Guillermo Kuitca - Contemporary Day Sale London Sunday, June 28, 2009 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Elisabeth Franck Gallery, Knokke Le Zoute: Bown Tavernicci Collection, Belgium; Galerie Barbara Farber, Amsterdam

  • Exhibited

    Knokke Le Zoute, Elisabeth Franck Gallery, Guillermo Kuitca, 1985: Rotterdam, Whitte de with Centre for Contemporary Art: Mulheim an der Ruht, Stadtisches Museum Mulheim, Guillermo Kuitca, 2 June - 30 September, 1990
     

  • Literature

    F.Lebengilk, Kuitca, Julia Lublin Editions, Buenos Aires, 1989, p.71 (illustrated)

  • Catalogue Essay

    Guillermo Kuitca's paintings from the 1980s tend to portray a dramatically distorted world full of mystery, suspense, angst and fragility. Born in Argentina, Kuitca grew up witnessing the political and economic turmoil in his country.The sociological and ideological effects on society derived from this turmoil are illustrated in his work. In addition, the psychoanalytic theory and practice that Kuitca observed and learned from his mother, who worked as a psychoanalyst, have also had a great impact on his work.
    The present lot, Vaga Idea de una Pasión, painted in 1985 is one of the seminal works from the period of his involvement with experimental theatre. One of his greatest influences during this period was German performer, dancer and Artistic Director, Pina Bausch.The reference to her elaborate stage settings can be seen in the depicted interior which dominates and encloses the three characters.The dark, sombre colours adds to the suspense and leaves the viewer wondering if they are witnessing the aftermath of a violent and devastating event.The distance between the depictedcharacters conveys a sense of emotional isolation and pain.The detailed large-scale interior urges the viewer to focus on the ambiguity of the narrative surrounding the minute characters and the absence of their faces.In this work, Kuitca's ability to draw on the ideas learned from the international language  of painting is apparent. One of the artists whose work has had a significant impact  on Kuitca is Francis Bacon; Bacon's influence can be seen in Kuitca's use of colour and the portrayal of the raw drama and emotion.
    "Kuitca strikes the perfect balance between the international vernacular and the native context of his homeland. In the 80-s Argentine painting maintained its local singularity through steady attention to the progress of the society, to its ideological, political and economic circumstances, in other words, to the conditions in which the work is produced, the addressing of issues was done using the international language of art. Kuitca is part of a new generation of Latin American artists whose focus is the subjective."(Louis Grachos, New Image Painting: Argentina in the Eighties. Raphael Bueno, Guillermo Kuitca, Alfredo Prior, Americas Society/Art Gallery, NewYork, 1989)
     

  • Artist Biography

    Guillermo Kuitca

    Argentinian • 1961

    Guillermo Kuitca is an Argentinean child prodigy who held his first solo exhibition at age thirteen. He emerged as a painter during the 1980s, rejecting the neoexpressionist trend of the time. Yet his art is intellectually demanding, formally complex and relevant to the historical moment.

    Kuitca is influenced by Antoni Tápies, Francis Bacon, Jenny Holzer and Pina Bausch. His paintings denote total abstraction and deal with space, language, deat, and travel. His series of maps from the 1990s depicted on canvases and mattresses explore themes of disappearance, migration and the importance of memory. He rarely depicts humans, and his map paintings are difficult to decipher geographically, allowing viewers to meditate on the psychology of space.

    View More Works

145

Vaga Idea de una Pasiòn

1985
Oil and acrylic on canvas.
178.5 x 127 cm. (70 1/4 x 50 in).
Signed, titled and dated ' "VAGA IDEA DE UNA PASIÒN" Kuitca 1985' on the reverse.

Estimate
£40,000 - 60,000 

Sold for £73,250

Contemporary Day Sale

29 June 2009, 4pm
London