Lot 110
  • 110

Robert Mangold

Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 USD
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Description

  • Robert Mangold
  • A Triangle within Two Rectangles (Blue)
  • signed, titled, dated 1977 on the reverse of panel A and panel B

  • acrylic and graphite on canvas, in 2 parts

  • Overall: 60 by 102 in. 152.4 by 259.1 cm.
  • panel A: 42 by 60 in. 106.68 by 152.4 cm.; panel B: 60 by 42 in. 152.4 by 106.68 cm.

Provenance

John Weber Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in October 1977

Exhibited

Buffalo, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Robert Mangold Paintings: 1970 -1983, February 1 - March 17, 1985, p. 13, illustrated in color

Literature

Exh. Cat., Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Robert Mangold, 1982, cat. no. 360

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. There is a faint evidence of wear to the corners with several abrasions along the extreme lateral edges. There is a minor and unobtrusive brown accretion along the bottom edge of the right canvas located approximately 10 inches from the right edge. Otherwise, the canvas is well stretched, the canvas is generally clean and the color is vibrant. Under ultra-violet inspection, there is no evidence of inpainting. Unframed.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Robert Mangold received his M.F.A from Yale University in 1963 and began his career as a guard for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Influenced by the simplistic nature of Piet Mondrian's paintings, and unable to accept reason coupled to Minimalism, Color Field painting, and Pop Art,  Mangold began to challenge what the 'typical' associations of what a painting is by encouraging the viewer to employ his or her own organic intuition to the work of art.

Unlike his Minimalist peers, Mangold critiqued traditional "Minimalist" artists by intentionally and individually distorting his geometric shapes and integrating drawing into painting. His geometric
compositions are often distorted, and can be admired as much for what they are as for what they are not.  What appears to be a perfect square or circle is intentionally imprecise in order to fit within the
confines of the shapes of the canvases. Mangold attempts to provoke thought by questioning whether the shapes formed by the drawing within the individual canvases determine the paintings physical shape or whether the shapes of the paintings determine the forms within the canvases. His palette choice also exhibits a subtle difference distinguishing his color choices from those associated with other Minimalists artists, seen in that Mangold chooses to work with saturated blues, greens, olives and chocolate browns, among other hues. 

In A Triangle within Two Rectangles, Mangold uses a roller to create the illusion of a unified flat surface. Here he reduces the language of this painting to the basic vital aspects of his art: shape, line, color and flatness. 

Mangold's compositions often shape as much from the area he fills as in as from the remaining void. Similar to a modern skyscraper carving an arc in the city skyline, or the busy confusion of modern forms interrupting nature's vast spaces, the composition is emblematic of the evolving sensibilities adopted by American artists of the Minimalist movement inspired by the increasingly complex urban landscape.

Through his seamless synthesis of drawing and painting, and the ways he enabled them to become self-critical mirrors of each other, Mangold was able to begin addressing a deeper and broader set of philosophical issues than the ones defined as historically necessary by his peers. Thurs, if anything has become evident about Mangold's career, it is that over the past 25 years he has continually found ways to address the challenge that "painting is dead".
– John Yau