Mathías Goeritz (1915-1990)

Acquired from the artist by the previous owner. 
Private Collection, Mexico City 

Mexico City, Palacio de Cultura Banamex, Palacio de Iturbide, El retorno de la serpiente: Mathias Goeritz y la invención de la arquitectura emocional, May 2015-September 2015, no. 337, p. 97, illustrated in color 

The sculpture is in very good condition. It displays a highly burnished gilded surface with a distinctive pattern which is inherent to its design. Anomalies in the gilding can be seen in two squares near the bottom and bottom right side of the panel where the gold has a different sheen and may have been reworked by the artist or treated later. Red bole from the clay layer below can be seen where there are holidays in the gold or where the gold was thin. No significant damage or abrasions were noted on the surface. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Wilson Conservation, LLC)
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Profoundly spiritual and even mystical at times, the work of Mathias Goeritz transcends earthly desires. Seeking artistic anonymity and rejecting aesthetic decadence, it elevated artistic production to an ethical practice; one devoid of functionalism and originality, the latter one considered by the artist to be largely inconsequential. 

More pressing than commercial and critical success was Goeritz's regard for emphasizing, indeed rescuing, the materiality of the object; its mechanical qualities, processes, and artisanal construction. Like Italian Renaissance artists, Goeritz recognized the absolute value of those involved in the manual production of artworks. Whether the carpenter or the guilder, he underscored their significant contribution praising their skills while often devaluing his own. 

Executed in 1968 at the peak of his career, Mensaje is one of the artist's most significant works to come to auction. Exemplary in its radiance and beauty, it captivates the viewer as it projects a magical aura of perpetuity. In a world where relativism has replaced aesthetic and philosophical values, the work of Mathias Goeritz strengthens our faith in the power of creativity and its higher role in contemporary society. 

For "it is not true that what we need is to "accept instability" decried Goeritz in a handbill he distributed outside New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1960 protesting Jean Tinguely's self-destructive sculpture. "That is again the easy way" he claimed. "We need STATIC VALUES!!!...We need faith! We need God!...We need cathedrals and pyramids! We need a greater, a more meaningful art!!"