Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
Exhibited
London, Waddington Galleries, Dan Flavin, Untitled (for Lucie Rie, Master potter) 1990 themes and variations, February 28 - March 24, 1990
New York, John Good Gallery, Dan Flavin, October 7 - November 5, 1994 (another example exhibited)
Munich, Galerie Tanit, U.S. Classics, July 2 - September 4, 1999 (another example exhibited)
Munich, Galerie MaxWeberSixFriedrich, P79, November 5 - December 5, 2014
Literature
Dan Flavin, Untitled (for Lucie Rie, Master potter) 1990 themes and variations, exh. cat., Waddington Galleries, London, p. 10-11, no. 4 (illustrated)
M. Govan and T. Bell, eds., Dan Flavin: The Complete Lights, 1961-1996, New York: Dia Art Foundation in association with Yale University Press, 2004, no. 532, p. 373 (illustrated)
Catalogue Essay
“I can take the ordinary lamp out of use and into a magic that touches ancient mysteries.”
Dan Flavin, 1962

Dan Flavin’s fluorescent light pieces made their debut to the public in 1964, breaking free from the gestural and impassioned world of abstract expressionism and embarking on a new artistic exploration into minimalism. While employed as a security guard at the American Museum of Natural in New York, Flavin observed first hand the power of strategically placed electric lighting utilized to guide viewers through a darkened room. He began to contemplate the idea of electrical lighting as his defining artistic medium and chose common industrial florescent tubing knowing “that the actual space of a room could be broken down and played with by planting illusions of real light (electric light) at crucial junctures in the room's composition. A piece of wall can be visually disintegrated from the whole.'”(Dan Flavin, 1965 in J. Brox, Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light, London 2010)

The present lot continues Flavin’s tradition of creating works dedicated to his friends, colleagues and famous influential figures such as Donald Judd, Henri Matisse, Frank Stella, and in the case of the present lot, Lucie Rie. Untitled (to Lucie Rie, Master Potter 1J), 1990, pays homage to the great Austrian born, British potter Lucie Rie. Her ceramics “are remarkable for their sense of stillness and inner strength, often appearing a great deal larger than they actually are. This great serenity of form, body, decoration and glaze unite in a completeness that is quiet, restrained and controlled.” (Emmanuel Cooper in Lucie Rie: Modernist Potter, The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2012) Her growing aesthetic popularity has been described by Ben Williams, a specialist in ceramics who explains that “Japanese collectors prefer her bowls to her vases. He has attended tea ceremonies featuring Rie pots – a practice that would have pleased their maker.” (C. Barbour, “Appraisals: Lucie Rie,” ELLE Décor) The incorporation of Rie’s pieces into such an important cultural ceremony pleased Flavin as well, as an avid collector and admirer of Japanese prints, drawings and tea bowls. Artistically Flavin strove for his light works to be embraced into a higher culture where “the humble is elevated. Commercially produced, fluorescent strip lighting take on the sacred power of the candle held by Mary Magdalene, as painted in the 17th century in Georges de La Tour's The Penitent Magdalene. Flavin's fluorescent light is enduring, tranquil, cool. The very qualities that in other situations make it invisible and unloved - the seamlessness of the glow, the lack of dramatic intensity - become beautiful.” (J. Jones, “How many artists does it take to change a light bulb?,” The Guardian, August 28, 2001, p. 10)

Art historically, the presence of light is the existence of knowledge and truth, the absence of light is darkness shrouded in mystery. In the present lot Flavin seeks to create a form of harmonious colors and compositional strength in line with Rie’s concise and powerful creations. Both Flavin and Rie pursued the essence of truth through light, Flavin through tubes of harsh fluorescence and Rie through textured and reflective glazes. Attributing Rie and other influencers to his work in title and in form, Flavin is tying their fate to his own; looking ahead to “a lamp that burns to death like any other of its kind. In time the whole electrical system will pass into inactive history. My lamps will no longer be operative; but it must be remembered that they once gave light.” (Dan Flavin, 1962 in J.S. Weiss, Dan Flavin: New Light, New Haven: Yale University, 2006, p. 19)
Artist Biography
Dan Flavin
American • 1933 - 1996
Dan Flavin employed commercially-sold fluorescent light tubes in order to produce what he liked to call "situations" or installations. His minimalist approach transcended simplicity through his use of neon colors and thoughtful compositions. With straight-edged light beams, Flavin would often create dynamic arrangements reminiscent of Fred Sandback's work with yarn.
View More Works

