“The nails are asking a question: Are you marking off days, or are you going to use the nails to build something?”
—James RosenquistIn the 1974 lithograph Star Leg, Pop artist James Rosenquist takes two of his most iconic motifs—the nail and the circle-triangle-square trio—and presents them in an inventive way. Nails first appeared in Rosenquist’s work after the artist joined a 1972 antiwar demonstration in Washington, D.C. that resulted in his arrest. While his stay in jail was brief, it inspired a motif that would continue to reappear in his prints and paintings: nails formed like tally marks, ticking off time. Though nails strongly feature in this print, Star Leg subverts this idea of a chronological tallying. The nails instead unite to build a star, precariously perched on the tip of a triangular pendulum. Each tip connects at a point, closing the shape in a continuous loop evocative of a cycle of time, ever repeating itself. Rosenquist often returned to the nail, yet Star Leg is the only time they form of a star. Off the Continental Divide, also published in 1974, demonstrates his more common use of the nail in their tally mark form.
James Rosenquist, Off the Continental Divide (S. 17, G. 69), 1973-74, Phillips, Works from the James Rosenquist Estate, February 15, 2024. Artwork: © James Rosenquist Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Used by permission. All rights reserved. In the work’s composition, Rosenquist subtly references his interest in Eastern philosophy in which the triangle, circle, and square are said to come together to represent a harmonious universe. This visual theme appears in many other works across Rosenquist’s oeuvre including his autobiographical work Tampa – New York 1188. Integrated more subtly in this print than other works, the triangle is the most obvious, centered in the picture plane. An absence of ink creates a semi-circle of negative space around the radius of the nails, as if swinging from the tip of the triangle, and the square emerges from the paper itself, demarcated by the strong black line through its middle. The implication of harmony through geometry in Star Leg reemphasizes the notion of balance evoked in the delicate stacking on star on the tip of a triangle, the central line splitting the page like a tightrope.
James Rosenquist, Tampa—New York 1188 (G. 81), 1974-75, Phillips, Works from the James Rosenquist Estate, February 15, 2024. Artwork: © James Rosenquist Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Literature
Dieter Schwarz 1974.33
Constance Glenn 78
Property from a Distinguished Private Collection
134
Star Leg (S. 1974.33, G. 78)
1974
Lithograph in colors with debossing and collage of string and stone, on Copperplate Deluxe paper, with full margins.
I. 34 x 22 1/4 in. (86.4 x 56.5 cm)
S. 36 1/8 x 25 5/8 in. (91.8 x 65.1 cm)
Signed, titled, dated and numbered 33/80 in pencil (there were also 20 artist's proofs), co-published by Multiples, Inc. and Castelli Graphics, New York, framed.
Estimate
$2,000 - 3,000
editions@phillips.com
212-940-1220
Editions & Works on Paper
New York Auction 27 June 2024
