Willem de Kooning - Editions & Works on Paper New York Monday, October 24, 2022 | Phillips

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  • De Kooning’s interest in creating sculpture was sparked in 1969 when he met sculptor Herzl Emanuel in Rome. He made his first three-dimensional works at Emanuel’s foundry. The following year, with Henry Moore’s encouragement, he worked with resins and other materials with an eye to enlarging the small sculptures. His concern with locating appropriate materials for a specific purpose paralleled Gemini’s involvements during this period, making this project exemplary. - Ruth Fine, Gemini G.E.L. Art and Collaboration
     

    Willem de Kooning, Standing Figure, Bronze, 1969-1984, The Williem de Kooning Foundation. Artwork: © 2022 The Willem de Kooning Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

     

    I find de Kooning to be an excellent painter and I find his sculptures very unique, very irritating because they do not correspond to the type of sculptures we know. They don’t respect the principles of sculpture They don’t have muscles, or skeleton, or skin. They only have a surface that doesn’t have any content….His sculptures do not obey any rules of sculpture. But they are fantastic, they are extremely different and very surprising. - Georg Baseliz. John Elderfield, De Kooning: A Retrospective, Museum of Modern Art, 2011

     

    Auguste Rodin, Iris, Messenger of the Gods, Harvard Art Museum. Image: © President and Fellows of Harvard College
    Auguste Rodin, Iris, Messenger of the Gods, Harvard Art Museum. Image: © President and Fellows of Harvard College
    • Literature

      Gemini G.E.L. 404
      Ruth Fine, Gemini G.E.L. Art and Collaboration, 1984, pp. 86-87

    • Catalogue Essay

      A flexible rubber mold was made from an original bronze casting furnished by the artist. Wax copies, identical to the original bronze, were cast from the rubber mold. Each wax copy was encased with ceramic material and then removed from this ceramic shell through a steam melting process. After the wax was removed, the cavity in the ceramic shell became the area where molten pewter was poured. After the metal solidified, the ceramic shell was removed from the casting. Each casting had a different patina that was applied by hand. Gemini G.E.L. Catalogue Raisonné nga.gov

      This multiple is based on Untitled No. II, one of 13 small sculptures of 1969 that initiated de Kooning's career as a sculptor.

13

Untitled (G. 404)

1969
Cast pewter sculpture.
6 1/2 x 11 x 2 3/8 in. (16.5 x 27.9 x 6 cm)
Cast with initials and stamp numbered 1/100 on the side (there were also 6 artist's copies and 6 cast in silver), published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles (with the publisher's stamp).

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$10,000 - 15,000 

Sold for $15,120

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Editions & Works on Paper

New York Auction 24 - 26 October 2022