Luis Feito

Private Collection, Europe
Sale: Sala de Subastas Retiro, Madrid, Subasta Extraordinaria Octubre 2011, 5 October 2011, Lot 458
Private Collection, Madrid
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is warmer and there is more texture in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Very close inspection reveals a few tiny media accretions scattered in isolated places and some extremely thin and hairline cracks towards the central horizontal axis and lower edge of the composition. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

301-M-O from 1960 is archetypal of Luis Feito’s compositions of the late 1950s and early 1960s. After briefly exploring figuration in early stages of his career, Feito discovered Cubism, which ultimately led him to develop his unique abstract style. The artist’s interest in light and texture has been a constant throughout his career and impregnates his canvases, which range from ethereal compositions where his deft use of materials such as sand recalls misty seascapes, to striking designs that resemble colourful sunsets. Indeed, poet Lasse Söderberg once described Feito’s canvases as “a world evoking the scorched highlands of Spain, the limestone walls and the apparently lifeless villages” (Lasse Söderberg quoted in: Juan Manuel Bonet, Catálogo del Museo de Arte Abstracto Español (Fundación Juan March), online resource).

In 301-M-O Feito used a subdued palette of greys that contrast starkly with the dark brown and black, highly textured brushstrokes towards the lower edge of the composition. Having relocated to Paris in 1955, at the time the present work was executed the painter’s oeuvre was already highly regarded internationally; a group of his paintings were shown as part of the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of 1960 and that same year art critic and curator Frank O’Hara included his work in the widely acclaimed exhibition New Spanish Painting and Sculpture that opened at the Museum of Modern Art and later toured the United States. His move to Paris, however, did not prevent the artist of maintaining strong ties with the artistic scene in his home country, and in 1957 he was amongst the founding members of the Madrid-based group El Paso. The association was short-lived, as the group dissolved in 1960, but its components (including Manolo Millares, Antonio Saura and Martín Chirino) shared the desire to break with the status of the art world in Spain at the time and a profound interest in the currents that were developing in Paris and New York, especially in Art Informel and Abstract Expressionism. Thus, Feito, along with the rest of the group’s components, quickly assimilated the seemingly unconventional use of dirt and other unorthodox materials mixed with paint, and the gestural markings characteristic of these movements to create their own, individual styles. A further important influence for the Spanish painter was Mark Rothko, with whom he shared a deep interest in form and colour.

With its subtle nuances in colour, and the artist’s skilful use of his brushes and materials to create contrasting surfaces on the picture plane, 301-M-O can be considered an exquisite expression of the artist’s main concerns, an outstanding example of Feito’s output of the 1960s.