Quatre Visages (Four Faces), 1959 by Pablo Picasso

Quatre Visages (Four Faces), 1959; White earthenware ceramic pitcher with colored engobe and glaze; Numbered 183/300, Inscribed 'EDITION PICASSO MADOURA', with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and the 'EDITION PICASSO' pottery stamps on the underside; Size - Quatre Visages (Four Faces): 9" x 7 1/2" x 7 1/2"; Catalogue Raisonne: A.R. 436.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE!

 "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." - Pablo Picasso

During the late 1940s, Pablo Picasso spent the summers on the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. There the artist visited Vallauris for the annual pottery exhibition in 1946. He was impressed by the quality of the Madoura works and was introduced to the owners, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The Ramiés welcomed the famous artist into their workshop and gave him access to all the tools and resources the he needed in order to work in the medium of ceramics. In exchange, the Ramié family would produce and sell his limited edition ceramic works and this relationship spanned 25 years. It was also at the Madoura factory in 1953 that Picasso met Jacqueline Roque, who would become his second wife in 1961.

Side view of Quatre Visages (Four Faces) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

Side view of Quatre Visages (Four Faces) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

Front view of Quatre Visages (Four Faces) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

The Market for Picasso ceramics has been steadily rising as outlined by a recent article:
"Over the past 10 years, the market for Picasso ceramics has steadily grown, with seasoned collectors and new buyers alike vying for Picasso's editioned and unique ceramics at auction. This market is stable, with a steady high sell-through rate around 89% (87% in 2004, 89% in 2005, 87% in 2011, and 90% in 2012), and prices that are still lower than the rest of Picasso's work. The broad range of estimates and sales prices help make this market attractive to many collectors, but also explain the high average sales prices, which are skewed by a few exceptional pieces. In the previous two years, more than 60 exceptional ceramic works sold for over US$100,000: 34 in 2011 and 29 in 2012 (vs. six in 2004 and 2005)." - The Story Behind Picasso Ceramics, by Fanny Lakoubay and Conner Williams, 2013

Back view of Quatre Visages (Four Faces) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

The famed artist Georges Bloch stated of Picasso’s ceramic works:
 "…in approach, material and technique is as novel as it is interesting. Pottery, gleaming white discs with relief designs, monochrome or brightly coloured ovals, dishes and even jugs and vases here serve as bearers of compositions whose themes express the joyous, life-loving side of Picasso’s work. They are printed from blocks and stamps fashioned by the master over a period of more than twenty years in the Madoura pottery workshop in Vallauris.”

Close up of the edition number, 'EDITION PICASSO MADOURA', the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and the 'EDITION PICASSO' pottery stamps.

Top view of Quatre Visages (Four Faces) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

This is a wonderful four faces ceramic pitcher created in 1959, and the painting of the vessel is beautifully rendered with free form brown brushstrokes that are used to create the eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth of four faces. The four faces are joined by the left eye of one face making the right eye of the next, continuously around the vessel. This is a spectacular piece of original Pablo Picasso artwork and a great addition for any art collection!

#Picasso #PabloPicasso #ceramic #Picassoceramic #Madoura #MadouraPottery #Vallauris #SuzanneRamie #GeorgesRamie #Ramie #JacquelineRoque #untitledartgallery #cubism #pitcher #GeorgesBloch #originalPicasso #face #fourfaces #FrancoisGilot

Hibou (Owl), 1954 by Pablo Picasso

Hibou (Owl), 1954; White earthenware ceramic pitcher partially engraved with colored engobe and glaze; From the edition of 500; Inscribed 'EDITION PICASSO MADOURA', with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and the 'EDITION PICASSO' pottery stamps on the underside; Size - Hibou (Owl): 9 1/2" x 7 1/4" x 7 1/4"; Catalogue Raisonne: A.R. 253.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE!

During the late 1940s, Pablo Picasso spent the summers on the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. There the artist visited Vallauris for the annual pottery exhibition in 1946. He was impressed by the quality of the Madoura works and was introduced to the owners, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The Ramiés welcomed the famous artist into their workshop and gave him access to all the tools and resources the he needed in order to work in the medium of ceramics. In exchange, the Ramié family would produce and sell his limited edition ceramic works and this relationship spanned 25 years. It was also at the Madoura factory in 1953 that Picasso met Jacqueline Roque, who would become his second wife in 1961.

