Lot 18
  • 18

Mira Schendel (1919-1988)

Estimate
200,000 - 300,000 USD
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Description

  • Mira Schendel
  • Sem título (Objeto gráfico)
  • inscribed nada, aber, nicht, niente, wenn, doch, rien, ann, wide, como se throughout
  • graphite, Letraset, and transfer lettering on rice paper mounted between plexi sheets
  • 39 3/8 by 39 3/8 in.
  • 100 by 100 cm
  • Executed circa 1967-68.

Provenance

Galerie Gromholt, Oslo
Elisabeth Morland, Norway
Thence by descent

Condition

This work is in excellent condition considering its age. There is a minor diagonal loss to the plexiglas in the upper left corner. Some yellowing/discoloration to the extreme edges/borders of the paper is visible.
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

“I’m not going to define ‘object’ because I don’t really know what it means—in other words, I wouldn’t know how to theoretically distinguish an aesthetic object from a utilitarian one, because a utilitarian object can also be an aesthetic object. I’m just going to give you an idea of how the objects I made came about—in a way, out of chance and curiosity. I was once given a large amount of delicate Japanese paper. I stored it, not knowing what to do with it. I had no plans. Sometime later, I started to work with that kind of paper, but it tore, it couldn’t stand water, couldn’t stand anything. It was very delicate. Then I met a woman who worked with monotype and I thought that if I used the monotype technique…, I could draw on it. I did several experiments and succeeded, which led to the whole series of drawings on that paper. . . . After that, I discovered a factory producing lighting materials and the idea came to me of mixing that very transparent paper with equally transparent acrylic laminates. That’s where the large plate Objetos gráficos [Graphic objects] came from; they were an attempt to bring about drawing through transparency—in other words, to avoid back and front." 

-Mira Schendel

León Ferrari and Mira Schendel: Tangled Alphabets, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2009, p. 62