- 210
ANDREAS GURSKY | Dubai World II
Estimate
300,000 - 400,000 USD
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Description
- Andreas Gursky
- Dubai World II
- signed on the reverse; signed on a label affixed to the backing board
- c-print, in artist's frame
- 121 by 87 3/4 in. 307.3 by 222.9 cm.
- Executed in 2007 and printed in 2012, this work is number 5 from an edition of 6.
Provenance
White Cube, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2012
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2012
Condition
This work is in very good condition overall. This work shows signs of overall wear and handling to the artist's frame, most noticeable in the bottom left corner where there are some white accretions along the edge. The surface of the Plexiglas has scattered minor abrasions which are visible under close inspection and raking light. Framed.
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.
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 am never interested in the individual, but in the human species and its environment.” Andreas Gursky During the 1980s, Andreas Gursky emerged as one of the leading figures among a group of German photographers schooled by the eminent professors Bernd and Hilla Becher. The Bechers' teaching concentrated on the formal structure and documentary aspects of photography. Absorbing their systemically objective and rigorously conceptual style, Andreas Gursky's art provides a poetic commentary on our world, consisting of a series of monumental, animated vitrines, which highlight our relative insignificance within the magnitude of our surroundings. Gursky once remarked, "I want my motifs to look as though I could have photographed them anywhere. The places are not meant to be specifically described, but are meant to function more as metaphors. I am interested in global viewpoints in today's social utopias." (Exh. Cat., Kunstmuseum Basel, Andreas Gursky, 2007, p. 85)
Standing before Andreas Gursky's formidable Dubai World II from 2007, the viewer is immediately daunted by the power of the artist's vision and the labyrinthine depths to the mastery of his craft. In his large-scale, color photographs, the effect of capitalism and globalization on contemporary life are often focal themes prevalent throughout the artist’s oeuvre. The present photograph references the controversial project started by Nakheel Properties in the United Arab Emirates, where a group of artificial islands, collectively called “Dubai World,” are made to look like the shape of the world’s continents from a birds-eye-view. The project became a warning against excess when in 2008, the financial crisis hit and most of these properties went unsold and deserted – some even sinking back into sea before any construction of planned resorts started.
The work is a seminal culmination of the artist's profound recourse to the digital process of image making. One of the first contemporary photographers to employ new photo editing technologies in order to manipulate and alter his large scale photographs, the genius of Gursky lies in the fact that while the audience may be aware that the image has been manipulated, they are kept in the dark as to which and how much the elements have been altered. We are forced to accept the inauthentic qualities in a seemingly objective reality.
Standing before Andreas Gursky's formidable Dubai World II from 2007, the viewer is immediately daunted by the power of the artist's vision and the labyrinthine depths to the mastery of his craft. In his large-scale, color photographs, the effect of capitalism and globalization on contemporary life are often focal themes prevalent throughout the artist’s oeuvre. The present photograph references the controversial project started by Nakheel Properties in the United Arab Emirates, where a group of artificial islands, collectively called “Dubai World,” are made to look like the shape of the world’s continents from a birds-eye-view. The project became a warning against excess when in 2008, the financial crisis hit and most of these properties went unsold and deserted – some even sinking back into sea before any construction of planned resorts started.
The work is a seminal culmination of the artist's profound recourse to the digital process of image making. One of the first contemporary photographers to employ new photo editing technologies in order to manipulate and alter his large scale photographs, the genius of Gursky lies in the fact that while the audience may be aware that the image has been manipulated, they are kept in the dark as to which and how much the elements have been altered. We are forced to accept the inauthentic qualities in a seemingly objective reality.