Side view of Hibou (Owl) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

Side view of Hibou (Owl) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

Front view of Hibou (Owl) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

The Market for Picasso ceramics has been steadily rising as outlined by a recent article:
"Over the past 10 years, the market for Picasso ceramics has steadily grown, with seasoned collectors and new buyers alike vying for Picasso's editioned and unique ceramics at auction. This market is stable, with a steady high sell-through rate around 89% (87% in 2004, 89% in 2005, 87% in 2011, and 90% in 2012), and prices that are still lower than the rest of Picasso's work. The broad range of estimates and sales prices help make this market attractive to many collectors, but also explain the high average sales prices, which are skewed by a few exceptional pieces. In the previous two years, more than 60 exceptional ceramic works sold for over US$100,000: 34 in 2011 and 29 in 2012 (vs. six in 2004 and 2005)." - The Story Behind Picasso Ceramics, by Fanny Lakoubay and Conner Williams, 2013

Back view of Hibou (Owl) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

The famed artist Georges Bloch stated of Picasso’s ceramic works:
 "…in approach, material and technique is as novel as it is interesting. Pottery, gleaming white discs with relief designs, monochrome or brightly coloured ovals, dishes and even jugs and vases here serve as bearers of compositions whose themes express the joyous, life-loving side of Picasso’s work. They are printed from blocks and stamps fashioned by the master over a period of more than twenty years in the Madoura pottery workshop in Vallauris.”

Close up of the 'EDITION PICASSO MADOURA', with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and the 'EDITION PICASSO' pottery stamps.

From Charles Mathes's site valuethoughts.com:
"In 1946 Picasso was staying near Antibes in the South of France and decorating the walls of what would become the Musée Picasso. A small owl with an injured claw that had been found in a corner ended up living with him and his lover, Francois Gilot. According to Gilot in her book “Life With Picasso” the owl was an ill-tempered creature who smelled awful and ate only mice. The owl would snort at Picasso and bite his fingers; Picasso would reply with a string of obscenities just to show the bird who was the most ill-tempered. Clearly bad manners were the way to Picasso’s heart for not only did he do a number of paintings, drawings and prints of owls, he created numerous ceramics."

Top view of Hibou (Owl) Pitcher by Pablo Picasso

Picasso would use the owl in paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and ceramics for the rest of his life. This is a wonderful owl pitcher ceramic created in 1954, and the painting of the vessel is beautifully rendered in a classic blue on white ground. Free form brushstrokes are used to create the eyes, beak, feathered wings, tail, and feet. The owl is spotting on the front, with feathered wings on both sides, and tail feathers just below the handle. This is a spectacular piece of original Pablo Picasso artwork and a great addition for any art collection!

Click on the short video below to see Francoise Gilot, the lover and muse of Pablo Picasso from 1944-1953 and the mother of his two children Paloma and Claude, discuss the small wood owl that came into their lives.

#Picasso #PabloPicasso #ceramic #Picassoceramic #Madoura #MadouraPottery #Vallauris #SuzanneRamie #GeorgesRamie #Ramie #JacquelineRoque #untitledartgallery #cubism #hibou #GeorgesBloch #Chouette #Owl #WoodOwl #FrancoisGilot

Complete Fiddlemania Portfolio, 1987 by Arman

Complete Fiddlemania Portfolio, 1987; Set of three serigraphs on Rives vellum paper; Each signed Arman in pencil lower right and numbered 50/200 in pencil lower left; Published by GKM Editions, Sweden with stamp lower left; With colophon cover, numbered justification page, and titled folders; Size - Sheets 18" x 16 1/4"; Catalog Raisonne: Otmezguine/Moreau: 250 A, B, & C, pg. 297; Unframed.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE!

"As a witness of my society, I have always been very much involved in the cycle of production, consumption, and destruction." - Arman

New Realism was an art movement that started in France in 1960 with Pierre Restany writing it's original manifesto which proclaimed: "Nouveau Realisme -new ways of perceiving the real." This group of artists were interested in new ways in which to create art, and in the process subvert the status quo. The artist Arman was one of the original founding members of the movement and he was known for his "accumulations" and for his destruction/recomposing of ordinary objects. He featured objects with a strong "identity" such as musical instruments, with the violin being his most famous subject. 

