Andreas Gursky

Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in very good condition overall. There a few minute spot accretions located in the margins. Additionally, there is a horizontal incised lines that runs along the bottom of the image and through the margins. There is evidence of light wear and handling to the frame. Framed under Plexiglas.
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.

Schooled by the esteemed academic artist tandem of Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky emerged in the early 1980's as one of the most influential and acclaimed photographers of the later part of the 20^th century. Rooted in the strong formalist tendencies and conceptual ideologies of his teachers, Gursky's body of work is a complex formula which deciphers reality through a lens that gravitates to a geometric proposition. With the help of photo manipulation, Gusky's colorful large-scale photographs capture the pathos of the human condition in a single image. Whether they feature the Los Angeles skyline or the Tokyo Stock Exchange, his images are reduced to intricate patterns; endless streams of repeating forms which allude to the disappearance of the individual in contemporary reality.

In the early 1990's, Gursky egresses from the bucolic landscapes which occupied his earlier images and focused his lens on architectural facades. Their formalist and architectonic properties provided the perfect palette for a reflection on uniformity. By distorting the angle of the camera he gives his viewers an up close and personal view of a structure in Taipei. In the present work of an eponymous title, the image is flattened to the point of abstraction, no longer reflecting a dwelling but instead conveying a symmetrical pattern of repeating lines and squares, devoid of time and space. By cropping the sides of the structure, Gursky allows it to envelop us with outstretched arms, bringing us in so close that we lose our sense of orientation. Through Gursky's acute ocular lens, we are able to see the world from a different angle. What was once a building is now a sublime spectacle of aesthetic and compositional order.