LAVRENTY BRUNI | Peony

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is lighter and brighter with less magenta undertones in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Extremely close inspection reveals a minute speck of loss to one impasto peak. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"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."

Executed in 2018, Peony is utterly paradigmatic of Russian artist, Lavrenty Bruni’s renowned floral lexicon. Indeed, flowers are at the very heart of Bruni’s artistic language and have been adopted in a whole host of different formats within his practice; alone and piteous in nature; grouped and riotous and even in an array of dazzling petals. In a moment of artistic flurry, Bruni sets paintbrush and palette knife to canvas to create these beguiling landscapes. For Bruni, texture is an essential element that varies enormously from one work to another: in his iconic oil paintings such as Peony, the thick paint that is generously extracted from a whole tube is instinctively spread in one stroke and barely mixed with streaks of other vivid colours. Passionately applied, the luscious strokes of paint that dance across the surface of the present work bespeak an artist who has truly emancipated his brush from premeditated thought and has entered into the emotive realm. Indeed, in Peony Bruni almost sculpts the paint in a three-dimensional way, fighting with the material to make the hues vibrate so sensuously.