Monumental sculptures at Sotheby’s- January – April 2007

Bernar Venet – Arcs in Disorder: 3 Arcs x 5

Richard Serra – Sacco and Vanzetti

Monumental sculptures at Sotheby’s- January – April 2007 SOTHEBY’S AT ISLEWORTH – Sotheby’s to offer an important collection of monumental sculptures by artists like Richard Serra or Henry Moore]]>

January 2007, source: Sotheby’s
January 2007 marks the beginning of Sotheby’s fourth-annual exhibition and private sale of monumental works of art to be held at the exclusive Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Florida. Set to be the largest and most diversified yet, this offering includes over forty sculptural masterpieces by some of the 20th century’s most renowned artists. Large-scale works by such modern and contemporary masters as Auguste Rodin, Aristide Maillol, Fernand Léger, Fernando Botero, Niki de Saint Phalle, Louise Bourgeois and others will highlight the private sale, and many of these works will be displayed on the lush grounds of Isleworth through mid-April 2007.

Sacco and Vanzetti, Richard Serra’s monumental Cor-ten steel structure from 1986, consists of three rectangular steel plates that are arranged to create an enclosed space. From the exterior, the plates appear unstable and their positioning in relation to one another is not fully apparent. It is only upon entering the enclosed space that the architecture and the psychological implications of the piece can be fully appreciated. Named after the infamous pair of socialists who were falsely accused of murder and tried, convicted and put to death, Sacco and Vanzetti is an overpowering sculpture that elicits feelings of danger and entrapment. When seen from within, the structure appears as if it will topple over, creating a sense of anxiety, confusion and insecurity from which there appears to be little room for escape.

Among the other highlights are Emile Bourdelle’s masterpiece Héraklès (Archer) and Louise Bourgeois’ Cumul III. Created in 1909, Héraklès (Archer) depicts an idealized version the heroic warrior of Greek mythology. The mighty archer draws back his arm, extends his bow and braces himself against a bolder before he takes his shot. Considering what is about to happen, one can anticipate the tremendous force about to be propelled into the atmosphere. What is so remarkable about this bronze is that Bourdelle leaves much of the action to our imagination. While he does not show the arrow itself, Bourdelle does invest the sculpture with visual cues that tune our attention to the sheer drama of the moment (pictured above). Louise Bourgeois’ Cumul III is a sensuous organic form that is related to a work of the same title at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Many of Bourgeois’ works allude to parts of the human body or the reproductive system; the present example is a continuation of the artist’s fascination with fertility. She carves the Avenza marble into an accumulation of smooth, bulbous forms that bubble up and break through a swath of silky stone. The bottom of the carving is a roughly-hewn base that is placed directly on the grass on site in Isleworth. Situated there in the greenery, the luminous Cumul III is at one with nature and a perfect complement to its surrounding environment.

Arch Form, by Henry Moore, is a unique work in marble that was originally in the collection of the artist’s daughter Mary. This piece, executed in 1970, exemplifies Moore’s streamlined aesthetic that defined the Modernist movement of the 20th century. Moore found his inspiration for his sculptures in nature, and everything about Arch Form — the striations of the marble, the swells and curves of the form – are a celebration of the organic.

One of the more contemporary works included in the offering is Bernar Venet’s Arcs in Disorder: 3 Arcs x 5. Rising above the landscape, this 2005 work by the renowned French conceptualist artist explores the visual poetics of math with these arcs, grouping them together according to their varying degrees of circular completeness. Additional works by Aristide Maillol, George Segal and Fernando Botero will also be included.