Günther Uecker

Acquired directly from the artist by the father of the present owner in 1969

Dieter Honisch, Uecker, Stuttgart 1983, p. 218, no. 624

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is slightly deeper and richer in the original. The catalogue illustration fails to convey fully the three dimensionality and optical effect of the relief apparent in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is some slight discolouration to the canvas at the four corners and some slight wear in places around the extreme edges. There is a tiny media accretion at the upper centre of the spiral. The oxidisation to the nails is inherent to the artist’s choice of media. 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.
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Gunther Uecker's best works are vehicles of communication; visual instruments that materialise processes of change and their emotional response present in the world. The continuous action of shifting and flux they manifest, of the undulating, ineradicable structure of movement, reflect the influence of his upbringing on the Wustrow Penninsula where the seasonal cycles, distance, weather, and the bright northern light were the familiar and overriding experiences of his youth.

The simplicity of the materials, and the power of their combined, lyrical effect, is paramount to the compelling visual force of Nagelbild which has remained in the same private collection since it was acquired from the artist in 1969. The gradated charcoal canvas background intensifies the unfolding drama of the angular nails as they disappear into the tightly packed depths of its centrifugally swirling core. It also serves to draw the viewer's eye beyond the protruding nail heads into the surface where the individual relationships between the nails, and the angular shadows they throw upon and amongst one other, result in a sense of direction and energy that surpasses their quotidian functionality.

Uecker became a dominant and influential figure in the 'Zero' group that emerged in Europe throughout the 1960s, and like the other artists associated with this movement, his use of nails for his art was an endeavour to manifest the purest and most physical sensation of light and movement as an expression of infinite and new possibility in art. His radical language, which is comparable to Lucio Fontana's invasion of cutting into the pictorial space, succeeded in liberating himself and other artists from the constraints of informal painting. With the use of nails, he had found a tool that was ideally suited to his artistic position, setting the starting point for increasingly frequent use of natural working materials in art.