Jacob Kassay - Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale New York Thursday, March 7, 2013 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Eleven Rivington, New York

  • Catalogue Essay

    “They’re meant to be objects that engage the space around them.”
    JACOB KASSAY

    Jacob Kassay masterfully evokes the simplicity of Donald Judd’s minimalism and the monochromatic color palette of Yves Klein, weaving the two aesthetics together
    in Untitled, 2009. His limitation of color challenges expectations of what an image can and should represent, turning the present lot into a type of window looking onto an alternate experience. Noting the immersive qualities of Ad Reinhardt as a particular influence on his work, Kassay places emphasis on the physical viewing experience and
    the interaction of his work with the viewer in space. Kassay’s process is one that can only be described as artistic alchemy in its transformative ability to turn mixed media
    materials into a finished work, brilliantly illuminating its environment. One of Kassay’s highly sought after ‘mirrored’ paintings, Untitled, 2009 reflects its surroundings as well as changes in light and the shifting space of the viewer. Utilizing acrylic andsilver deposit as his materials, Kassay primes, composes, and paints on canvas in his studio, finishing his work with a process similar to silver plating.

    One of the key qualities of his use of precious metal is the consequent inevitability of oxidation in the work. As tarnish develops, it creates a halo effect around shapes
    and brush strokes. The raw canvas edges burn in the process, giving the painting an intriguing charred effect. Kassay sparks comparison to Rudolf Stingel’s similarly
    reflective silver paintings, however, Untitled, 2009, accomplishes the creation of a quietly immersive presence that is visually rich without ornate detail. A form of maximized minimalism, the artist navigates the territory of formal abstraction, employing the reection of light and image to explore the wonderfully interpretive qualities of painting.

19

Untitled

2009
acrylic and silver deposit on canvas
48 x 36 in. (121.9 x 91.4 cm)
Signed and dated “Kassay 09” on the reverse.

Estimate
$100,000 - 150,000 

Sold for $188,500

Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale

7 March 2013
New York