This is a rare complete portfolio of three signed and numbered serigraphs by Arman, with the violin being the subject for each work. In one of the pieces, the outline of the violin is being formed by a series of paint tubes that have been squeezed. The pure paint emerging from the tubes forms a series of colored rainbow lines that make up multiple violin outlines. Arman has titled this work, "Music Is Colour For The Ears, Painting Is Music For The Eyes," which further enhances the concept of the interaction between the visual plastic arts and music.

In another piece, the violin and bow are repeated in yellow, blue, and black onto a single sheet of paper. This accumulation of the violin allows for the image to no longer be isolated but rather repeated, in order to create an effect of a balanced abstraction composed of multiple arrangements of a violin and it's bow. Arman has titled this work, "The Bow On The Strings Frees An Explosion Of Sounds," which further enhances the concept of multiple images in order to create not just a single tone, but rather an "explosion of sounds!"

In the third piece, the violin is first deconstructed and it's individual components are reconstituted in outline by bold brushstrokes of color. Arman has titled this work, "Glow Worms Of Musik, The Sounds Of The Violin Burst Through It's Body And Up It's Neck" which further enhances the concept of the short solid color lines enhancing the concept of deconstruction or "bursting;" and re-enforcing the idea of sound and music.

"Music Is Colour For The Ears, Painting Is Music For The Eyes" by Arman

"The Bow On The Strings Frees An Explosion Of Sounds" by Arman

"Glow Worms Of Musik, The Sounds Of The Violin Burst Through It's Body And Up It's Neck" by Arman

Close up of the Arman signature.

Close up of the GKM Editions stamp and the edition number.

Colophon Cover.

Numbered justification page.

Titled folder.

Titled folder.

Titled folder.

This is the very rare complete Fiddlemania Portfolio, 1987 by the French contemporary artist Arman. Contained within the portfolio is the complete set of three serigraphs titled "Music Is Colour For The Ears, Painting Is Music For The Eyes," "The Bow On The Strings Frees An Explosion Of Sounds," and "Glow Worms Of Musik, The Sounds Of The Violin Burst Through It's Body And Up It's Neck." All are on Rives vellum paper, each is signed Arman in pencil lower right, and numbered 50/200 in pencil lower left. The set was published by GKM Editions, Sweden and their stamp in embossed on each print lower left. The portfolio also comes with the colophon hardcover, numbered justification page, and individual titled folders for each serigraph. A wonderful set that is perfect for any art collection!

#Arman #Violin #Fiddle #Fiddlemania #NewRealism #PopArt #Art #Artist #Portfolio #untitledartgallery #PierreRestany #ViolinBow #Music #Painting #GlowWorm #signednumbered #FrenchArtist #French #France

Mains Au Poisson (Fish In Hands) Ceramic Bowl, 1953 by Pablo Picasso

Mains Au Poisson (Fish In Hands) Bowl, 1953; Partially glazed terracotta earthenware engraved bowl painted in colors; Numbered 114/250; 'EMPREINTE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO' and 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' pottery stamps on the underside; Size - Diameter: 11 3/4"; Catalogue Raisonne: A.R. 215; Unframed.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE!

 "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." - Pablo Picasso

During the late 1940s, Pablo Picasso spent the summers on the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. There the artist visited Vallauris for the annual pottery exhibition in 1946. He was impressed by the quality of the Madoura works and was introduced to the owners, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The Ramiés welcomed the famous artist into their workshop and gave him access to all the tools and resources the he needed in order to work in the medium of ceramics. In exchange, the Ramié family would produce and sell his limited edition ceramic works and this relationship spanned 25 years. It was also at the Madoura factory in 1953 that Picasso met Jacqueline Roque, who would become his second wife in 1961.

Back of Mains Au Poisson (Fish In Hands) Ceramic Bowl 1953 by Pablo Picasso.

The Market for Picasso ceramics has been steadily rising as outlined by a recent article:
"Over the past 10 years, the market for Picasso ceramics has steadily grown, with seasoned collectors and new buyers alike vying for Picasso's editioned and unique ceramics at auction. This market is stable, with a steady high sell-through rate around 89% (87% in 2004, 89% in 2005, 87% in 2011, and 90% in 2012), and prices that are still lower than the rest of Picasso's work. The broad range of estimates and sales prices help make this market attractive to many collectors, but also explain the high average sales prices, which are skewed by a few exceptional pieces. In the previous two years, more than 60 exceptional ceramic works sold for over US$100,000: 34 in 2011 and 29 in 2012 (vs. six in 2004 and 2005)." - The Story Behind Picasso Ceramics, by Fanny Lakoubay and Conner Williams, 2013

Close up of the edition number, 'EMPREINTE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO,' and 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' pottery stamps.

