Ugo Rondinone - Contemporary Day Sale London Wednesday, July 2, 2014 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Almine Rech Gallery, Paris

  • Catalogue Essay

    Rondinone's ‘Date Series’ feature small-scale, graphite drawings of every-day subjects; such as window shutters, chairs, and miscellaneous studio objects. The drawings are designed to provide counterpoise to his large-scale sculptural works. The images are executed much like diary entries, documenting the passage of time through the existence of these basic elements and processes. Thus, each object depicted becomes a record or trace of contemporary life yet also encourages the contemplation of the man-made world.

    These three works, entitled Friday, August 4th, Sunday, April 23rd and Thursday, August 24th and dated 2006, include a myriad of vantage points which convey exteriors, interiors, close-ups and panoramas. The style is minimal and effortless, both in depicted detail and materials used. The outline drawings include some shading whilst concentrating on the power of the simple line and the medium of graphite on canvas ensures the greyscale colour scheme. The drawings seem to focus on the interaction between interior and exterior objects. Rondinone highlights the elements of progression in our day to day lives by focusing on transitory components, such as windows and doors, which permit the movement from outside to inside and vice versa.
    The artist explores our emotional and psychological responses to the banal and the ordinary in our everyday lives and incites meditation on them. The spontaneous depictions of commonplace appliances encourage the rediscovery of our physical surroundings and their importance in the documentation of the quotidian passing of time. “I see art-making as a ritual, a meditation for myself. […] The spending time or passing time is ritualized because there is no functionality in the art-making”.

191

Friday August 4th

2006
gesso, collage, graphite on canvas
20 x 30 cm (7 7/8 x 11 3/4 in.)

Estimate
£12,000 - 18,000 

Contact Specialist
Henry Highley
Head of Sale
hhighley@phillips.com
+ 44 20 7318 4061

Contemporary Day Sale

London Auction 3 July 2014 2PM