Jean Dubuffet - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session New York Wednesday, November 14, 2018 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    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.

Property from an Important East Coast Collection

170

Mire G 32 (Kowloon)

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.

Estimate
$180,000 - 250,000 

Sold for $250,000

Contact Specialist
John McCord
Head of Day Sale, Morning Session
New York
+1 212 940 1261
jmccord@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session

New York Auction 14 November 2018