Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Venezuela Private Collection, Montevideo Sotheby's, New York, Latin American Art, November 19, 2009, lot 163A Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
Elsa Gramcko is considered one of the premier female Modernist artists from Latin America. Born in 1925 in Caracas, Gramcko attended the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Venezuela where she studied under Alejandro Otero. The present lot is a prime example of the artist’s interest in Tachism, a European abstraction movement that did not believe in hardedge geometric representation, but rather championed an intuitive form of expression. In the present lot Gramcko presents the viewer with a powerful red background covered in slender black geometric shapes. The artist includes green, orange, and white forms to contrast the darker compositional elements. Although Gramcko has created a calculated composition, the geometric forms are neither crisp nor harsh, creating fluidity and movement, illustrating her interest in expressive and emotive painting.