Lot 226
  • 226

Edgar Negret

Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Edgar Negret
  • Aparato Mágico
  • painted aluminum and wood
  • 37 3/8 by 32 5/8 by 9 3/4 in. 94.9 by 82.9 by 24.8 cm.
  • Executed in 1957.

Provenance

Herbert Gallery, New York
Private Collection, Bogotá (acquired from the above) 
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Exhibited

New York, David Herbert Gallery, Negret: Magic Machines, November 1959, no. 11, illustrated
Bogotá, Museo de Arte Moderno, Edgar Negret: Esculturas, October 1994 

Literature

Juan Wilfredo Acha Valdivieso, et al., Negret: Uno, dos, y tres., Bogotá 1983, p. 204, illustrated 
Benjamín Villegas Jiménez, et al., Homenaje: Edgar Negret, Escultor, New York 2005, p. 55, illustrated in color 

Condition

The sculpture is in good condition considering its age. The painted surface shows signs of wear with minor losses that have been inpainted. These areas include the top right element and along many of the edges. The aged paint layer shows hairline cracking and minor lifting in several areas. The matte paint is rubbed in several areas with minor scuffs and scratches throughout the surface. (This report has been prepared courtesy of Wilson Conservation, LLC)
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

In the Aparatos Mágicos series, volumes are synthesized in planes of organic contour; each one of them is assembled giving rise to new geographies in which the reds and blues are fixed in capricious forms over the black backgrounds. These forms represent useless machines which Negret consider like magical objects. In the words of critic Walter Engel  "the essence of images, ideas, facts of our time were wisely configured with these geometric elements ...and thus the machines or better -apparatuses- were created with an exclusive aesthetic purpose. Now freed from any mechanical or practical function, they became "magical" thanks to the abstract play of pure forms "

 

Marta Rodríguez, Banco de la República, Bogotá, 2011