Isa Genzken

Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Berlin
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

London, Camden Arts Centre, Isa Genzken: Sports, 2008
London, Saatchi Gallery, Germania, 2008, p. 169, illustrated in colour
London, Saatchi Gallery, Gesamtkunstwerk: New Art from Germany, 2011, p. 60, illustrated in colour

 

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although and the printed image fails to convey the metallic quality of the paint, and the colours in the top right quadrant are more vibrant in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. No restoration is apparent under ultraviolet light.
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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."

MLR is a remarkable example of Isa Genzken’s More Light Research Series, created in 1992. Genzken, one of the most innovative artists working in Germany today, has created only two series throughout her career, and the importance of MLR is highlighted by its notable exhibition history. Impressive in scale, MLR forces the viewer to confront the anxiety of moving on and letting go of a known quantity through means of depicting various ghostly gymnast’s rings. The composition is dominated by the two central rings which divide the canvas, delineated clearly in black, whilst a group of barely-seen rings cluster in the background. A sense of vigorous movement is conveyed through the positioning of the further rings; yet the rings overlap in a manner that would be wholly impossible in reality. It is almost as though Genzken is following the path of a single ring over the course of a period of time, so correspondingly recording the human traces and memories of those who have taken part in the sport.

MLR hovers on the edge of abstraction; indeed, Genzken stated that one of the influences behind this series was the work of the nineteenth century abstract artist Hilma af Klint. The surface of the canvas plays with the idea of texture and grain, bringing to the fore connotations of mass-produced industrial materials and packaging, yet the extraordinary sense of three-dimensionality is conveyed solely by means of careful application of lacquer on canvas. Magnificent in scope and ambition, MLR forces the onlooker to confront their own fears when facing new and unfamiliar experiences.