 rows of 8 stars was obsolete since 1959, confirming that the process of Johns is much more artistic than patriotic.
I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's.
1984 Bacon reached by Serenity
2014 SOLD 81 M$ including premium
In 1974, after a missed visit to his London pub, John Edwards invectives Bacon. Francis enjoyed the strong personalities and was no more used of being opposed. They become friends, to the point that John is accepted in the studio while Francis is painting.
The years that followed their first meeting are still psychologically difficult for Francis, haunted by the ghost of George Dyer and by the aging of his own body. When he paints the portrait of John in 1984, the 75 years old artist is now sensitive to serenity.
His technique is a continuous reuse of formats and compositions. The large size triptych of John, 198 x 148 cm for each element, is comparable in almost all its features to the triptych of Lucian Freud, made in 1969, which was sold for $ 142M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
John sits enclosed in a threadlike cage of which we now know that it is a tribute by Bacon to Giacometti. The large empty room with the concave wall is the arena in which the artist exhibits his model. The face, which is always the subject of the greatest attention of Francis, is made expressive by his usual range of colors, from flesh to crimson.
John was not a beauty, with his strong jaw. The originality of this artwork is that the face is realistic, peaceful and confident. Francis stated that John's triptych is one of his most successful works. It certainly means that his empathy with the model was complete. John will be the sole heir of Francis and keeper of his estate.
Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 13. The estimate beyond $ 75M was announced by the auction house during an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's to introduce this lot.
POST SALE COMMENT
Great result for the triptych, sold for $ 81M including premium.
The years that followed their first meeting are still psychologically difficult for Francis, haunted by the ghost of George Dyer and by the aging of his own body. When he paints the portrait of John in 1984, the 75 years old artist is now sensitive to serenity.
His technique is a continuous reuse of formats and compositions. The large size triptych of John, 198 x 148 cm for each element, is comparable in almost all its features to the triptych of Lucian Freud, made in 1969, which was sold for $ 142M including premium by Christie's on November 12, 2013.
John sits enclosed in a threadlike cage of which we now know that it is a tribute by Bacon to Giacometti. The large empty room with the concave wall is the arena in which the artist exhibits his model. The face, which is always the subject of the greatest attention of Francis, is made expressive by his usual range of colors, from flesh to crimson.
John was not a beauty, with his strong jaw. The originality of this artwork is that the face is realistic, peaceful and confident. Francis stated that John's triptych is one of his most successful works. It certainly means that his empathy with the model was complete. John will be the sole heir of Francis and keeper of his estate.
Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards is for sale by Christie's in New York on May 13. The estimate beyond $ 75M was announced by the auction house during an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
I invite you to play the video shared by Christie's to introduce this lot.
POST SALE COMMENT
Great result for the triptych, sold for $ 81M including premium.
1984 Undiscovered Genius of Los Angeles
2018 SOLD for $ 45M including premium
In March 1983 Larry Gagosian exhibited artworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat in his West Hollywood gallery. A few months later the artist tries the Californian adventure and installs his studio in Venice. He thus temporarily escapes New York where he felt the difficulty of transforming his skill into a lasting fame. Basquiat mingles little with the surrounding worldly life : he came to Los Angeles for working.
One night in the yard of his studio, Jean-Michel meets a tramp. The palisade was therefore useless. It would be more useful as a support for his paintings. He disassembles it and reuses the slats until that source is depleted. It is a simple and clever way to give his work an additional feature of street art. Later in New York he will purchase boards to continue this new practice while including tags therein.
On May 17 in New York, Phillips sells as lot 5 Flexible, acrylic and oilstick 259 x 191 cm painted in Venice in 1984 on horizontally stacked wood.
The larger-than-life African-American character with transparent skin is an alter ego of Jean-Michel. The left forearm is disproportionately lengthened to reach the right hand, forming a flexible frame above the head. The very straight head is proud, expressing the desire for glory of the artist.
Flexible is the masterpiece of this transition phase. A photograph of 1986 shows the artist sitting on a decorated cube with the towering Flexible on the back wall of the workshop. This painting has been preserved until now in his estate by his sisters. The March 28 press release announces an estimate in excess of $ 20M. The low resolution image is shared by WikiArt "for fair fuse" under the copyright of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
One night in the yard of his studio, Jean-Michel meets a tramp. The palisade was therefore useless. It would be more useful as a support for his paintings. He disassembles it and reuses the slats until that source is depleted. It is a simple and clever way to give his work an additional feature of street art. Later in New York he will purchase boards to continue this new practice while including tags therein.
