Sale: 561 / Contemporary Day Sale, Dec. 07. 2024 in Munich Lot 319


319
Almir da Silva Mavignier
12 quadrate 3, 1967.
Oil on canvas
Post auction sale: € 90,000 / $ 99,000
+
12 quadrate 3. 1967.
Oil on canvas.
Signed, dated "hamburg 28.1.67" and inscribed with direction arrows on the reverse. With handwritten information on the color on the stretcher. 141 x 100 cm (55.5 x 39.3 in).
In the original frame. [KA].

• A highlight of Op Art.
• For the first time on the international auction market (source: artprice.com).
• Beautiful color contrast and intense light and dark contrast.
• In the 1960s, Mavignier participated in the Venice Biennale and documenta (1964 and 1968 respectively).
• Works by the artist can be found in, among others, the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York
.

We would like to thank Mr. Delmar Mavignier for his kind assistance.

PROVENANCE: Private collection, South Germany.

EXHIBITION: Almir Mavignier, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover, October 9 - November 24, 1968, cat. no. 70 (illustrated in color on p. 21) (with the label on the stretcher).

Almir Mavignier, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover, October 9 - November 24, 1968, p. 8.

From his beginnings in the first group of abstract painters in his native Brazil, Almir Mavignier has spent his career exploring the phenomenological effects of light and space in his work, which includes not only an impressive body of paintings but also a pioneering conception of posters in the early days of the medium.
Our large-format painting is an excellent example of Mavignier's approach to what Hegel (in many ways the artist's spiritual brother) calls "the spatial totality of the three dimensions" ((quoted from Exhib. cat. Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover, October 9 - November 24, 1968, p. 6).
In the present work, the artist has created a complex visual effect using a minimalist background, with dots of different sizes and geometric formations that appear to pop out of the canvas. The multitude of dots changes and blurs geometric structures the eye would otherwise recognize. Almir Mavignier calls this discovery the “geometry of the unknown.” Using a nail head soaked in paint; the artist created strictly geometrically arranged, protruding color grids. Their positions on the canvas are determined by a mathematical sequence, which explains the serial nature of the composition. The artist uses the relief structure of the three-dimensional color cones and the changing incidence of light to create a sensual and poetic pictorial effect. As a highlight of Op Art, the present work underscores this effect with its play with depth and strong color contrasts.

In the early 1950s, Mavignier was fascinated with the expressive forms of the Swiss Bauhaus artist Max Bill. He soon decided to move to Europe to study in Paris. A few years later, he enrolled at the renowned Ulm School of Design and became a student of Max Bill.
This was where he first experimented with geometric networks in the form of dots, his so-called "dot pictures." In 1954, he created the first work of this kind. The artist describes the process: "A progressive concentration of dots gave me a new solution to the problem of color gradients. At the same time, however, the resulting dot structure created a new relationship between color and light through the relief nature of this structure. This relief became even clearer in the further evolution of my painting, in which the dots became larger and even objects themselves." (Almir Mavignier, quoted from: Exhib. cat. Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover, October 9 - November 24, 1968, p. 8).

The precise application of dots on the canvas creates a series of optical illusions, such as the impression of depth, a distorted perception of color intensity, or the feeling of vibration. Almir Mavignier sees his experiments as an art form based on data theory, which postulates that a work of art is a symbol made up of micro symbols and forms a network based on strictly defined rules.
The works from around 1960, including "12 quadrate", are perhaps the most important in Mavignier's oeuvre. During this period, the artist gained greater international attention and participated in numerous important exhibitions. In 1964 and 1968, his works were shown at the Venice Biennale and the documenta in Kassel. In 1965, the Museum of Modern Art in New York showed two of his works alongside works by Josef Albers, Max Bill, Enrico Castellani, Ellsworth Kelly, Kenneth Noland, Ad Reinhardt, Bridget Riley, Frank Stella, and Victor Vasarely in the groundbreaking exhibition “The Responsive Eye.” [KA]




Buyer's premium, taxation and resale right compensation for Almir da Silva Mavignier "12 quadrate 3"
This lot can be purchased subject to differential or regular taxation, artist‘s resale right compensation is due.

Differential taxation:
Hammer price up to 800,000 €: herefrom 32 % premium.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 800,000 € is subject to a premium of 27 % and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 800,000 €.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 4,000,000 € is subject to a premium of 22 % and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 4,000,000 €.
The buyer's premium contains VAT, however, it is not shown.

Regular taxation:
Hammer price up to 800,000 €: herefrom 27 % premium.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 800,000 € is subject to a premium of 21% and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 800,000 €.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 4,000,000 € is subject to a premium of 15% and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 4,000,000 €.
The statutory VAT of currently 19 % is levied to the sum of hammer price and premium. As an exception, the reduced VAT of 7 % is added for printed books.

We kindly ask you to notify us before invoicing if you wish to be subject to regular taxation.

Calculation of artist‘s resale right compensation:
For works by living artists, or by artists who died less than 70 years ago, a artist‘s resale right compensation is levied in accordance with Section 26 UrhG:
4 % of hammer price from 400.00 euros up to 50,000 euros,
another 3 % of the hammer price from 50,000.01 to 200,000 euros,
another 1 % for the part of the sales proceeds from 200,000.01 to 350,000 euros,
another 0.5 % for the part of the sale proceeds from 350,000.01 to 500,000 euros and
another 0.25 % of the hammer price over 500,000 euros.
The maximum total of the resale right fee is EUR 12,500.

The artist‘s resale right compensation is VAT-exempt.