Rosemarie Trockel

Gallery Donald Young, Chicago
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 1990

Boston, The Institute of Contemporary Art; Berkeley, University Art Museum; Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art; Rosemarie Trockel, 1991, p. 91, illustrated in colour
Cologne, Museum Ludwig, Post-Menopause, 2005, p. 98, illustrated in colour
Berlin, Daimler Chrysler Contemporary, Private/Corporate III, 2005, p. 10, illustrated in colour

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is cooler in the original. The warm beige of the linen-covered cross tends more towards oatmeal-beige in the original. Condition (as viewed in the catalogue): This work is in very good condition. There are several light media accretions to the linen cover: two to the top apex of the right hand part of the cross, two to the top left edge of the left part of the cross and another to the top left apex. There is a small undulation to the canvas surface to the centre of the right edge of the top left part of the cross. There is a further very small light isolated media acretion to the top right side of the cross, verso. A few loose fibres from the linen weave are visible in places, predominantly to the edges of the cross. The edges of the aluminium print are uneven and the surface is very slightly dented and rubbed, original to the work's execution.
"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."

Sotheby's is delighted to offer the following outstanding group of 14 works from a Private German collection. Acquired with a discerning and insightful eye over a ten year period from 1980-1990, this collection epitomises the rich artistic activity in central Germany during that time. Motivated by a need to live with art, this collection has been lovingly assembled with great curiosity, vigour and expertise. It illustrates a coherent development of understanding and appreciating art, from a work's mythical, conceptual genesis, to its creation through numerous stages of narrative and interpretative possibilities, to its ultimate resolution. In examining this carefully curated collection of works, it is evident that every acquisition was selected both in terms of its individual merits as well as in the context of the collection as a coherent whole. Each piece represents a sense of joy and pride of ownership, relaying a genuine passion for collecting. All the works were acquired without commercial intent or regard for market influences but rather represent longstanding friendships that this private collector established with some of the most important and significant German artists of our time including A.R. Penck, Kippenberger, Polke and Knoebel. From this position of friendship, the collector had the chance of being able to experience the artists' thoughts, ideas and artistic processes first hand. As such the present collection represents a significant point in art history, a true "zeitgeist" of the art scene in 1980s Germany.

Highlights of the group include Rosemarie Trockel's Made in Western Germany, (Lot 257), which is one of her best signature knitted wool works to ever come to auction. Her integration here of endlessly repeated German industrial logos across the smooth woven surface raises numerous questions and provokes fresh associations between concepts of equality, commerce, consumerism and identity. Another highlight of the collection is Jorg Immendorff's Musee d'Art Moderne, (Lot 260) in which the vividly coloured landscape depicts visitors in an art museum rushing beneath a series of gun turrets interspersed with eagle heads. Indicative of the artist's bold, often politically charged artistic language, this work gives a sense of modern Germany's ongoing struggle to balance its military past with its artistically fertile present. By contrast, Sigmar Polke's Untitled (Lot 263), epitomises his quest to release painting from its traditional, material and historical confines which involved looking in this work to the idea and creation of a transparent painting. Working with untested dyes, minerals and chemicals, Polke here presents a wonderfully rich see-through surface of deep purple and yellow hues.

This distinguished collection also includes Anselm Kiefer's Die Donauguell (Lot 252), a richly textured lead book evocative of Germany's rich artistic and literary history, Georg Baselitz's Untitled (Adler) (Lot 253) and Imi Knoebel's Im Sommer 84 (Lot 261). Martin Kippenberger's tongue in cheek attitude towards art-making is apparent in an exceptional group of rare and important works. They reflect the way in which he sought to reconnect art with everyday life through a process of integrating non-art materials and subjects into his work and by breaking down the traditional boundaries between high and low art. Ranging from works like Upside Down and Turning Me, (Lot 255), a lead-sheet cut according to the collector's height and width that doubles as a minimalist portrait, to painterly compositions loaded with faux-symbolism like Keiner Hilft Keinem (Lot 256), to his collages plundering porn magazines, his own 'hotel-drawings' and posters (Lots 258 & 259), they evoke the rich and complex visual language that has made Kippenberger one of the most influential and provocative artists of the 20th century. Additional works from this Private German collection will be offered at Sotheby's Olympia in the Contemporary Art auction on the 18th of June.