14

Dan Flavin

Untitled (to Lucie Rie, Master Potter) 1J

1990
blue, yellow, red, green fluorescent light
72 x 16 3/4 x 24 in. (183 x 42.5 x 61 cm)
This work is number 2 from an intended edition of 5 of which only 3 were fabricated and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.

Estimate
$150,000 - 250,000

Contact Specialist
Amanda Stoffel
Head of Evening Sale, Contemporary Art
New York
+ 1 212 940 1261

Meaghan Roddy
Head of Sale, Design
New York
+ 1 212 940 1266

Contemporary Art and Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 3 March 2015 6pm

1
Franz West
Divan
Estimate $70,000 - 100,000
Sold for $137,000
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2
Fredrik Værslev
Untitled
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $68,750
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3
Wyatt Kahn
Pair
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $137,000
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4
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
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5
Ed Ruscha
Cherry
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $665,000
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6
Martin Kippenberger
Ego (Selbstporträt)
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $87,500
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7
Peter Doig
Untitled
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $293,000
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8
Richard Prince
Untitled (cowboy)
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,145,000
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9
Marilyn Minter
Wave
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $269,000
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10
Guyton\Walker
Untitled (Ketel 1 Knife Painting)
Estimate $90,000 - 120,000
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11
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $100,000
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12
Mathias Bengtsson
“Slice” chair
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $60,000
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13
Alex Hubbard
Nonstop Home
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $62,500
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14
Dan Flavin
Untitled (to Lucie Rie, Master Potter) 1J
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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15
Dan Rees
Artex Painting
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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16
Kenneth Noland
Chac volant
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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17
Carl Andre
32-Part Reciprocal Invention (RS 1971-20)
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $100,000
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18
Sturtevant
Study for Stella Bethlehem's Hospital
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Sold for $317,000
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19
Sturtevant
Muybridge Plate #136, Woman Shifting Her Weight with Arms on Hip, Arms Behind Back
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $81,250
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20
Haim Steinbach
ten second memos #7
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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21
Luc Tuymans
Exhibit #2
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $305,000
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22
Marc Newson
"Extruded Table 2"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $179,000
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23
Franz West
o.T. (model)
Estimate $70,000 - 100,000
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24
Martin Kippenberger
Sechs
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $40,000
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25
Niki de Saint Phalle
Pouf serpent bleu
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $87,500
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26
Tom Wesselmann
Blue Nude Drawing (12/17/99)
Estimate $350,000 - 550,000
Sold for $389,000
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27
Keith Haring
Pyramid
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $245,000
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28
Jack Pierson
The Crippled Beggar Knew a Priceless Secret
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $106,250
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29
Mark Flood
Announcement Frame
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $43,750
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30
Christian Rosa
Flora or Floral
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $87,500
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31
Thomas Heatherwick
"Extrusion" bench
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $112,500
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32
Ryan Sullivan
September 1, 2009 - February 11, 2010
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $50,000
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33
Thomas Houseago
Abstract Head I
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $81,250
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34
Oscar Tuazon
Untitled
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $62,500
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35
Rashid Johnson
Bull
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $81,250
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36
Franz West
Trog
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $81,250
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Contemporary Art and Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 3 March 2015 6pm

Create your first list.

Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Dan Flavin

14

Dan Flavin

Untitled (to Lucie Rie, Master Potter) 1J

Contemporary Art and Design Evening Sale

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