The famed artist Georges Bloch stated of Picasso’s ceramic works:
 "…in approach, material and technique is as novel as it is interesting. Pottery, gleaming white discs with relief designs, monochrome or brightly coloured ovals, dishes and even jugs and vases here serve as bearers of compositions whose themes express the joyous, life-loving side of Picasso’s work. They are printed from blocks and stamps fashioned by the master over a period of more than twenty years in the Madoura pottery workshop in Vallauris.”

This is a large 11 3/4" diameter original ceramic bowl by Picasso, who would often draw inspiration from ancient works of art. The choice of subject matter goes back to late fifth century BC when "fish plates" were first introduced in Athens. The choice of decoration for the plates was primarily vertebrate fish, but other marine creatures would often be incorporated, with the animals surrounding the outside perimeter of the plate. The majority of surviving "fish plates" originated in Southern Italy from the early fourth century BC, and were created by Greek settlers to that region. With this piece, Picasso reinvents the "fish plate" by first morphing the plate into a shallow bowl. He then places the fish in the center and incorporates a pair of hands seen above and below the fish, as if the creature were being caught and and placed into the bowl. The high contrast choice of colors further enhances the composition, with the fish being white with green accents that is set against the terracotta hands. The background is black and the perimeter of the bowl is decorated with rich bold blue half circles. An absolutely wonderful piece of original Pablo Picasso artwork, perfect for any art collection!

#Picasso #PabloPicasso #ceramic #Picassoceramic #Madoura #MadouraPottery #Vallauris #SuzanneRamie #GeorgesRamie #Ramie #JacquelineRoque #untitledartgallery #cubism #femalenude #PicassoPlate #GeorgesBloch #FishInHands #FrancoisGilot #fishplate #editionpicasso #madourapleinfeu #originalPicasso

"Nature Morte Sur Une Table Carrée (Still Life On A Square Table)," by Pablo Picasso

Nature Morte Sur Une Table Carrée (Still Life On A Square Table), Executed December 1922; Gouache, pen and brush, and black ink on paper; Signed Picasso in ink upper left; Size - Sheet 5 1/2 x 4 1/8", Frame 16 3/4 x 16 1/2"; Framed floated on a custom wrapped linen mat, silver wood frame, and plexiglass; Catalogue Raisonne: C. Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Paris, 1973, vol. 30, no. 411 (illustrated, pl. 132).

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE!

In the summer of 1919 Pablo Picasso and his wife, the Russian ballerina Olga Khoklova whom he had married the year before, went to the South of France for their second honeymoon. There Picasso began a series of drawings and gouaches of guéridons, or pedestal tables, which would occupy him for much of the next several years. The guéridons were so central to his work at this time that the art historian John Richardson devoted an entire chapter entitled Summer at Saint-Raphaël (The Guéridon) to them in his definitive multi-volume biography on the artist. Richardson explainted that "Picasso's traditional attitude toward the bride who loved to sit for him made it very difficult to portray her in any but a traditionally representative way. To reconcile conventional love for Olga with his pursuit of modernity, he turned to the subject of the anthropomorphic guéridon, which had preoccupied him the previous winter, and applied it to Olga instead of himself..." The flat that couple was staying had a large window that could be opened, leading to a decorative railing trimmed balcony that overlooked the top of the town's bandstand, beach, and onto the sea. As Richardson notes, "Sketches of the room done soon after their arrival depict its contents: an armoire à glace, a coat rack, a fringed chaise longue, a radiator, a pair of portes-fenêres framing the view, and, to Picasso's delight, a little dressing table with a mirror on top, its shelves carved like daisies. Its kitschiness inspired a detailed drawing. In fact, as sketches reveal there was no guéridon in front of the Picassos' balcony window, only a four-legged table elsewhere in the room, which rings an occasional change on the guéridon theme." (A Life of Picasso, The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932, New York, 2007, vol. 3, p 136-137).

Back of Femme Echevelee (Dishevelled Woman), 1963 by Pablo Picasso.

During the early 1920's, Picasso worked alternately in both Cubist and Neoclassical styles, and sometimes interwove them. In 1920, the Cubist elements trumped the Neoclassical ones in Picasso's still-lifes, as he reduced the picture window, table and its accoutrements to simple geometric shapes. The resulting compositions become more abstract than those in prior years.

