Günther Förg

Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt am Main
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst, Günther Förg, May - July 1991

Colour: The colours in the catalogue are fairly accurate although the red is slightly deeper and richer in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are some shallow scratches in isolated places and there are signs of oxidation throughout, which is in keeping with the artist's choice of medium. Close inspection reveals a few short rubmarks and two very small indentations to the surface towards the upper edge of the composition, with an associated speck of paint loss to the red stripe on the extreme upper edge. Further close inspection reveals a few unobtrusive nicks and small indentations to the lower edge. There are two minute and unobtrusive punctures towards the centre of the composition, to the right of the red stripe. 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."

Mesmerisingly beautiful yet rigorously conceptual, Untitled belongs to Günther Förg’s iconic series Lead Paintings. A prolific period of production situated at the core of the artist’s oeuvre, the exhaustive body of work, created throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, conveys a means of investigating materiality and pictorial reality. That other visually arresting works from the series are held in important public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a testament to the calibre and art historical importance of these works.

A refined degree of surface splendour emanates through an exhilaratingly varied topography. Symptomatic of Förg’s distinguished practice, the present lot celebrates lead in all its unprimed glory. Recounting his decision to use lead, Förg remarked: “I like very much the qualities of lead – the surface, the heaviness. Some of the paintings were completely painted, and you only experience the lead at the edges; this gives the painting a very heavy feeling – it gives the colour a different density and weight. In other works the materials would be explicitly visible as grounds” (Günther Förg in conversation with David Ryan, in: David Ryan, Talking Painting: Dialogue with Twelve Contemporary Abstract Painters, London 2002, p. 77).

A powerful crimson scar powerfully scores the length of the canvas, decisively bisecting the composition. Entrenched in the history of Modernism, Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, Robert Ryman, Frank Stella and Richard Serra are all discernible in Förg’s artistic production. Förg’s affiliation with colour and composition closely references the revolutionary work of Abstract Expressionist giants, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman; those who produced immense canvases with a metaphysical and spiritual quality. Contrastingly, in transcending the parameters of painting and sculpture, Förg divorces himself from the auratic and the sublime, manufacturing an entire series devoid of painterly finesse.

Provoking ruminations on the power and essence of colour, as well as our capacities of perception and understanding, the present work is a paradigm of Förg’s most intriguing artistic endeavours. Heterogeneous and complex, Untitled is an exceptional example of Förg’s oeuvre that reaffirms his status as one of the most important contemporary painters of our time.