Jesús Rafael Soto (1923-2005)

Marlborough Gallery, New York
Galería Conkright, Caracas
Private Collection, New York 

The painted panel is in good condition and the paint is tightly bound. The eight silver painted squares are in very good condition and well secured to their posts, which attach to the pinstriped background. The pinstripe panel is in good condition with the exception of minor abrasions to the painted surface where the posts. The large red painted panel has a very tiny loss located near the top center of the panel. Small touch ups in the paint were seen along the top edge of the red panel. A small dark spot was detected on the red panel as well as several tiny specks of white paint. Surface soiling was present along the edges of the cream-colored background panel. Two abrasions were noted on the cream-colored panel.
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.

Between 1950 and 1962, Jesús Soto worked in search of a personal language, one that would permit him to make visible –how he used to say – the immaterial essence of the universe: energy. During this process he experimented with repetitive and serial languages, and equally with structures that sought to incorporate diverse materials in order to “dematerialize them” optically and metaphorically, transforming them into light. Beginning in 1962, however, he decided to return to a strict control of pictorial media, restricting himself to geometric forms and a sober chromatic range. With these elements, he developed the methods discovered during these first 12 years of work, and made them into true formal families, like the Escrituras (Writings), the Varillas vibrantes (Vibrating bars), or, in this case the Tacos vibrantes (Vibrating squares). Púrpura y plata, of 1969, is one of the earliest examples of this family, in which a flat field of color (an example of what painting has always been) dominates an active area, in which the silver squares appear to vibrate in front of us, disintegrating into energy.

Ariel Jiménez
New York, 2016