On May 17 in New York, Phillips sells as lot 5 Flexible, acrylic and oilstick 259 x 191 cm painted in Venice in 1984 on horizontally stacked wood.
The larger-than-life African-American character with transparent skin is an alter ego of Jean-Michel. The left forearm is disproportionately lengthened to reach the right hand, forming a flexible frame above the head. The very straight head is proud, expressing the desire for glory of the artist.
Flexible is the masterpiece of this transition phase. A photograph of 1986 shows the artist sitting on a decorated cube with the towering Flexible on the back wall of the workshop. This painting has been preserved until now in his estate by his sisters. The March 28 press release announces an estimate in excess of $ 20M. The low resolution image is shared by WikiArt "for fair fuse" under the copyright of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
1985 Pei and Zao at Raffles City
2018 SOLD for HK$ 510M including premium
The architect I.M. Pei has considerably influenced the style of the great modern cities. When his fame becomes international, he revisits his native China. In the 1970s the Far East no longer wants its urbanism to follow the West. They always desire higher, more spectacular, more functional. Pei is building an office skyscraper 198 meters high in Singapore.
Zao Wou-Ki also made his own return to his sources. In the 1980s the originality of his abstract paintings inspired by East and West met with great success in the Far East.
Pei is creating in Singapore a complex named Raffles City based on a tower and two hotels, and incorporating a shopping center and a convention center. In 1985 the project is advanced enough to anticipate the interior design. Zao is traveling in the Far East. Pei makes him visit the Raffles site and commissions him a gigantic painting for adorning the grand lobby of the main building alongside abstractions by Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland in the minimalist taste of the architect.
Back in France, Zao prepares this work with a passion comparable to Monet opening with the Grandes Décorations the ultimate phase of his career. The result is a triptych of oils on canvas, 2.80 m x 10 m overall, which is installed in 1986 as planned and will remain there until 2005. Contrary to Zao's usual practice, the title is not a mere date but a period, Juin-Octobre 1985, thus confirming the prolonged attention given by the artist in its execution.
Juin-Octobre 1985 is the most monumental artwork in Zao's entire career. According to his inspiration in that decade, it evokes the mystical unicity between nature and the infinite. The incandescent center is seen beyond a dark curtain accented by strident blue. It will be sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on September 30, lot 1004. The press release of September 7 indicates that this painting is expected beyond HK $ 350M.
Zao Wou-Ki also made his own return to his sources. In the 1980s the originality of his abstract paintings inspired by East and West met with great success in the Far East.
Pei is creating in Singapore a complex named Raffles City based on a tower and two hotels, and incorporating a shopping center and a convention center. In 1985 the project is advanced enough to anticipate the interior design. Zao is traveling in the Far East. Pei makes him visit the Raffles site and commissions him a gigantic painting for adorning the grand lobby of the main building alongside abstractions by Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland in the minimalist taste of the architect.
Back in France, Zao prepares this work with a passion comparable to Monet opening with the Grandes Décorations the ultimate phase of his career. The result is a triptych of oils on canvas, 2.80 m x 10 m overall, which is installed in 1986 as planned and will remain there until 2005. Contrary to Zao's usual practice, the title is not a mere date but a period, Juin-Octobre 1985, thus confirming the prolonged attention given by the artist in its execution.
Juin-Octobre 1985 is the most monumental artwork in Zao's entire career. According to his inspiration in that decade, it evokes the mystical unicity between nature and the infinite. The incandescent center is seen beyond a dark curtain accented by strident blue. It will be sold by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on September 30, lot 1004. The press release of September 7 indicates that this painting is expected beyond HK $ 350M.
1986 Sacrifice and Sharing
2017 SOLD for $ 61M including premium
Shy and famous at the same time, Andy Warhol was discussing with friends throughout his career before selecting his most popular themes. The story of the dollar at the very beginning of his realization of multiples is typical. In 1985 the gallery owner Alexander Iolas suggests a new theme of interpretations of Leonardo's Last Supper to be exhibited in Milan across the street from the permanent location of the original.
Warhol is working hard on this project that had everything to seduce him. For devout Catholics the Last Supper is the founding act of the mystical Christianity by which Christ announces his death and resurrection and especially his sharing with the whole mankind.
