Recent Acquisitions/ Summer 2018
Yayoi Kusama Nets Infinity, 1997 Acrylic on canvas 20h x 18w in 50.80h x 45.72w cm
Nets Infinity, 1997 Nets Infinity unfolds a series of black crescents across a gold background. The work exemplifies key elements of the “Infinity Nets” series — as the whorl of crescents tighten and loosen, the viewer’s eyes wander across the face of the canvas accordingly, conveying a sense of latent energy. Since the late-1950s, the series showcases Kusama’s talent for expressing spiritual, and emotional encounters through her art. Created during her early career in New York, the “Infinity Nets” series challenges conventional approaches towards abstraction. Kusama created these dizzying canvases, consisting of multiple crescent-shaped patterns, describing these works as “without beginning, end, or center”. “All of us live in the unfathomable mystery and infinitude of the universe. Pursuing ‘philosophy of the universe’ through art under such circumstances has led me to what I call ‘stereotypical repetition’.” —Yayoi Kusama
16 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 Phone: +1 (646) 649 3744 | E-mail: info@HelwaserGallery.com www.HelwaserGallery.com
Sol LeWitt Horizontal Brushstrokes in Color, 2003 Gouache on paper 11h x 30w in 27.94h x 76.20w cm
Horizontal Brushstrokes in Color, 2003 Sol LeWitt created multiple series of paper-based works, which often focused on geometric shapes and lines. Made with wavy, loose brushstrokes, over a solid background, Horizontal Brushstrokes in Color belongs to the series of work focused on this pattern, realised in a number of different colors and sizes. Works on paper featured prominently throughout the artist’s career, who employed gouache to create colorful, abstract works linked to motifs within his wider practice. A Minimal and Conceptual Art pioneer, LeWitt challenged the established definitions of art. He emphasized the idea that the elegance of art lies within concepts and ideas, rather than purely within its material creation. His career spanned the later half of the twentieth century, until his death in 2007.
16 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 Phone: +1 (646) 649 3744 | E-mail: info@HelwaserGallery.com www.HelwaserGallery.com
George Condo Untitled, 1985 Oil on canvas 13h x 10w in 33.02h x 25.40w cm
Untitled, 1985 Reinventing figurative painting in the 1980s, George Condo is best known for his interpretations of the human figure that combines traditions of Old Master painting with his unique style. Drawn in a variety of ways that inject humor, provocation, or sadness, his works reveal much about the character and stories of his subjects. Untitled is a richly colored work; the figure stands center-stage in the portrait, dressed in an outfit that evokes another era and place. Condo’s process involves incorporating multiple references to cultural histories, making it difficult for the viewer to attribute it to a single point in time. As if dressed in costume, the figure in Untitled expresses the theatrical nature of Condo’s practice, highlighting the elements of artifice and artificiality that pervade much of his work. By recontextualising elements of Old Master painting, Untitled expresses Condo’s imaginative interpretation of the human figure.
16 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 Phone: +1 (646) 649 3744 | E-mail: info@HelwaserGallery.com www.HelwaserGallery.com
Roy Lichtenstein Drawing for Modern Painting Triptych II, 1967 Graphite and colored pencils on paper 4 1/4h x 10w in 10.79h x 25.40w cm
Drawing for Modern Painting Tripytch, 1967 This drawing belongs to Roy Lichtenstein’s “Modern” series, inspired by comic strip illustrations. Lichtenstein referenced Art Deco aesthetics in works that took the geometric lines of Art Deco art and architecture, and re-created them as patterns. Drawing for Modern Painting Triptych II is a study done in preparation for a larger painting, Modern Painting Triptych II, which belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago. As Art Deco patterns appeared within buildings, places of entertainment, and mass media imagery, Lichtenstein used benday dots, repeating the same structured patterns over and over again. In ways that evoked mechanical reproduction, Lichtenstein’s work can be read as a commentary on the ubiquity of mass culture, an intrinsic theme that featured throughout his artistic career.
16 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 Phone: +1 (646) 649 3744 | E-mail: info@HelwaserGallery.com www.HelwaserGallery.com
Richard Serra L-1, 2000 Paintstick on paper 30 3/8h x 39 7/8w in 77.15h x 101.28w cm
L-1, 2000
While Richard Serra‘s massive sculptures feature his distinctive bold aesthetic, the artist created drawings that played a significant role in his body of work during the last forty years of his career. Using black paintstick, applied in repetitive and vigorous gestures, the drawings illustrate the artist’s exploration of surface texture and new methods of drawing. While the predominant use of black feature a similar intensity of weight and volume as his sculptures, the visibility of his gestures accentuates the unique physical and temporal aspects of his practice. Although the drawings share a similar focus on process with his sculptural work, they form a distinct part of his oeuvre.
16 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 Phone: +1 (646) 649 3744 | E-mail: info@HelwaserGallery.com www.HelwaserGallery.com
Richard Serra Curve 2, 1981 Paintstick on paper 38 1/4h x 50w in 97.16h x 127w cm
About the gallery
Located beside Museum Mile, Helwaser Gallery specializes in post-war and contemporary art. The gallery has placed works in the collections of private collectors and institutions across Europe and New York, presenting works from seminal artists such as Adolph Gottlieb, Agnes Martin, and sculpture from Alexander Calder. The gallery has participated in notable fairs, including The Armory Show, Art Miami, Salon: Art + Design, BRAFA (Brussels), and Paris: Art + Design. Currently, the gallery is being redesigned and remodeled as a contemporary exhibition space, and is closed for construction. For all inquiries and appointments, please email: info@helwasergallery.com
Helwaser Gallery 16 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 By-appointment only Phone: +1 (646) 359 2968, 11AM- 5PM (M-F) E-mail: info@HelwaserGallery.com
16 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075 Phone: +1 (646) 649 3744 | E-mail: info@HelwaserGallery.com www.HelwaserGallery.com