Mira Schendel - New Now London Thursday, July 13, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private Collection (acquired directly from the artist)
    Private Collection, São Paulo
    Christie's, New York, 18 November 2004, lot 161
    Private Collection
    Sotheby's, New York, 21 November 2006, lot 181​
    Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

  • Artist Biography

    Mira Schendel

    Brazilian • 1919 - 1988

    Born in Zurich and of Jewish heritage, Mira Schendel escaped Switzerland during World War II to settle in Sarajevo and Rome, finally immigrating to Brazil in 1953. In the 1960s, she began to produce her iconic monotipas, delicate drawings on luminescent rice paper. She rejected the notion of painting as a primary medium, abandoning the genre in the 1970s for almost a decade. Schendel worked mostly with paper and objects made of unusual materials such as Plexiglas, fabrics and aqueous inks.

    Recurring themes in her work include letters, geometric figures and phrases reflecting a radical lexicon, often juxtaposing elements from two languages (visual and numerical). Many of her works hover in the space between drawing and writing, creating a certain visual poetry that is completely her own. Schendel's works go beyond the materiality of making art and allow viewers to understand the relationship between language, time and human thought processes.

    View More Works

Property from the Collection of Jimmy Belilty

90

Toquinhos

signed and dated 'Mira Schendel, 73' lower right of each part
ecoline, letter set and paper collage on paper, in 3 parts
each 48.8 x 24.7 cm (19 1/4 x 9 3/4 in.)
framed 53.1 x 81.3 cm (20 7/8 x 32 in.)

Executed in 1973.

Estimate
£15,000 - 25,000 

Contact Specialist

Charlotte Gibbs
Associate Specialist, Head of New Now
+44 20 7901 7993
CGibbs@phillips.com

New Now

London Auction 13 July 2023