The Table (Le guéridon) by Pablo Picasso, Watercolor over graphite on paper; Executed on December 24, 1922; Size - Sheet: 6 7/16 x 4 1/8"; Permanent Collection of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

As Richardson notes, "The development of this last great period of Synthetic Cubism can easily be followed through the 'Guéridon'... No longer did Picasso feel obligated to investigate the intricate formal and spatial problems that preoccupied him ten years before. Instead he felt free to relax and exploit his cubist discoveries in a decorative manner that delights the eye... Never again did the artist's style recapture the air of magisterial calm that is such a feature of this last great phase of Cubism." (Picasso, An American Tribute, New York, 1962, p. 52)

With Synthetic Cubism, Picasso deconstructed objects and elements in his compositions and as Richardson stated that the resulting forms were "hard-edge square-cut diamonds," and "these gems do not always have upside or downside." Picasso wrote to Gertrude Stein, "We need a new name to designate them," and Maurice Raynal suggested "Crystal Cubism."

Catalogue Raisonne: C. Zervos, Pablo Picasso, Paris, 1973, vol. 30, no. 411 (illustrated, pl. 132)

In December of 1922, when this work was created, Pablo Picasso was a forty-one years old and a new father. His first child, a son named Paulo, had been born in February the prior year. With this gouache Picasso, working in cubist style, constructs the four legged square table that occupied his main salon in Saint-Raphaël. The brown vertical rectangle surrounding the interior composition is the outline of the balcony window of the room. Vertical white brushstrokes of gouache are painted inside of the rectangular window border. Onto this white ground the four black legs of the table can all be seen from different vantage points. The objects on the square table, as viewed from above, have been deconstructed through analytical cubism; and are viewed from multiple vantage points. The view outside the balcony window of the top of the town's canopy bandstand, the beach, and sea have been depicted by vertical washes of the three primary colors; blue, yellow, and red. The composition is signed Picasso in black ink in the upper left, and the work is pictured and referenced in the Christian Zervos Catalog Raissone.

This is a spectacular museum quality work of art, and a similar piece (The Table (Le guéridon) by Pablo Picasso, Watercolor over graphite on paper; Executed on December 24, 1922; Size - Sheet: 6 7/16 x 4 1/8") is in the permanent collection of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. An absolutely wonderful original Pablo Picasso artwork, perfect for any collection!

#Picasso #PabloPicasso #cubism #signedPicasso #Analyticalcubism #Syntheticcubism #PauloPicasso #SaintRaphael #ChristianZervos #Zervos #JohnRichardson #untitledartgallery #cubism #femalenude #guéridon #stilllife #Abstract #FrancoisGilot #Khoklova #Cubist #ALifeofPicasso #OlgaKhoklova #originalPicasso

"Natural History Part I Mushrooms: No. VII," 1974 by Cy Twombly

Natural History Part I Mushrooms: No. VII, 1974; Lithograph, collotype in colors, collage, and hand-coloring on Rives Couronne paper; Numbered 94/98 and initialed C T in pencil lower right; Printer, © 1974, and VII stamps lower left; Published by Propyläen Verlag, Berlin; Catalog Raisonne: Bastian 48; Size - Sheet 30 x 22", Frame 38 x 30"; Framed floated with an acid free mat, cream wood exterior frame, and plexiglass.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE! 

"Each line is now the actual experience with its own innate history. It does not illustrate - it is the sensation of its own realization." - Cy Twombly

Cy Twombly (1928-2011) was an American painter, sculptor, photographer, and print maker. He is most known for his large scale paintings that depict calligraphic, scribbled, and graffiti-like compositions that are set on a grey, tan, or off-white field. His works are in every major museum in the world with numerous works in the Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim, and housed and shown in a separate building as part of the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas. Twombly was also commissioned to paint the ceiling in a room in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France. His most expensive painting at auction was "Untitled (New York City)," 1968 which sold for $70.5 million at Sotheby's in 2015.

Twombly's artistic style began to emerge in the mid 1950's. He was influenced by Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, with whom he shared a studio. Twombly was to develop a simplified form of abstraction that was influenced by tribal art, that immediately lead to the invocation of primitivism. He developed a technique of gestural drawing, characterized by thin white lines on a dark ground. This contrast and painting technique lead to the appearance that the lines had been scratched onto the surface of the canvas. Once he moved to Gaeta in Southern Italy, he began to integrate classical source material into his compositions. Soon, erotic and corporeal symbols were utilized, as well as a greater move towards lyricism. In the mid 1970's there was a shift, and he began to incorporate color into his works; particularly brown, green, and light blue. There was also an increase in inscriptions and collage elements; as well as inspiration being drawn from historical events, literature, and mythology. The rough utilization of the source material, combined in unique and primitive (ritual and fetish elements) ways, evoked the memory of those events without an overt need for elaborate illustration.

