Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
Best known for his monumental marble works, Pablo Atchugarry creates sculptures with a uniquely architectural presence. The present lot is the largest work by the artist to ever come to auction, featuring sensual, curvilinear folds that reference the draped tunics found in classical Greek and Roman antiquities. Hand-carved by the artist with tremendous skill, the silky smooth, undulating surface of Untitled also evokes flowing water, thereby emitting a calming presence. However, its solidity and columnar form simultaneously seems to nod to national monuments, projecting a dominating quality, enhanced further by its culmination in a sharply pointed tip.

Towards the late 1970s, Atchugarry left Latin America to travel extensively throughout France, Spain, and Italy, where he would first discover his love of marble in 1979. Inspired by Michelangelo but almost entirely self-taught, Atchugarry’s mastery of his chosen medium is remarkable, imbuing his work with an almost spiritual reverence. Now recognized internationally, his works are held in private collections and institutions worldwide, in addition to the Pablo Atchugarry Museum that was founded in Lecco in 1999, the site of the first solo exhibition of his work.

Property Sold to Benefit NAMLA

Pablo Atchugarry

Untitled

Carrara marble
sculpture 111 x 23 1/2 x 9 in. (281.9 x 59.7 x 22.9 cm)
base 4 x 29 1/2 x 21 1/2 in. (10.2 x 74.9 x 54.6 cm)
Executed in 2010.

Estimate
$150,000 - 200,000

Sold for $162,500

Contact Specialist
Kaeli Deane
Head of Department, Americas
New York
+1 212 940 1352

New York Auction 21 November 2017