ARMAN | Nicador's Nightmare

bronzeConceived in 1983, this work is number HC 2/2 from an edition of 8 plus 4 artist's proofs plus 2 hors commerce. This work is recorded in the Arman Studio Archives New York under number APA# 8202.83.021.This work is registered in the archives of Denyse Durand-Ruel under number 3064.

Acquired from the artist by the present owners

Vence, Château Notre-Dame des Fleurs, Galerie Beaubourg, Les Nouveaux Réalistes, 26 June-31 October 1997
Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Nice Movements-Contemporary French Art, 18 April 2000-January 2001; catalogue, p. 95, no. 15, illustrated
Vence, Château Notre-Dame des Fleurs, Galerie Beaubourg, Les Nouveaux Réalistes, July-October 2002
Paris, Centre Pompidou, Arman, 22 September 2010-10 January 2011; catalogue, illustrated

This work is slightly dirty. all elements are stable. This work is in good original condition.
"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.
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Arman used the strong-arm approach. That of our time, keen on violence. The destructive one. Dialectic of the trace and the real object, of accumulation and fragment, of combustion and explosion or anger, of the incursion in matter and the aerial welded assemblage, of the object and its bronze alias… Two energies constantly struggling, that of the object and the system that alters, organizes and captures it. The aggressive and magic dimension that arises from this violent encounter sometimes softened to the benefit of decorative effects when the object disappears in a pictorial all-over, or when the sophisticated welding of the bronze transforms a brutal collusion into a luxury object. But the object always comes out first when it asserts its own dynamic.

Pierre Nahon