By the 1920s, Kupka had fully broken from figurative painting and was working independently in his studio outside Paris. His art from this period, including Flux et reflux (1923) and Formes flasques (1919–25), marked a decisive move into pure abstraction, placing him among the first artists—alongside Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian—to explore non-representational art in its fullest sense. Color, movement, and form became his primary vehicles of expression.

Although his radical approach was often overshadowed by more prominent contemporaries, Kupka’s groundbreaking canvases anticipated later movements such as Op Art and Abstract Expressionism. His legacy, long overlooked, has since been recognized as foundational to the evolution of 20th-century abstraction.

The auction will take place in Sotheby’s Modern Evening Sale on 13 May 2025 in New York, presented in partnership with Celine.