5 Urs Fischer Untitled (Candle) 2001 wax, wick, pigment, bricks 66 7/8 x 18 1/8 x 11 1/2 in. (169.8 x 46 x 29.2 cm) This work is number 2 from an edition of 3 plus 1 artist's proof. The artist will grant a License to Reproduce directly to the buyer.
Provenance Sadie Coles HQ, London Private Collection, 2003 Sotheby's, New York, Contemporary Art Evening Sale, November 9, 2010, lot 1 Acquired at the above sale by the present owner Exhibited Zurich, Galerie Hauser & Wirth & Presenhuber, Mastering the Complaint, August - October 2001 Zurich, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Breathing the water, February - March 2003 Catalogue Essay “My works really smile. They’re not horrible ruins…but they fall apart sometimes, there’s nothing to be afraid of any more.” Urs Fischer 2007 From his meldings of furniture to his whimsical sculptures, Urs Fischer has set the status quo for the uncategorizable artist. The intensity of work hearkens back to traditions of religious relics and reliquaries, objects rich in significance that nonetheless may present themselves modestly. 2001’s Untitled (Candle) represents one of Fischer’s most unabashedly terrifying works, yet it is molded in man’s own image—a tribute to the duality that all of his work seems to feature. Prefiguring his recent series of melting wax sculptures by a decade, Untitled (Candle), 2001 is an original—an experiment in the amorphous truth of human existence. Fischer’s Swiss upbringing served to lace his sculpture with Teutonic overtones, evident in their athletic muscularity and frequently earth-toned chromatic schemes. But despite his excellence in the various physical forms, Fischer’s only formal training is in photography. This lack of institutionalization brings forth an unmitigated freedom of expression in Fischer’s work: a great deal hints at Dada while other pieces are entirely dependent upon their relation to the space in which they are exhibited. Simply put, Fischer’s anti-formulaic process has precipitated a new era of sculpting, where a lack of conformity to establishment principles lends each piece a life removed from all others. In Untitled (Candle), 2001, Fischer bequeaths us with a work both grotesque and breathtaking, both traditional and rebellious. Standing five feet, seven inches, or just a few inches taller than the average woman, Fischer seeks to give his sculpture a form as true-to-life as possible, forging her physicality to match that of the observer. The wide hips, long dark hair, and youthful breasts of his figure hint at a woman in the prime of her life. Yet the color scheme foils any inclination of attraction for the viewer, for Fischer has molded her in the tones of death, her pale skin betraying bits of its original color along her legs and torso. Hands slack and rough, and with gashes strewn across her upper body, its difficult to surmise whether her imperfections are the result of an athletically-sculpting Fischer or the intentional marks of a cadaver. The answer may lie in her expression: with her eye lids heavy and lifeless mouth slackened, we cannot help but feel as though the figure has been dead for some time, the petrifying aspects of rigor mortis contorting the blood in her veins and her theoretical muscle tissue. And, when comparing her former life to her present state, one cannot rule out the horror of foul play. Upon closer inspection, Untitled (Candle), 2001, is a marvel of balance in its wax and pigment incarnation. Much as Michelangelo left various sculptures of marble figures unfinished, their limbs and plinths square and irregular, Fischer neglects to perfect the left foot of his sculpture, creating a grounded fulcrum that doubles as a pedestal. The alternating precision of his wax carving along the legs and arms is more akin to the tradition of German wood carving than candlemaking, not unlike the corpora that adorned countless crucifixes during the High Middle Ages. Yet the central feature of the figure—the wick positioned at the top of the cranium—is representative of one of Fischer’s larger artistic projects: the exploration of ephemerality. His work includes “…pieces of fruit bolted together; a cabinlike house built of bread; human figures in the form of wax candles. In each case the
5 Urs Fischer Untitled (Candle) 2001 wax, wick, pigment, bricks 66 7/8 x 18 1/8 x 11 1/2 in. (169.8 x 46 x 29.2 cm) This work is number 2 from an edition of 3 plus 1 artist's proof. The artist will grant a License to Reproduce directly to the buyer.
Provenance Sadie Coles HQ, London Private Collection, 2003 Sotheby's, New York, Contemporary Art Evening Sale, November 9, 2010, lot 1 Acquired at the above sale by the present owner Exhibited Zurich, Galerie Hauser & Wirth & Presenhuber, Mastering the Complaint, August - October 2001 Zurich, Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Breathing the water, February - March 2003 Catalogue Essay “My works really smile. They’re not horrible ruins…but they fall apart sometimes, there’s nothing to be afraid of any more.” Urs Fischer 2007 From his meldings of furniture to his whimsical sculptures, Urs Fischer has set the status quo for the uncategorizable artist. The intensity of work hearkens back to traditions of religious relics and reliquaries, objects rich in significance that nonetheless may present themselves modestly. 2001’s Untitled (Candle) represents one of Fischer’s most unabashedly terrifying works, yet it is molded in man’s own image—a tribute to the duality that all of his work seems to feature. Prefiguring his recent series of melting wax sculptures by a decade, Untitled (Candle), 2001 is an original—an experiment in the amorphous truth of human existence. Fischer’s Swiss upbringing served to lace his sculpture with Teutonic overtones, evident in their athletic muscularity and frequently earth-toned chromatic schemes. But despite his excellence in the various physical forms, Fischer’s only formal training is in photography. This lack of institutionalization brings forth an unmitigated freedom of expression in Fischer’s work: a great deal hints at Dada while other pieces are entirely dependent upon their relation to the space in which they are exhibited. Simply put, Fischer’s anti-formulaic process has precipitated a new era of sculpting, where a lack of conformity to establishment principles lends each piece a life removed from all others. In Untitled (Candle), 2001, Fischer bequeaths us with a work both grotesque and breathtaking, both traditional and rebellious. Standing five feet, seven inches, or just a few inches taller than the average woman, Fischer seeks to give his sculpture a form as true-to-life as possible, forging her physicality to match that of the observer. The wide hips, long dark hair, and youthful breasts of his figure hint at a woman in the prime of her life. Yet the color scheme foils any inclination of attraction for the viewer, for Fischer has molded her in the tones of death, her pale skin betraying bits of its original color along her legs and torso. Hands slack and rough, and with gashes strewn across her upper body, its difficult to surmise whether her imperfections are the result of an athletically-sculpting Fischer or the intentional marks of a cadaver. The answer may lie in her expression: with her eye lids heavy and lifeless mouth slackened, we cannot help but feel as though the figure has been dead for some time, the petrifying aspects of rigor mortis contorting the blood in her veins and her theoretical muscle tissue. And, when comparing her former life to her present state, one cannot rule out the horror of foul play. Upon closer inspection, Untitled (Candle), 2001, is a marvel of balance in its wax and pigment incarnation. Much as Michelangelo left various sculptures of marble figures unfinished, their limbs and plinths square and irregular, Fischer neglects to perfect the left foot of his sculpture, creating a grounded fulcrum that doubles as a pedestal. The alternating precision of his wax carving along the legs and arms is more akin to the tradition of German wood carving than candlemaking, not unlike the corpora that adorned countless crucifixes during the High Middle Ages. Yet the central feature of the figure—the wick positioned at the top of the cranium—is representative of one of Fischer’s larger artistic projects: the exploration of ephemerality. His work includes “…pieces of fruit bolted together; a cabinlike house built of bread; human figures in the form of wax candles. In each case the
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
