Lot 482
  • 482

Juan Muñoz

Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 USD
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Description

  • Juan Muñoz
  • Three Laughing at One
  • polyester resin, chairs
  • 51 by 78 3/4 by 23 5/8 in. 130 by 200 by 60 cm.
  • Executed in 2000, this work is unique.

Provenance

The Estate of the Artist
Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2002

Exhibited

Mallorca, Centro Cultural Andratx, The Song of the Pirate, August 2002
Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Juan Muñoz, January - June 2004
Stockholm, National Museum, Passions - Five Centuries of Art and Emotions, March - August 2012, pp. 79 & 306, illustrated in color

Literature

Exh. Cat., London, Tate Gallery (and travelling), Juan Muñoz: A Retrospective, 2008, p. 122, illustrated

Condition

This work is in very good condition overall. The three resin sculptures are secured to their respective chair frames by screws at various points. There are subtle variations to the resin throughout, including variations in coloration, sheen and texture with some pinpoint areas of white residue noted, due to the artist's working method and choice of medium. There is light dust accumulation on the surfaces, particularly in the crevices. The three chairs are in very good condition. There is some minor oxidation at the points of soldering in the chairs' frames. The oblique structure of the chairs is intentional and due to the artist's method. There are a few, unobtrusive stray threads in the backing of the chairs and some minor surface soiling noted in the chromed frames.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

"My characters sometimes behave as a mirror that cannot reflect. They are there to tell you something about your looking, but they cannot, because they don't let you see yourself." Juan Muñoz

Juan Muñoz is one of the most important sculptors of his generation, and his enigmatic sculptures are no doubt a testament to the artist’s ability to confront, confound and beguile his audience. With a distinct emphasis on a return to the human form as well as on the relationship between sculpture, architecture and the viewer, Muñoz’s oeuvre is comprised mostly of sculptures, ‘conversation pieces’ and immersive installations that often place the viewer in a dramatic relationship to surrounding space and objects.

The present piece, Three Laughing at One, is one of Muñoz’s latest works completed in 2000–one year before his tragic death in 2001. Following true to the artist’s iconic style, Three Laughing at One is a sculptural tableau comprised of monochromatic figures of men in grey, all modelled realistically and dressed in contemporary attire. The dynamic trio, while life-like, is intended to elicit ambiguity, frustrate and trigger doubt. Visually, the polyester-resin figures scaled to under life-size so that a little perspectival trick allows the viewer to perceive them as being further away–and higher up–than they really are. The surprise of such effect draws the viewer closer to the sculpture and ultimately subverts the relationship between the viewer and the artwork: instead of commanding the perspective, the subject at once becomes the object and all at once, the viewer is the one being looked at, and laughed at, by the three ventriloquist dummies.

There is a mesmerizing sensation of ambiguity and tension ingrained into all of Muñoz’s sculptures. The experience of confronting these pieces can be described as provocative and violent, humorous and intrusive. As the artist once claimed of his works, “I sometimes feel that [some of] my work is about waiting, waiting for something to happen; on the one hand afraid in case it does happen, or even wishing that it had never occurred. It is like keeping a work in that state that we would call desire–keeping it at that level of desire, just holding it there that wish, that uncertainty, keeping the work still just here. Or like watching a door which one day a person might open.”