Beschreibung:

Maurizio Cattelan Lift 2001 stainless steel, composite wood, electric motor, electric bell, paint and computerized elements. In two parts: 11 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 in. (30 x 12 x 12 cm) each. This work is from an edition of ten plus two artist’s proofs and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.
Provenance Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris Exhibited Yokohama, Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition hall and Redbrick Warehouse, International Triennale of Contemporary Art Yokohama, 2001, September 2 - November 11, 2001 (another example exhibited); New York, Marianne Boesky Gallery and Friedrich Petzel Gallery, Penetration, June 6 - August 15, 2002 (another example exhibited); Paris, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Ouverture de Notre Nouvel Espace (Preview of our new Space), January 16 - March 26, 2005, (another example exhibited) Literature F. Richard, "Marianne Boesky Gallery and Friedrich Petzel Gallery - Reviews - Penetration, curated by Mark Fletcher", ArtForum, October 2002; F. Bonami, N. Spector, B. Vanderlinden, and M. Gioni, Maurizio Cattelan London, 2003, pp. 176-177 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay “In my art, I use things which surround me from the society I live in. These are my objects. My message is that we can find a philosophical idea through the television we watch everyday.” (Maurizio Cattelan quoted in an interview with Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, 1988: F. Bonami, ed, Maurizio Cattelan London, 2003, p. 112) Provocative, novel, shocking, humorous, and ironic, Maurizio Cattelan has earned his reputation as a prankster in the contemporary art community through his witty use of existing materials and uncanny ability to deliver questions, statements, jokes and punchlines simultaneously. No one is safe from his cunningly accurate aim; not even the Pope who became a wax victim to Cattelan’s meteorite in the work La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour), 1999. Cattelan has also played his pranks on targets within his own social and professional circles, including his gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin who, in a 1995 photograph, Errotin Le Vrai Lapin, agreed to wear a pink, phallus-invoking costume during one of his artist’s exhibitions. To translate a well-executed prank into an artwork, Cattelan includes elements of surprise that are delivered at just the right moment to the unsuspecting audience and so it is that surprise which plays an intrinsic role in his work. Cattelan pushes boundaries by presenting his ironic and often critical statements on art and modern life in mediums and methods that are as unpredictable and as varied as the social subjects he chooses to address. In many instances the viewers are forced not only to question their beliefs but also to change their physical approach to art. In the present lot, Untitled, 2001, Cattelan combines the best of his techniques in one work. The Lilliputian replicas of two elevators or lift doors are complete in detail with push buttons to command the direction of each to a new fantastical floor, the doors fully functioning number boards above which light up as the lifts “ascend” and “descend”, as well as the familiar bell that dings when the doors open to alert its fictional passengers. Evoking memories of fairytales, but with a more grown-up spin, the work creates questions about context and the possible layers of reality in a style that is truly Cattelan’s own. Read More