- 385
Adel Abdessemed
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
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Description
- Adel Abdessemed
- Souterrain
- signed and dated '07 on two of the pages
- music stands, notebooks, crayons, post-its and ink, in 18 parts
- overall dimensions variable
- each: 138.5 by 50 by 50cm.; 54 1/2 by 19 5/8 by 19 5/8 in.
Provenance
Kamel Mennour, Paris
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
Reims, Domaine de Pommery, L'Emprise du Lieu: The Power of Place, 2007
Condition
Colour:
The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the tonality of the notebooks is warmer in the original.
Condition:
This work is in very good condition.
"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.
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."
"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.
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."
Catalogue Note
Characterised by his unbrazen and confrontational attitude, Adel Abdessemed has over the past decade firmly positioned himself as one of the most important artists of his generation. Throughout his acclaimed practice, which was honoured with a major exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2012, he does not shy away from confrontational subject matter and often brings up sensitive but deeply important societal issues.
The present work, Souterrain, captures a more poetic side of the artist’s oeuvre: the viewer is confronted with eighteen music stands, each accompanied by a drawing and a notebook with musical scores by the Brasilian composer Silvia Ocougne on post-it notes. The energetically drawn images function as a sort of immobile flipbook, guiding the viewer through the theatrical gestures of a conductor. Through this set-up, Abdessemed cleverly subverts the traditional relationship between the conductor and the musicians: rather than one leading the other, the spectator behind the stand now becomes both conductor and musician - invoking the rather unusual idea of an 18 man strong orchestra that conducts the music it is simultaneously playing.
The importance of Souterrain within Abdessemed’s practice is further emphasised by the fact that its sister work, Cocktail, is in the prestigious François Pinault Collection. Whilst the present work combines drawings of the conductor’s theatrical gestures with sheet music, in Cocktail the artist has drawn people violently throwing invisible objects – but which the title suggests could be Molotov cocktails. Within Abdessemed’s politically charged practice, Cocktail could be seen as a metaphorical critique of the hierarchy of power structures in society – in which the mass revolts against the authoritative individual, symbolised by the conductor. In this reading, Souterrain then becomes the utopian alternative, in which the lack of hierarchy creates a self-ruling system - which makes this work an outstanding example of Adel Abdessemed’s political but highly poetic artistic language.
The present work, Souterrain, captures a more poetic side of the artist’s oeuvre: the viewer is confronted with eighteen music stands, each accompanied by a drawing and a notebook with musical scores by the Brasilian composer Silvia Ocougne on post-it notes. The energetically drawn images function as a sort of immobile flipbook, guiding the viewer through the theatrical gestures of a conductor. Through this set-up, Abdessemed cleverly subverts the traditional relationship between the conductor and the musicians: rather than one leading the other, the spectator behind the stand now becomes both conductor and musician - invoking the rather unusual idea of an 18 man strong orchestra that conducts the music it is simultaneously playing.
The importance of Souterrain within Abdessemed’s practice is further emphasised by the fact that its sister work, Cocktail, is in the prestigious François Pinault Collection. Whilst the present work combines drawings of the conductor’s theatrical gestures with sheet music, in Cocktail the artist has drawn people violently throwing invisible objects – but which the title suggests could be Molotov cocktails. Within Abdessemed’s politically charged practice, Cocktail could be seen as a metaphorical critique of the hierarchy of power structures in society – in which the mass revolts against the authoritative individual, symbolised by the conductor. In this reading, Souterrain then becomes the utopian alternative, in which the lack of hierarchy creates a self-ruling system - which makes this work an outstanding example of Adel Abdessemed’s political but highly poetic artistic language.