Close up of the edition number and Cy Twombly's initials.

Close up of the Printer, © 1974, and VII stamps lower left.

Framed "Natural History Part I Mushrooms: No. VII," 1974 by Cy Twombly.

"Natural History Part I Mushrooms: No. VII," 1974 is an exceptional work by Cy Twombly. The work has as it's subject various mushroom images that are scattered about the sheet and overlaid by Twombly's scribbles, scrawls, and smudges. There is a scientific artistic commentary conveyed by the use of diagrams, graph paper, numbers, charts, and binomial nomenclature of genus and species names typed alongside botanical illustrations from an unknown specimen book. The stacked placement of images suggest a draftsman level of design, with the intentional creation of depth. The application of forms, in combination with the immediacy of the drawing, seems planned but executed quickly. The exact reason and meaning of the composition is deliberately obscured for the viewer, but there are strong phallic, corporeal, and mortality references in the imagery that are layered on and around a pseudoscientific array of connections. It is clear that the mushrooms serve as a jumping-off point to a deeper understanding of Natural History. "My line is childlike but not childish, Twombly said. "It is very difficult to fake... to get that quality you need to project yourself into the child's line. It has to be felt." This is a wonderful example of Cy Twombly at his best and a great addition to any twentieth century art collection!

#Twombly #CyTwombly #Warhol #RoyLichtenstein #RichardSerra #RobertRauschenberg #JamesRosenquist #AndyWarhol #Stockholm #LeoCastelli #untitledartgallery #Art

Chouette aux taches (Owl with spots) Vase, 1951 by Pablo Picasso

Chouette aux taches (Owl with spots) Vase, 1951; White earthenware ceramic vase with colored engobe and glaze; From the edition of 300; Inscribed 'Edition Picasso' and with the 'D'Après Picasso and Madoura Plein Feu pottery stamps on the underside; Size - Chouette aux taches (Owl with spots) Vase: 11 3/4" x 6" x 8 3/4"; Catalogue Raisonne: A.R. 120.

To purchase this work or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE!

During the late 1940s, Pablo Picasso spent the summers on the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. There the artist visited Vallauris for the annual pottery exhibition in 1946. He was impressed by the quality of the Madoura works and was introduced to the owners, Suzanne and Georges Ramié. The Ramiés welcomed the famous artist into their workshop and gave him access to all the tools and resources the he needed in order to work in the medium of ceramics. In exchange, the Ramié family would produce and sell his limited edition ceramic works and this relationship spanned 25 years. It was also at the Madoura factory in 1953 that Picasso met Jacqueline Roque, who would become his second wife in 1961.

Side view of Chouette aux taches (Owl with spots) Vase by Pablo Picasso

Front view of Chouette aux taches (Owl with spots) Vase by Pablo Picasso

The Market for Picasso ceramics has been steadily rising as outlined by a recent article:
"Over the past 10 years, the market for Picasso ceramics has steadily grown, with seasoned collectors and new buyers alike vying for Picasso's editioned and unique ceramics at auction. This market is stable, with a steady high sell-through rate around 89% (87% in 2004, 89% in 2005, 87% in 2011, and 90% in 2012), and prices that are still lower than the rest of Picasso's work. The broad range of estimates and sales prices help make this market attractive to many collectors, but also explain the high average sales prices, which are skewed by a few exceptional pieces. In the previous two years, more than 60 exceptional ceramic works sold for over US$100,000: 34 in 2011 and 29 in 2012 (vs. six in 2004 and 2005)." - The Story Behind Picasso Ceramics, by Fanny Lakoubay and Conner Williams, 2013

Back view of Chouette aux taches (Owl with spots) Vase by Pablo Picasso

The famed artist Georges Bloch stated of Picasso’s ceramic works:
 "…in approach, material and technique is as novel as it is interesting. Pottery, gleaming white discs with relief designs, monochrome or brightly coloured ovals, dishes and even jugs and vases here serve as bearers of compositions whose themes express the joyous, life-loving side of Picasso’s work. They are printed from blocks and stamps fashioned by the master over a period of more than twenty years in the Madoura pottery workshop in Vallauris.”

