Roman Opalka

Gallery Le Clos De Sierne, Geneva
Private Collection, Essen
Sotheby's, London, June 28, 2001, lot 322
Acquired by the present owner from the above sale

This work is in very good condition overall. There is very light evidence of wear and handling to the edges. There are very faint stretcher bar impressions along the middle and sides of the canvas, visible under raking light. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, two spot accretions towards the upper left of the canvas fluoresce brightly, but do not appear to be the result of retouching. Unframed. *Please note the auction begins at 9:30 am on November 14th.*
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.

Since 1965 Opalka has conceived his oeuvre as a single, continuous work, with the numbers on each canvas recorded in horizontal rows from the upper left and concluding at the lower right corner, and each successive painting beginning where the previous one left off. As the numerals progress their chromatic intensity periodically wanes as Opalka's brush is depleted of paint before it is replenished to scribe initially brighter numbers. The repetition of this process leads to a very beautiful disposition of tone across the composition, while also recording the artist's physically intense act. The works are each labeled 1965/1 – ∞, Detail followed by the first and last number on the canvas, thereby marking the calendar year Opalka began his enterprise and, by signifying one to infinity, implicating the purely hypothetical nature of the Infinite. The artist's ambition is to reflect human consciousness in the way that it comprises, at each moment, the sum of all moments before. Experience and time are embedded in the core of these awe-inspiring works, which simultaneously bear witness to Opalka's concept, performance, and abstraction.

Opalka's canvases are all uniform in size based on the precise dimensions of the door to his former studio in Warsaw. In the early 1970s he decided to add one percent more white to this grey ground with each new 'Detail'. The white of the paint will signify the infinity that his numbers can never denote. The faintly visible brush marks on the surfaces of this extraordinary painting captures a fleeting moment before ground and figure would one day become indistinguishable. Complex and profoundly subtle, these 'Details' are transcendent testimony to an artist who was persistent to inscribe time against the oblivion of infinitude.