Robert Mangold - New Now New York Wednesday, September 27, 2023 | Phillips

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  • Communicating through a visual language of geometric abstraction, Robert Mangold’s 1993 work, Plane/Figure, ties into his series of paintings and drawings in which he makes a unique curvilinear exploration through the warmth of graphite and line. This work reflects Mangold’s solidification of his views on abstraction. Adjoining two sheets of graphite-drawn paper, Plane/Figure dives into the subtle contrasts between shade, form, and line. Within the graphite-filled structural space, Mangold delves deeper into pillars of his practice, highlighting the interplay of shape within an abstracted form. This large juxtaposition that lies within Mangold’s practice relies greatly on the idea of intuition.   

     

    “I would say that I am an intuitive artist, but not an improvisational one. I plan out ahead, but the decisions I make, which become the plan, are intuitive choices. I make a series of sketches or studies and one thing somehow draws me in.”
    —Robert Mangold 

     

    Through this organic precision that Mangold intuitively creates, the relationship of artist to subject shifts. Mangold focuses on the relationship between surface and shape rather than wholly objectifying the work as the subject. Mangold’s use of free-formed ovals and lines within the rigid geometric border inspires the viewer to think about space: both positive and negative space, and the subtle lyricism created through the abstract form. Mangold’s take on abstraction plays into the contradictory notion of exactitude within the non-figural form. Though seemingly minimalist, each line and curve were drawn with specific attention, almost creating a subtext to the work by testing our perception of size and scale. Mangold takes practical elements of art and design, minutely examining them to create a seamless interpretation of abstraction.  

    • Provenance

      The Pace Gallery, New York
      Paul F. Walter (acquired from the above in 1994)
      Christie’s, New York, September 26, 2017, lot 53
      Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

    • Exhibited

      New York, The Pace Gallery, Robert Mangold: Recent Paintings and Drawings, March 18–April 23, 1994, p. 36 (illustrated)

82

Plane/Figure

signed and dated "R. Mangold 1993" lower left
graphite on two adjoined sheets of paper
41 1/4 x 58 1/2 in. (104.8 x 148.6 cm)
Executed in 1993.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$50,000 - 70,000 

Sold for $50,800

Contact Specialist

Avery Semjen
Associate Specialist, Head of New Now Sale 
T +1 212 940 1207
asemjen@phillips.com

New Now

New York Auction 27 September 2023