The Soap at Baton Rouge, 1990 by Claes Oldenburg

The Soap at Baton Rouge, 1990; Cast polyurethane soap inscribed with initials, titled, and numbered 40/250 set on vinyl filled with aluminum silicon support with serigraph on acetate cover; Also includes deluxe edition of Claes Oldenburg: Multiples in Retrospect 1964-1990, Signed Oldenburg in pencil and numbered 40/250; Contained in cloth covered portfolio box; Published Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati; Catalog Raisonne: Platzker 23; Size - 13 1/2 x 20 1/4 x 1 1/2".

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

Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929) is an American sculptor living and working in New York and he is best known for his public art installations, which usually feature either very large replicas or soft sculpture versions of everyday objects. Many of the works were made in collaboration with his wife of 32 years, Coosje van Bruggen; who passed away in 2009.

Cover removed from the portfolio box.

 

 Close up of the cast polyurethane soap inscribed with initials, titled, and numbered 40/250 set on vinyl filled with aluminum silicon support with serigraph on acetate cover.

 

 

Close up of the cast polyurethane soap inscribed with initials, titled, and numbered 40/250 set on vinyl filled with aluminum silicon support, without the serigraph on acetate cover.

 

 Close up of the cast polyurethane soap inscribed with initials, titled, and numbered 40/250.

 

 Close up of the cast polyurethane soap inscribed with the CO initials and numbered 40/250.

 

 Serigraph on acetate cover.

Oldenburg began working with his ground breaking idea of soft sculpture in 1957, when he completed a free-hanging piece made from a woman's stocking stuffed with newspaper (titled later as "Sausage"). In 1959, he began to make figures, signs, and objects out of papier-mâché, sacking, and other rough materials. This was followed in 1961 by objects created out of plaster and enamel, drawing inspiration from food and cheap clothing. In the 1960s he was very involved with the "Happenings" movement and his own productions were entitled "Ray Gun Theater." His artistic collaboration involved other members of the art scene and included: Lucas Samaras, Tom Wesselman, Carolee Schneemann, Oyvind Fahlstrom, Richard Artschwager, art dealer Annina Nosei, art critic Barbara Rose, and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer. In December 1961, he rented a storefront on Manhattan's Lower East Side to house "The Store;" a month-long installation he had first presented at the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York, stocked with rough sculptures of consumer goods. Oldenburg moved to Los Angeles, California in 1963. By 1965 he had turned his attention to drawings and projects for imagined outdoor monuments.

Deluxe edition of Claes Oldenburg: Multiples in Retrospect 1964-1990.

Oldenburg pencil signature and numbered 40/250 on the back page.

Cloth covered portfolio box cover.

 

Claes Oldenburg on "The Soap at Baton Rouge":

 

"When Carl Solway called me in May 1972 and asked if I would be interested in proposing a large-scale work for Cincinnati, he mentioned that partial funding for such a work might be sought from the Procter & Gamble Corporation, whose world headquarters are in that city. The most familiar product of that company is the bar of pure white soap we all grew up with-IVORY-embossed with its name on top. Its slogan-"It foats"-advertises one of its unique properties, a property it has in common with balloons and ships. What sprang to mind almost immediately, given the location of Cincinnati of the Ohio River, was the combination of a floating soap bar and an old-fashioned, paddle-wheel riverboat-in other words, a colossal bar of Ivory soap. I proposed to Carl that a colossal soap be made by Procter & Gamble and launched in Cincinnati with appropriate ceremony. It would therefore float down the Ohio River, stopping at towns along the way. Carl thought that this even could be coordinated with celebrations of the Bicentennial in 1976. Another property of Ivory soap, however, had to be taken into account; its tendency to dissolve, which it does rather more quickly than other soaps. As the colossal soap moved from town to town, it would grow smaller, like the icebergs which, I read some; ere, were going to be towed from the Arctic to Arabia in order to provide fresh water. At Cairo, Illinois, the now somewhat-less-than-colossal soap would slip into the Mississippi. From there on, it would become more and more difficult to gather people to celebrate the visit of the soap. By the time the soap reached Baton Rouge, it wold be the right size for a multiple. Though it seems small, one must remember that in the not-so-distant past, it would have made a very imposing sight, especially coming around the bend in the morning fog."

