Beschreibung:

(Elaine) Sturtevant Johns White Numbers 1991 encaustic on canvas 67 1/8 x 49 1/2 in. (170.4 x 125.7 cm) Signed, titled, and dated “Johns WHITE Numbers, sturtevant '91” on the reverse.
Provenance Collection of the artist Perry Rubenstein, New York Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Sale: Christie’s, New York, Post-War and Contemporary Art, May 2011, lot 370 Acquired at the above sale by the present owner Exhibited Paris, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Sturtevant, April 9 - May 21, 1994 Vienna, Galerie Mezzanin, Sturtevant, October 1 - November 22, 2003 Frankfurt am Main, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Sturtevant: The Brutal Truth, September 25, 2004 – January 30, 2005 Literature L. Maculan, ed., Sturtevant: Catalogue Raisonné 1964-2004, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2004, p. 54, no. 39 (illustrated) Museum für Moderne Kunst, Sturtevant: The Brutal Truth, Frankfurt am Main, 2004, n.p. (illustrated) Catalogue Essay The quest was to go beyond, to seek past the surface and reach for the understructure – the silent power of art. STURTEVANT (Sturtevant, in “Interior Visibilities,” D. Ottinger, ed. Magritte, exh. Cat. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, 1996, p. 124). Elaine Sturtevant’s practice can be situated within the art historical context of appropriation, which, since Duchamp’s readymades, has maintained a significant presence over the span of a century. Operating through this philosophical lens, Sturtevant challenges romanticized notions of aura by carefully reproducing iconic works of art. With Johns White Numbers, 1991, Sturtevant does not merely comment on the artistic achievements of others, she questions, changes, and expands the established notions of an art form. This intellectual appropriation is not simply a form of “copying” but a form of mimesis radiating with finesse and energy; all aspects which undoubtedly emanate off of the surface of Johns White Numbers, 1991. Here the numbers, each contained within their own little box, thrive with pure luminosity, an expansive study in the color white. The splashes of flawless and bright white pigment drench the canvas in swirling and activated motions, infusing the always-recognizable painting with new vitality and, most importantly, youth. In an anecdote, Gerd de Vries describes his experience of viewing a Sturtevant against an “original:” “There was an exhibition in Riehen, at the Beyeler Foundation… the show included a Flag painting by Johns as well as Johns Flag by Sturtevant. The strange thing was that her picture was decidedly more powerful, more intense, more abounding with energy than one by Johns.” (Gerd de Vired, in Sturtevant: Catalogue Raisonné 1964 - 2004, Paintings Sculpture Film and Video, Frankfurt am Main, Museum für Moderne Kunst, 2004, p. 35). Thirty-years younger than Johns’ painting, Johns White Numbers, 1991, transmits a vibrant energy that has faded from the original over time. Sturtevant amplifies Johns’ contribution, turning up the volume for future generations. Read More