21 Mira Schendel Sem titulo (XII) signed, titled and dated "Mira 1986 XII" on the reverse tempera, gesso and oil on wood 35 3/8 x 70 7/8 in. (90 x 180 cm.) Executed in 1985-1986.
Provenance Estate of the artist Galeria Millan, São Paulo Private Collection, São Paulo Acquired from the above by the present owner Exhibited London, Tate Modern; Porto, Fundaçao de Serralves - Museu de Arte Contemporânea; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Mira Schendel September 25, 2013 - October 19, 2014, p. 248 London, Dominique Lévy, Sotto Voce, February 9 - April 18, 2015 Video Breaking Out: The Transcendence of Women in Latin American Art The Head of our Latin American Sale Kaeli Deane discusses the incredible worldwide surge in recognition being given to female artists from Latin America, focusing here on Carmen Herrera Lygia Papa in Mira Schendel Moreover, and even paradoxically, it is the fact that these women have transcended both their gender and nationality to become regarded simply as world-class artists after decades of working towards just that. Each of these incredible women are subjects of their own major retrospectives in 2016 and 2017: Carmen Herrera at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Lygia Pape at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Mira Schendel at the Tate Modern in London. Catalogue Essay Born in Switzerland, Mira Schendel is acknowledged as one of the most significant Brazilian artists of the twentieth century. Having emigrated from Europe in the years following the devastation of the Second World War, Schendel settled in São Paulo, a dynamic and flourishing city in the midst of artistic revolution. There, she developed a vastly complex and unique body of work. During the early 1950s, Schendel never aligned herself with the prevalent art movements of the time. Belonging to neither Brazilian Concretist nor Neo-Concretist groups, she worked furiously and independently to produce and exhibit her work. Mira Schendel's art transpired from her engagement with the intellectual circles she explored, discussing her interests in aesthetics and philosophy. Though she distanced herself from the critical art debates that focused more directly upon evolving formalist trends, she was a central figure in the circulation of dialogue with many of the period's leading artists and thinkers. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Schendel produced her most iconic works: the Monotipias (Monotypes), Droguinhas (Little Nothings), and Objetos Gráficos (Graphic Objects). Executed on Japanese rice paper, these works are characterized by minimalist geometric motifs. Experimenting with ephemeral materials, Schendel became increasingly interested in transforming letters and linguistic elements into objects – an approach most commonly associated with Concrete poetry. In her graphic works, letters are liberated and deconstructed, raising questions about language, writing, drawing, and image. In the latter part of her career, Mira paired down her output to the very minimal and fundamental essence of her work: The line and its extraordinary power to convey meaning, vision and the sculptural space in which it achieves that principle. The present work completely captures this aesthetic depth. The tapering of black line along the upper edge hints at a vanishing point or horizon, while the faint white relief creates sculptural volume in the space created. Her earlier works, often referred to as 'The Graphic objects,' are like constellations. But in her final years of working Schendel comes to a poetic and minimal conclusion, aware of the permanent void she would soon be entering. Read More Artist Bio 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 aqu
21 Mira Schendel Sem titulo (XII) signed, titled and dated "Mira 1986 XII" on the reverse tempera, gesso and oil on wood 35 3/8 x 70 7/8 in. (90 x 180 cm.) Executed in 1985-1986.
Provenance Estate of the artist Galeria Millan, São Paulo Private Collection, São Paulo Acquired from the above by the present owner Exhibited London, Tate Modern; Porto, Fundaçao de Serralves - Museu de Arte Contemporânea; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Mira Schendel September 25, 2013 - October 19, 2014, p. 248 London, Dominique Lévy, Sotto Voce, February 9 - April 18, 2015 Video Breaking Out: The Transcendence of Women in Latin American Art The Head of our Latin American Sale Kaeli Deane discusses the incredible worldwide surge in recognition being given to female artists from Latin America, focusing here on Carmen Herrera Lygia Papa in Mira Schendel Moreover, and even paradoxically, it is the fact that these women have transcended both their gender and nationality to become regarded simply as world-class artists after decades of working towards just that. Each of these incredible women are subjects of their own major retrospectives in 2016 and 2017: Carmen Herrera at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Lygia Pape at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Mira Schendel at the Tate Modern in London. Catalogue Essay Born in Switzerland, Mira Schendel is acknowledged as one of the most significant Brazilian artists of the twentieth century. Having emigrated from Europe in the years following the devastation of the Second World War, Schendel settled in São Paulo, a dynamic and flourishing city in the midst of artistic revolution. There, she developed a vastly complex and unique body of work. During the early 1950s, Schendel never aligned herself with the prevalent art movements of the time. Belonging to neither Brazilian Concretist nor Neo-Concretist groups, she worked furiously and independently to produce and exhibit her work. Mira Schendel's art transpired from her engagement with the intellectual circles she explored, discussing her interests in aesthetics and philosophy. Though she distanced herself from the critical art debates that focused more directly upon evolving formalist trends, she was a central figure in the circulation of dialogue with many of the period's leading artists and thinkers. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Schendel produced her most iconic works: the Monotipias (Monotypes), Droguinhas (Little Nothings), and Objetos Gráficos (Graphic Objects). Executed on Japanese rice paper, these works are characterized by minimalist geometric motifs. Experimenting with ephemeral materials, Schendel became increasingly interested in transforming letters and linguistic elements into objects – an approach most commonly associated with Concrete poetry. In her graphic works, letters are liberated and deconstructed, raising questions about language, writing, drawing, and image. In the latter part of her career, Mira paired down her output to the very minimal and fundamental essence of her work: The line and its extraordinary power to convey meaning, vision and the sculptural space in which it achieves that principle. The present work completely captures this aesthetic depth. The tapering of black line along the upper edge hints at a vanishing point or horizon, while the faint white relief creates sculptural volume in the space created. Her earlier works, often referred to as 'The Graphic objects,' are like constellations. But in her final years of working Schendel comes to a poetic and minimal conclusion, aware of the permanent void she would soon be entering. Read More Artist Bio 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 aqu
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
