Anselm Reyle - Contemporary Art Part II New York Friday, May 16, 2008 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin

  • Catalogue Essay

     
    Essential to Anselm Reyle’s work is the concept of the objet trouvé: artifacts, kitsch objects and commodities are resurrected and combined with futuristic looking materials like neon, foil, mirrors, 'Day-Glo' paints or glitter to create abstract works with dazzling effects.  For Untitled, the artist has covered the one diagonal half of a black canvas with crumpled silver foil. Through the simple yet powerful gesture of deftly manipulating a commonplace material, Reyle has instilled the work with a unique reflective and sculptural quality. A clear Plexiglas cover encasing the piece further heightens the piece’s alluring presence. Reyle’s genius consists of imbuing the mundane with a radically innovative, seductive edge.
     
    So I was very fascinated by this material. The quality - that it was so glossy. I’ve always liked the fact that you have to do very little to make it look good. In this case, you really have a lot of interesting effects created by almost nothing. All the colours reflect and also it has a very psychedelic effect when you look at it from a close distance. A bit like on an acid trip. The fact that this cheap store foil work is such a big contrast to the expensive acrylic box around it is another aspect. Without this box, it would have been more trashy, cheap and even more fragile. But when its inside it gets more serious leaving no doubt that it’s a real piece of art... I like this simple grip. The way of working with these two opposite parts and perspectives.
     
    I also like the reference to the art history - that it has to do with Manzoni and Yves Klein and the presentation of their works today.
     
    A. Reyle, in interview with A. Tovborg, July 27, 2006, via http://www.kopenhagen.dk

227

Untitled

2006
Silver PVC foil and acrylic on canvas in Plexiglas box.
56 x 47 3/4 in. (142.2 x 121.3 cm).

Estimate
$150,000 - 200,000 

Sold for $313,000

Contemporary Art Part II

16 May 2008, 10am & 2pm
New York