Andreas Gursky

Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in May 2004

New York, Matthew Marks Gallery, Andreas Gursky, May - June 2004 (another example exhibited)
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art; Sharjah Art Museum, Andreas Gursky, May 2007 - January 2008, p. 59, illustrated in color (another example exhibited)

Exh. Cat., Munich, Haus der Kunst, Andreas Gursky, 2007, p. 59, illustrated in color
Art - Das Kunstmagazin, No. 3, Hamburg, March 2007, p. 4, illustrated in color
Exh. Cat., Krefeld, Kunstmuseen, Haus Lange und Haus Esters; Stockholm, Moderna Museet; Vancouver, Art Gallery, Andreas Gursky: Works 80-08, 2008-09, p. 207, illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of light wear and handling along the edges of the artist's chosen frame, including some minor scratches, indentations and media accretions mostly visible at the corners. Under very close inspection and raking light there are a few minor scratches visible scattered on the surface of the Plexiglas. Framed under Plexiglas.
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.

Executed in 2004, Fukuyama is a feat of Andreas Gursky’s remarkable output; in line with the work that gained him a stellar reputation in the world of contemporary art, the images possesses the remarkable duality of grandiose breadth and meticulous detail.  The monumentality of the piece, as with many of Gursky’s large-scale works, recalls the grand landscapes of the old master and German Romantic traditions.  An elevated camera angle places the viewer above the scene, looking down on the world below and in doing so forces us into the omnipresent role of God the creator.  What lies beneath are the seemingly endless rows of a high-rise cattle ranch in Hiroshima, a stark contrast with the openness of nature depicted in the vast sweeping vistas of Romanticism.  The horizontal lines of sheds extend beyond the sides and are stacked up the height of the work, bordered at top and bottom by strips of arid landscape.  The complex layering of the high-rise format is accentuated here by our birds-eye view which emphasis the artificial nature of the construction and, furthermore, of agriculture being shaped by man.

The reality of intensive farming that is capture here is far removed from the familiar Romantic idyll of sprawling expanses of land spontaneously bearing fruit for human consumption.  Further to the audience’s God-like viewing position, Gursky critiques the role of humans on earth, their impact on nature and their perception of ‘the order of things.’  The 2007 series, Dubai World, depicts an artificially created archipelago, in the same vein he comments on mankind’s ongoing manipulation of the natural world in his ambition to improve his lot on nature’s soil.

Although Gursky does not produce fixed series in the manner of some of his Dusseldorf School peers, there are certain motifs he has returned to throughout his artistic career; recurring subjects include hotel lobbies, the stock exchange and sporting events.  One such theme is the modern landscape.  Works of the early 1990s, prior to the introduction of digital manipulation to his creative process, depict farm animals in expansive plains of agriculture landscape or motorways and bridges cutting through the natural terrain.

Scouring the world in search of pre-existing sites that possess the fundamentals of structural order – in the cattle ranch in Fukuyama he has found a potent metaphor for our times.  The gridded cow sheds have been built onto the rocky cliff face by humans in a bid to produce enough milk to satisfy national demand.  In depicting this produce of our manipulation of the landscape Gursky illustrates modern man’s ongoing attempt to outdo nature.  He directly refers to the formal elements of the German romantic tradition that informs his practice, imbuing it with a modern perspective that makes the landscape genre relevant to contemporary art practice.