This is an exceptional example of a Claes Oldenburg Pop Art multiple, combined with a signed copy of the catalogue raisonne of Oldenburg multiples from 1964-1990. A great addition to any modern art collection!

#Oldenburg #ClaesOldenburg #Popart #Warhol #CoosjevanBruggen  #untitledartgallery #civicmonument #soap #SoapatBatonRouge #BatonRouge #IvorySoap #multiple #art #artist #artwork #ProcterandGamble #sculpture

Battle for Grown-Ups, 1969 by Gene Davis

 

Battle for Grown-Ups from Series 2, 1969; Serigraph on canvas laminated on board; Signed Gene Davis in ink, lower right verso; Stamp titled with Petersburg Press and numbered 69/150 in ink verso lower left; Size - 31 x 20"; Unframed.

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

"My whole approach is intuitive. Sometimes I simply use the color I have the most of and worry about getting out of trouble later. Perhaps I'm like the jazz musician who can't read music but plays by ear. I paint by eye." - Gene Davis

Gene Davis (1920-1985) was an American Color Field painter known for his paintings of vertical strips of color. His first exhibition of drawings and first exhibition of paintings occurred in 1952 and 53 respectively. However, it was not until a decade later than he participated in the "Washington Color Painters" exhibit at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art in Washington DC that launched the recognition of the Washington Color School as a regional art movement. Davis was a central figure of that movement and was most known for his acrylic paintings of colored vertical stripes, which he began to paint in 1958.

 

In 1972, Davis created "Franklin's Footpath," which was at the time the world's largest artwork. It was accomplished by painting colored vertical stripes on the street in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He also painted "Niagara" in 1979, the world's largest painting (43,680 square feet) in a parking lot in Lewiston, NY. Davis also painted (at the other extreme) his "micro-paintings," that were as small as 3/8 on an inch wide.

In 1966, Gene Davis began teaching at the Corcoran School of Art, becoming a permanent member of the faculty. His works are included in many public and private collections as well as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum; just to name a few.

Close up of the Gene Davis signature verso.

Close up of the Stamp title, Petersburg Press, and the edition number 69/150 in ink verso.

 

Davis's paintings tend to repeat particular colors in order to create a sense of rhythm and repetition with variations. "Battle for Grown-Ups," 1969 is a wonderful example of Davis at the height of his skill. Colors are repeated across the canvas forcing the eye to dance about looking for ebbs and flows of interactions. Colored lines are arranged as pairs or discreet groupings of alternating colors to keep the eye moving. Adjacent colors push and pull lines of color away and towards the viewer in a seemingly ever ending orchestration. The eyes of the viewer are being expertly manipulated by Davis in a color and field "battle," ever seeking a way to resolve the composition. Perfectly titled by Gene Davis, "Battle for Grown-Ups" would be a wonderful work for any modern art collection!

  #GeneDavis #colorfield #art #artwork #artist #untitledartgallery #OpArt #WashingtonColorSchool

Blue/Black/Red/Green, 2001 by Ellsworth Kelly

Blue/Black/Red/Green, 2001; Lithograph on Lanaquarelle 640 gram paper; Numbered 26/45 and signed Kelly in pencil lower right; Published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles; Publisher's blind stamp lower right; Catalog Raisonne: Axsom 293; Size - Sheet 25 x 88 3/4", Frame 29 x 93"; Framed with a white wood frame floated on an acid free white mat, and plexiglass.

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

"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 did not view 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/or irregular geometric shapes. Kelly then paints these forms choosing specific colors to isolate the form, and in some cases relates them to other colored forms within the composition. 

Close up of the edition number and Kelly signature.

Framed Blue/Black/Red/Green, 2001 by Ellsworth Kelly

Blue/Black/Red/Green, 2001 is both a color interaction and a figure to ground work. The light values of each of the four colors are chosen specifically by Kelly; as is the orientation, scale, size, and form. Any modification of the parameters of the composition alters the experience. For example, if you inverse the work with green on the left and blue on the right, the color interaction is now different. The effect would also be altered if blue were next to black as compared to blue adjacent to green; or if one of the forms were closer to another. The work also has a figure (blue, black, red, and green forms) and ground (white paper) relationship. At first glance the forms appear flat and stagnant, however the size and shape of the forms is the same, each just being slightly rotated on it's three dimensional axes thus giving the work depth of field. The four colored forms float above the ground and there is a mood that is created. The result of viewing this work is the realization that this is a specific and elegant composition, created with the intent of invoking both a feeling and mood. The composition does not have to be objects that are recognizable in order to have a subject, and that subject can be an emotion, state of existence, and/or a response.  

