Mimmo Paladino - Contemporary Art Evening Sale London Wednesday, February 27, 2008 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Galeria Contini, Venice; Sperone Westwater, New York

  • Exhibited

    Mimmo Paladino is a master of the ‘archaic’ of what have come to seem rather outdated forms: geometrical abstraction makes a grand appearance in one untitled tour de force, while the human face and figure (almost all are religious icons painted black) appear repeatedly in another work… Religion has always relied on spectacle, but what happens when religion is no longer authentic, and only spectacle remains? The result is nostalgia, which pervades Paladino’s work, though here it represents a yearning for a lost significance rather than the sentimental contemplation of a once spiritual world. Paladino also shows us the possibilities inherent in reprise – the uniform red of his geometrical abstraction takes us back to Matisse’s Harmony in Red, 1908, via Barnett Newman’s Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950-51. Of course, while the restoration of forms long thought exhausted may be an artistic miracle, it can never compare to the resurrection of Lazarus. That is, it cannot convert us, however admirable the attempt may be. D. Kuspit, ‘Mimmo Paladino: Sperone Westwater – art exhibit’ in ArtForum, October, 1996

175

Interno con Stagno

1988
Oil on canvas.
250.3 x 300.5 cm. (98 5/8 x 118 3/8 in).
Signed, titled and dated ‘M.Paladino INTERNO CON STAGNO 1988’ on the reverse. This work is accompanied by a signed photograph by the artist.

Estimate
£80,000 - 120,000 

Sold for £98,900

Contemporary Art Evening Sale

28 Feb 2008, 7pm
London