Albert Oehlen (b. 1954) Freier Stress (free S - Nov 10, 2005 | Phillips In Ny
LiveAuctioneers Logo

lots of lots

ALBERT OEHLEN (b. 1954) Freier Stress (Free S

Related Paintings

More Items in Paintings

View More

Recommended Art

View More
item-1379220=1
ALBERT OEHLEN (b. 1954) Freier Stress (Free S
ALBERT OEHLEN (b. 1954) Freier Stress (Free S
Item Details
Description
ALBERTOEHLEN(b. 1954)Freier Stress (Free Stress).Signed "A. Oehlen" lower left; signed titled and dated "Freier Stress A. Oehlen 96" on the reverse. Oil on linen.78 ¾ x 63 in. (200 x 160 cm).Executed in 1996.Provenance
Acquired directly from the artistIn an optical contention between surface and depth, Albert Oehlen exposes the limitation of both abstraction and representation to simultaneously pay tribute and denounce artistic tradition. Oehlen's painted forms and textures converge not to create an illusion, but a suggestion of invention. Oehlen does not solely use paint to convey meaning, but rather to explore the possibilities of the medium's function. With humor and assumed indifference towards the form of presentation, coupled with surprising shifts of meaning, Oehlen comments onpredominant values and ideologies within the world of art and on the classic concept of the picture.

Oehlen continuously exaggerates and distorts the traditions of abstract painting, breaking all the rules, in order to find out how those traditions work. The resulting works are so thoroughly and cleverly steeped in an aesthetic of excess and indulgence, that the artist successfully and persuasively communicates a visual picture of breakdown. In 1980s Oehlen made a formidable reputation for himself as one of the leading bad boys in contemporary art and focused exclusively on exposing painting's failure; the only way of course to do this was to first make painting. To do so "badly" was considered honorable for Oehlen and others of his generation, as it has been for generations before. Oehlen studied with Sigmar Polke in Hamburg in the 1970's and emerged in the early 1980's along with contemporaries Martin Kippenberger and Georg Herold as part of a generation acting in critical and often comedic contradiction to the predominant ideology of the time.

At the heart of Albert Oehlen's practice is a serious engagement with the history of painting and a radical political opposition to its hierarchies and values. Redefining the consequence of painting in a post-painterly era, he describes his work as 'post-non-representational'. Through exploring and challenging the tropes and expectations of traditional abstraction, he strives to reconstitute a contemporary meaning for art as an independent articulate form.
Buyer's Premium
  • 22.5% up to $200,000.00
  • 14.5% above $200,000.00

ALBERT OEHLEN (b. 1954) Freier Stress (Free S

Estimate $80,000 - $120,000
See Sold Price
Starting Price $50,000
1 bidder is watching this item.

Shipping & Pickup Options
Item located in New York, NY, us
See Policy for Shipping

Payment

PHILLIPS

PHILLIPS

New York, NY, United States736 Followers
TOP