Close up of the 'D'Après Picasso and Madoura Plein Feu pottery stamps.

From Charles Mathes's site valuethoughts.com:
"In 1946 Picasso was staying near Antibes in the South of France and decorating the walls of what would become the Musée Picasso. A small owl with an injured claw that had been found in a corner ended up living with him and his lover, Francois Gilot. According to Gilot in her book “Life With Picasso” the owl was an ill-tempered creature who smelled awful and ate only mice. The owl would snort at Picasso and bite his fingers; Picasso would reply with a string of obscenities just to show the bird who was the most ill-tempered. Clearly bad manners were the way to Picasso’s heart for not only did he do a number of paintings, drawings and prints of owls, he created numerous ceramics."

Close up of the 'Edition Picasso' inscription.

Top view of Chouette aux taches (Owl with spots) Vase by Pablo Picasso

Picasso would use the owl in paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and ceramics for the rest of his life. After Picasso's death, drawings were found that illustrate that the form used for the owl ceramics had been made during the time in 1946 when the wood owl first appeared in Picasso's atelier. This is a wonderful owl vase ceramic created in 1951, and the painting of the vessel is beautifully rendered in brown, black, and cream colors. Free form brushstrokes are used to create the eyes, beak, feathered wings, tail, and feet. The owl is spotting on both sides and on the tail feathers. This is a spectacular piece of original Picasso artwork and a great addition for any art collection!

Click on the short video below to see Francoise Gilot, the lover and muse of Pablo Picasso from 1944-1953 and the mother of his two children Paloma and Claude, discuss the small wood owl that came into their lives.

#Picasso #PabloPicasso #ceramic #Picassoceramic #Madoura #MadouraPottery #Vallauris #SuzanneRamie #GeorgesRamie #Ramie #JacquelineRoque #untitledartgallery #cubism #diaulos #diaulosplayer #faun #GeorgesBloch #Chouette #Owl #WoodOwl #FrancoisGilot

"Untitled," 1973 by Ellsworth Kelly

Untitled, 1973; Serigraph on wove paper; Numbered 102/300 in pencil lower left; Initialed E K in pencil lower right; Stamped © Copyright 1973 By Ellsworth Kelly Printed At Styria Studio in black ink, upper right verso; Published by Experiments in Art and Technology, Inc.; Catalog Raisonne: A.: 92; Size - Sheet 12 x 9"; Unframed.

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"I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite relationship to the space around it; so that it has a clarity and a measure within itself of its parts (angles, curves, edges, and mass); and so that, with color and tonality, the shape finds its own space and always demands its freedom and separateness." - Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was associated with Hard-Edge painting, Color Field, and Minimalism. He is one of the 20th century's greatest and most influential artists, and his work hangs in the world's finest museum's permanent collections.

Despite Kelly being associated with Minimalism, he does not see himself as a minimalist at all; but rather a figure to ground and a color interaction painter. Ellsworth Kelly's works do have a life model, and unlike Ad Reinhardt, Josef Albers, or Barnett Newman; Kelly derives his forms from nature and his surroundings. Photographs taken by Kelly in France as early as 1949 show the casting of shadow and light over surfaces of Parisian architecture; and it was these photographs that served as references for his paintings at the time. The forms, derived from shadows or just small sections of trees or buildings, are then edited and isolated into regular and irregular geometric shapes. Kelly then paints these forms choosing specific colors to isolate the form, and in some cases to relate to other colored forms within the composition. 

Close up of the E K initials. 

Close up of the edition number.

Close up of the stamp © Copyright 1973 By Ellsworth Kelly Printed At Styria Studio.

"Untitled," 1973 (created to raise funds for the acquisition of works of art by artists working in New York during the 1960's that were to be donated to the Moderna Museet, Stockholm) by Ellsworth Kelly is an extremely well executed work of art. The vertical rectangular sheet is equally bisected with a black panel on top, and a white below. The stark contrast of black and white combined with the hard edge forms create simple structure that is devoid of figuration, but not of subject. The black form is heavy and dense, but seems to float above a field of empty space. The act of viewing the work is the realization that there is a specific and elegant balance, created with the intent of invoking a feeling of calmness and introspection. An exceptional work by Ellsworth Kelly and a great addition to any art collection.

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