Property from a Private Collection, Florida
359
Francis Alÿs
Miss Amazonia, Miss Costa Rica, Miss Ecuador, Miss Lacandona, Miss Sumatra
- Estimate
- $50,000 - 70,000
$87,500
Lot Details
embroidery and oil on canvas, in artist's frames, in 5 parts
signed and dated "FRANCIS MARS 93" on the reverse of Miss Amazonia, Miss Costa Rica and Miss Ecuador
Miss Amazonia 17 x 14 3/4 in. (43.2 x 37.5 cm.)
Miss Costa Rica 16 3/4 x 12 7/8 in. (42.5 x 32.7 cm.)
Miss Ecuador 16 3/8 x 14 1/4 in. (41.6 x 36.2 cm.)
Miss Lacandona 14 7/8 x 13 1/8 in. (37.8 x 33.3 cm.)
Miss Sumatra 14 1/4 x 11 3/4 in. (36.2 x 29.8 cm.)
Miss Costa Rica 16 3/4 x 12 7/8 in. (42.5 x 32.7 cm.)
Miss Ecuador 16 3/8 x 14 1/4 in. (41.6 x 36.2 cm.)
Miss Lacandona 14 7/8 x 13 1/8 in. (37.8 x 33.3 cm.)
Miss Sumatra 14 1/4 x 11 3/4 in. (36.2 x 29.8 cm.)
Executed in 1993.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Provenance
Exhibited
Francis Alÿs
Belgian / Mexican | 1959Born in Belgium, Francis Alÿs traveled to Mexico in 1986 as part of a French program to assist in the aftermath of the tragic 1985 earthquake, and has lived there ever since. Throughout his career, the artist has analyzed facets of everyday urban life using a variety of media including video, drawing, installation and public action. Sign Painting Project (1993-'97) is a prime example of the artist's interest in the sprawling urbanization of Mexico City. In this early series, Alÿs drew inspiration from professional Mexican sign painters (rotúlistas) who painted large billboard advertisements throughout the city. In response to these large colorful compositions, Alÿs employed a similar style in creating small-scale paintings of familiar objects and places. Alÿs asked various rotúlistas to copy and enlarge his paintings, displaying his work and that of the rotúlista side-by-side. This series, like many of Alÿs' other works, illustrates the artist's concerns with such themes as collaboration, banality and originality.
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