

Property from an Important East Coast Collection
170
Jean Dubuffet
Mire G 32 (Kowloon)
- Estimate
- $180,000 - 250,000
$250,000
Lot Details
acrylic on paper laid down on canvas
signed with the artist's initials and dated "J.D. 83" lower right
sheet 26 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. (67.3 x 100.3 cm.)
canvas 27 x 39 3/4 in. (68.6 x 101 cm.)
canvas 27 x 39 3/4 in. (68.6 x 101 cm.)
Executed in 1983.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Created in 1983, just two years before the artist's passing, Jean Dubuffet’s Mire G 32 (Kowloon) utilizes rich primary colors and abstract form to evoke strong reactions from its viewers. The artist’s Mire series is understood as a dramatic divergence from his previous Hourloupes, and were referred to by Dubuffet as “Test Patterns” employed to revitalize his creativity. The present lot showcases Dubuffet’s bright yellow ground, newly and routinely utilized in the Mires series to illuminate the artist’s gestural energy. The purity of color and the looseness of abstract lines throughout the composition completely abandon the figural imagery present in Dubuffet’s previous works, and portray a raw and unrefined emotion that encourage personal interpretation. Among one of the first artists to question the authenticity of institutional art practices, Dubuffet’s ideals persisted even through the end of his career.
Provenance
Exhibited
Literature