Sale: 519 / Post War / Cont. Art II, June 19. 2021 in Munich Lot 406

 

406
Joseph Beuys
Arclight, 1960.
Collage on board. Paper and white-laminated boa...
Estimate:
€ 30,000 / $ 32,400
Sold:
€ 36,875 / $ 39,825

(incl. surcharge)
Arclight. 1960.
Collage on board. Paper and white-laminated board, hair, ink.
The upper piece of paper signed, dated and inscribed "ob.Blatt für Arclight" on verso. Bottom piece of laminated board signed, dated and titled. 33 x 20.5 cm (12.9 x 8 in) and 35 x 24 cm (13,7 x 9,4 in). Backing board: 97 x 49 cm (38, 2 x 19,3 in).
In her certificate for the work Eva Beuys mentions that the main title's spelling on verso is not merely the title but also a drawing. Mounting of the two sheets with photo corners as well as the framing were presumably executed by Erhard Klein, Bonn. [EH].
• The artististic process always is a means of self-reflection for Beuys.
• In the late 1950s Beuys was intensively occupied with scientific literature and came to the conclusion that art and science had to be reunited.
• Pictorial examination of the artist's work- and life situation in 1960
.

Accompanied by an expertise issued by Eva Beuys, Joseph Beuys ESTATE, from January 12, 2013 (copy).

PROVENANCE: Private collection Germany (2014).

EXHIBITION: Joseph Beuys: Wo ist Element 3?, Ketterer Kunst, Berlin, March 26 – May 22, 2021.



Beuys called the collages of two sheets of paper mounted on top of one another with various wisps of hair "Arclight". This term is written in capital letters on the back of the lower sheet. The two wisps of hair protruding from bag-shaped papers can be associated with rays of light, or with electromagnetically charged hair. The upper inscription "wegen Büroüberlagerung (because of office overlay) remains a mystery, just as the entire work has a mysterious character. The artist‘s hair in this work may perhaps be an analogy to the finger- and toenails he used in other works. [Eugen Blume]



406
Joseph Beuys
Arclight, 1960.
Collage on board. Paper and white-laminated boa...
Estimate:
€ 30,000 / $ 32,400
Sold:
€ 36,875 / $ 39,825

(incl. surcharge)