 

Blue/Black/Red/Green, 2001 is a large and exceptional work by Ellsworth Kelly, and would be a great addition to any modern fine art collection.

#EllsworthKelly #LeoCastelli #untitledartgallery #print #artwork #art #colorfield #minimalism #lithograph #modernart #artist

Black Bean Campbell's Soup, 1968 by Andy Warhol

 

Black Bean Campbell's Soup; Serigraph, 1968, on smooth wove paper, signed in ball-point pen Andy Warhol and stamp-numbered 173/250 in ink verso; published by Factory Additions, New York; Size - Sheet 35" x 23", Frame 43 1/2" x 31 1/2"; Framed with an acid free white mat, white wood frame, and plexiglass; Catalog Raisonne: Feldman/Schellmann: II.44.

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

 

Warhol said of Campbell’s soup, “I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day, for 20 years, I guess, the same thing over and over again.”

 

In 1962, which heralded the arrival of Pop Art as an artistic movement, Andy Warhol began his transition from hand painting to the production of photo-transferred art. Warhol was always searching and asking friends for suggestions on subject matter, and an acquaintance suggested he paint something that everybody recognized, "like Campbell's Soup." Warhol appropriated the idea literally and the resulting soup can projections were traced onto canvas and then meticulously hand-painted. The result appeared both uniform and mechanical, but the thirty two different hand painted flavors of soup showed subtle variations and imperfections, thereby elevating the the subject matter resulting in the production of the high art ready-made and creating a masterpiece of early Pop Art. 

The set of thirty two canvas soup cans were first exhibited by art dealer Irving Blum at his Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles. The paintings were arranged on grocery store shelves. The Campbell's Soup Cans caused a sensation in the art world with their banal mundanity and their mirror of commercialism. A dealer in a nearby Gallery even sold actual soup cans touting them as cheaper than a Warhol.

 

 

Close up of the edition number and Andy Warhol signature verso.

Blum did manage to sell several of the individual soup cans, including one to his friend the actor Dennis Hopper; but decided that the set should stay together, so he bought the paintings back, and paid Andy for the entire set ($1000 paid over 10 months for all 32 paintings). After Warhol's death, Irving Blum would sell the entire set to New York's Museum of Modern Art for $15 million.

 

 

Verso of Black Bean Campbell's Soup, 1968 by Andy Warhol.

Irving Blum, by preserving Campbell's Soup Cans was critical to the success of the work and as Sara McCorquodale stated in 2015, "The work seemed to speak of the spirit of the spirit of a new America, one that thoroughly embraced the consumer culture of the new decade. Before the end of the year Campbell's Soup Cans was so on-trend that Manhattan socialites were wearing soup can printed dresses to high-society events." The success of Campbell's Soup Cans also marked a turning point of Warhol's working process, as he turned completely towards utilizing silkscreens for both painting and printing. He continued to use the Campbell's soup can as subject matter and in 1968 he would reinterpret his famous work as Campbell's Soup I, a portfolio of ten signed and numbered serigraphs. By utilizing silkscreens, Warhol was able to achieve the mechanized (factory) look that he desired, thereby fulfilling his desire to "be a machine." Each soup can in the suite of ten would be identical varying only by their flavor: Black Bean, Chicken Noodle, Tomato, Onion (Made with Beef Stock), Vegetable (Made with Beef Stock), Beef (With Vegetables and Barley), Green Pea, Pepper Pot, Consumme (Beef) Gelatin Added, and Cream of Mushroom. The soup can prints would become the greatest of his graphic oeuvre, and forever be instantly recognized as quintessential Warhol.

Framed Black Bean Campbell's Soup, 1968 by Andy Warhol. 

 

Black Bean Campbell's Soup, 1968 by Andy Warhol is an absolutely fantastic work by the great Pop artist and would be a wonderful addition to any art collection!

#Warhol #AndyWarhol #PopArt #WarholFoundation #blackbean #tomatosoup #untitledartgallery #campbells #campbellssoup #soupcan #CampbellSoupCans #IrvingBlum #FerusGallery #Warholsoupcan #signedWarhol #signedandnumbered