Warhol had himself something like a resurrection in 1968 when his heart restarted after the assassination attempt. He felt that he was going to die during the surgical operation of his gallbladder which was inevitable but was constantly postponed by him. This intuition was right.
In that impulse Warhol realized about 100 variations around Leonardo's Last Supper in 1986 while about 20 were enough for the Milan exhibition. He did not take as model the original painting but two poor photographs of old copies. This final project brilliantly terminates his own pop art revolution by which the visual message and the ability to copy and multiply it are more important than the skill even when the artist is Leonardo himself.
This series includes a few monumental pieces in a perfect repetition that reaches the infinite. Christ 112 times in yellow which is a reproduction of a detail measures 203 x 1069 cm. This artwork was sold for $ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 13 B a multiplication of the entire picture, Sixty Last Suppers. This 295 x 998 cm canvas which is undoubtedly the largest in the series and perhaps even in his entire career in terms of surface was not included in the Milan exhibition. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
Warhol is working hard on this project that had everything to seduce him. For devout Catholics the Last Supper is the founding act of the mystical Christianity by which Christ announces his death and resurrection and especially his sharing with the whole mankind.
Warhol had himself something like a resurrection in 1968 when his heart restarted after the assassination attempt. He felt that he was going to die during the surgical operation of his gallbladder which was inevitable but was constantly postponed by him. This intuition was right.
In that impulse Warhol realized about 100 variations around Leonardo's Last Supper in 1986 while about 20 were enough for the Milan exhibition. He did not take as model the original painting but two poor photographs of old copies. This final project brilliantly terminates his own pop art revolution by which the visual message and the ability to copy and multiply it are more important than the skill even when the artist is Leonardo himself.
This series includes a few monumental pieces in a perfect repetition that reaches the infinite. Christ 112 times in yellow which is a reproduction of a detail measures 203 x 1069 cm. This artwork was sold for $ 9.5M including premium by Sotheby's on May 14, 2008.
On November 15 in New York, Christie's sells as lot 13 B a multiplication of the entire picture, Sixty Last Suppers. This 295 x 998 cm canvas which is undoubtedly the largest in the series and perhaps even in his entire career in terms of surface was not included in the Milan exhibition. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
1986 The Chromatic Chaos of Gerhard Richter
2015 SOLD for £ 30.4M including premium
In the early 1980s, Gerhard Richter begins to find his own abstract style. He gradually escapes evocation and stops from 1986 giving titles to his major works. He also wants to stand out from abstract expressionism in favor of a chaos of colors for which it will however be necessary to provide an overall logic.
On February 10 in London, Sotheby's sells Abstraktes Bild 599, oil on canvas 300 x 250 cm painted in 1986, lot 37 estimated £ 14M.
599 is an experimental work. Chaos is here replaced by a double movement of forces, horizontal and vertical. This is one of his earliest uses of the rake which is still challenged by the brush. Many remorses indicate all the care paid to the realization of this painting in a large size that brings to it the role of a demonstrator.
The artist offers 599 with a full chromatic scale structured in blocks with visible border lines between the colored areas. The clear parts display an opulent shine rarely attempted in painting and evoking Klimt.
The overall impression is a movement of vertical blaze that joins the volcanic explosions by Matta.
599 is a masterpiece by Richter in the etymological meaning of the word, as it is an artwork that opens a new process which will be prolific and will maintain abstract painting among the major arts of contemporary era.
On February 10 in London, Sotheby's sells Abstraktes Bild 599, oil on canvas 300 x 250 cm painted in 1986, lot 37 estimated £ 14M.
599 is an experimental work. Chaos is here replaced by a double movement of forces, horizontal and vertical. This is one of his earliest uses of the rake which is still challenged by the brush. Many remorses indicate all the care paid to the realization of this painting in a large size that brings to it the role of a demonstrator.
The artist offers 599 with a full chromatic scale structured in blocks with visible border lines between the colored areas. The clear parts display an opulent shine rarely attempted in painting and evoking Klimt.
The overall impression is a movement of vertical blaze that joins the volcanic explosions by Matta.
599 is a masterpiece by Richter in the etymological meaning of the word, as it is an artwork that opens a new process which will be prolific and will maintain abstract painting among the major arts of contemporary era.
