Gunther Uecker

Günther Uecker * (born Wendorf in 1930) “Feldschlacht”, on reverse titled, signed, dated Uecker 82, acrylic, nails on canvas, laid down on panel, scarring from axe blows, 80 x 80 x 18 cm, (PS) Photographic expertise issued by the artist. Literature: Dieter Honisch, Uecker, Stuttgart 1983, page 255, no. 1055, here with the title “Struktur V” Provenance: Galerie Wassermann, Munich (gallery stamp on reverse) European Private Collection Günther Uecker’’’’s nailed spaces are his homage to nature and at the same time “an unending artistic crusade against mankind‘s endless crusades against man and against nature” (M. Ackermann/ G. Uecker, Die Wirklichkeit der Farbe. Farben der Wirklichkeit, Stuttgart 1992, p. 122) By means of his nailed spaces Uecker depicts the energetic reality of light and the kinetic reality of movement in a direct and unadulterated manner. The spaces are no longer panels, but rather absolutely concrete pictorial spaces with increasingly blurred boundaries, further evidence of the extent to which the structure has become independent of the image carrier. In “Feldschlacht” the process of gaining independence is staged in an extreme manner, Günther Uecker having hammered nails, in a variety of directions, onto a light-dark subsurface previously worked on with an axe.

Günther Uecker (b. 1930) Horizontale Reihung, diagonal gestört (Horizontal alignment, diagonally disturbed) signed, titled and dated twice 'Horizontale Reihung Diagonal gestürt Uecker 1960-61 Horizontale Struktur Reihung Uecker 1961' (on the reverse) oil, kaolin and nails on canvas on wood 58 x 60 cm. Executed in 1960-1961 Mrs. Kistemann, Düsseldorf. Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1985. PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE GERMAN COLLECTION D. Honish, Uecker, Stuttgart 1983, no. 194 (illustrated p. 63). 'When I use nails my aim is to establish a structured pattern of relationships in order to set vibrations in motion that disturb and irritate their geometric order. What is important to me is variability, which is capable of revealing the beauty of movement to us' (G. Uecker quoted in D. Honisch (a.o.), Günther Uecker: Twenty Chapters, Berlin 2006, p. 34). German Zero artist Günther Uecker started creating his nailed paintings in 1957. For him, the nail-covered surface is a sort of antithesis of the painted surface, as is his dominant preference for the colour white. His use of a monochrome colour and his occupancy with a monotonous material in repetitive exercises, enabled him during his career to develop a fascination for the medium of light. The nails arranged in all sorts of intervals, rhythms, organic patrons and sequences and their shadows, give the artist the opportunity to explore all sorts of light arrangements. The viewer is, depending on his position and time of day, confronted with a different and unique work every time. Executed in 1960-1961, Horizontal Alignment, diagonally disturbed is an early and deeply hypnotic work by Günther Uecker, dating from the artist's most exciting period. This example of Uecker's iconic form is remarkable in the quality of the forms on display: light as it passes through and over the relief, breaking into shadows that momentarily transform the work and presents the viewer a stunningly seductive optical experience. The resulting virginal, luminous aesthetic served to heighten the effect of light as it passes through and over the relief, breaking into shadows that momentarily transform the work. As Uecker has described 'my works acquire their reality through light... their intensity is changeable due to the light impinging on them which, from the viewer's standpoint, is variable' (G. Uecker quoted in D. Honisch, Uecker, New York 1983, p. 28). It is this optical effect that invites the viewer's eye to roam across the surface of the work, seeking new relationships between volume and shadow. Uecker became signatory to the Zero Group in 1961 where he was introduced to the visual practices of fellow artists Heinz Mack and Otto Piene. Together, their monochromatic works were each aimed at creating dynamic optical vibrations. Although the group was disbanded only a few years later in 1966, the experience had been a formative one for the artist: 'it was from the start an open domain of possibilities, and we speculated with the visionary form of purity, beauty, and stillness. These things moved us greatly. This was perhaps also a very silent and at the same time very loud protest against Expressionism, against an expression-oriented society' (G. Uecker, ibid, p. 14). At the time, West Germany was becoming dominated by a prevailing Expressionism or Art Informel, and it was against this prevailing vernacular that Uecker sought to find a new artistic "base". He looked back to the time of the Russian revolution populated by artists such as Kazimir Malevich whose clean, Suprematist paintings, with their metaphors of nothingness, 'made it possible to feel more optimistic about one's own way' (G. Uecker, ibid, p. 26). Going beyond the catharsis of Germany's recent national socialist legacy, Uecker was seeking the same aim as his Russian forebear: 'the creation of 'white states' such as society had not yet attained' (ibid).

