The Estate of the Artist Pace Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
New York, Pace Gallery, Jean Dubuffet: A Retrospective, 1975-1984, April 24 - June 13, 1987 New York, Pace Gallery, Willem de Kooning, Jean Dubuffet: The Late Works, September 17 - October 16, 1993, no. 9, n.p. (illustrated)
Literature
Mildred Glimcher, Jean Dubuffet: Towards an Alternative Reality, New York, 1987, p. 288 (illustrated) Max Loreau, Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet, fascicule XXXVI: Mires, Paris, 1988, no. 27, p. 19 (illustrated)
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.
signed with the artist's initials and dated "J.D. 83" lower right acrylic on paper laid down on canvas 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.) Executed in 1983.