Günther Uecker (b. 1930) Nagelbild signed and dated 'Uecker 90' (lower right) a nail and pencil on paper 9.5 x 14 cm. Executed in 1990. Artist's Resale Right ("droit de Suite"). If the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer also agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Günther Uecker * (b. in Wendorf in 1930), "Short Way", multiple, telecommunication cable and nail, mounted on a wooden base, the title printed on the rear side of the base, signed and dated Uecker 83, 22.5 x 30 x 5.5 cm, from the edition of 650, (PP) This multiple was produced as a limited edition for the WWF (Westdeutsches Werbefernsehen GmbH), Cologne.

Günther Uecker (b. 1930) Reihe Feld (Sequence Field) signed, titled and dated 'Reihenfeld Uecker 70' (on the reverse) nails on canvas laid down on wood 59 x 59 x 5 3/8in. (150 x 150 x 13.5cm.) Executed in 1970 Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf. Acquired from the above by the present owner in the 1970s. Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf. Galerie Hans Mayer, Dusseldorf. Acquired from the above by the present owner. Sao Paulo, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, XI Bienal de São Paulo, 1971, no. 32, p. 23. Hanover, Kestner Gesellschaft, Günther Uecker, 1972. 'When I use nails my aim is to establish a structured pattern of relationships in order to set vibrations in motion that disturb and irritate their geometric order. What is important to me is variability, which is capable of revealing the beauty of movement to us' (G. Uecker, quoted in D. Honisch et al. (eds.), Günther Uecker: Twenty Chapters, Berlin 2006, p. 34). 'My works acquire their reality through light... their intensity is changeable due to the light impinging on them which, from the viewer's standpoint is variable' (G. Uecker, quoted in D. Honisch et al. (eds.), Günther Uecker: Twenty Chapters, Berlin 2006, p. 28). Executed in 1970, Reihe Feld (Sequence Field) is a vast, early and deeply hypnotic work by Günther Uecker. Precisely aligning nails into the canvas, Uecker runs a rhythmic and lyrical current through the work, creating a sublimely tranquil surface. An iconic and intensely absorbing work, Reihe Feld was included in the artist's celebrated installation as the German representative at the Sao Paulo, Fundaço Bienal de So Paulo, XI Bienal de So Paulo, 1971 and the Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover. Expanding across the vast surface of Reihe Feld waves of dappled shadows create an undulating pattern over the achromatic sea; the rhythmic swells of nails imparting a cadenced pattern of light and shade. The white filigree of nails hammered in endless succession punctuates the surface. Enveloping the viewer in a shimmering web, the gridded configuration paradoxically oscillates between both a meditative calm and the dizzying restlessness of a mechanical turbine. As the artist once elaborated, 'when I use nails my aim is to establish a structured pattern of relationships in order to set vibrations in motion that disturb and irritate their geometric order. What is important to me is variability, which is capable of revealing the beauty of movement to us' (G. Uecker, quoted in D. Honisch et al. (eds.), Günther Uecker: Twenty Chapters, Berlin 2006, p. 34). Through the careful positioning of the nails across the square picture plane, Uecker choreographs a delicate ballet between light and shade that brings a great sense of energy and motion to the surface. As a result, the viewer encounters a different and unique work each time they approach Reihe Feld, depending on his position and the time of day. A rhythmic work that is also static: the artist has affixed the nails into the canvas with physical force and exertion. Yet their ambulatory pattern belies a dynamism, creating an effect that forever refuses to abate. The serene fluidity of the organic patterns that arise seems to defuse the violent act of their creation. Of this the artist explained, 'when I use nails my aim is to establish a structured pattern of relationships in order to set vibrations in motion that disturb and irritate their geometric order. What is important to me is variability, which is capable of revealing the beauty of movement to us' (G. Uecker, quoted in D. Honisch et al. (eds.), Günther Uecker: Twenty Chapters, Berlin 2006). Meticulously placed at measured intervals, the staccato of nail heads merge together, creating a fluid current of mesmerising ambience.