Albert Oehlen

Thomas Dane Gallery, London
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in very good condition overall. The canvas is unlined. There is light wear at the extreme corners and turning edges, predominantly along the bottom right edge. The few areas of impasto in the top center quadrant of the painting are intact. There is a very faint surface spot in the lower left quadrant visible under close inspection. Under Ultraviolet light, there is evidence of an artist applied varnish that runs across the center quadrant of the canvas. There is no evidence of restoration. Unframed.
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.

Albert Oehlen’s 2006 tour de force, Verweis, embodies Oehlen’s unique and almost paradoxical artistic process that both acknowledges the beauty of painting while questioning its fundamental rules and regulations. The contrasting mediums of oil paint and spray paint juxtapose Oehlen’s approach to the diverse layers of the painting, each one engaging the mind with an idea rather than the representation of a recognizable object. Oehlen’s trademark style fuses abstraction and figuration; suggestions of anthropomorphic forms float in the background behind a mask of swift, energetic and impulsive brushstrokes in the center of the work. The tactile stretch of vermillion and bubblegum pink central to the composition simultaneously affirms conventional standards of beauty in painting and provides an entry point into Oehlen’s complex maneuvering and questioning of artistic conventions. Oehlen’s playful contrast between the luminous neons of the frontal plane and the mysterious, dark swaths of paint directly behind it is reminiscent of Oehlen’s friend and contemporary, Martin Kippenberger, and his employment of these conventionally appealing colors in his works that belie darker and more complex themes.

Oehlen’s expansive investigation into painting and its opportunities for expression exemplifies why he is considered one of the most important painters of his generation. The German-born artist’s prolific career has revived the visual character of painting throughout the last quarter of the twentieth century and continues to do so today.  Following in the tradition of master German painters including George Baselitz, Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke, Oehlen established his career on a fundamental confrontation with painting. He questions orthodox organizations of color and composition throughout his oeuvre. Verweis is a consummate example of his skepticism toward the representational nature of painting. 

The beauty of this work can be found not only in the traditional standards of painting but also in Oehlen’s subversive disregard for the rules. Oehlen argues that beauty cannot be attained by following the established fundamentals of art: “I am convinced that I cannot achieve beauty via a direct route; that can only be the result of deliberation…That’s the interesting thing about art: that somehow, you use your material to make something that results in something beautiful, via a path that no one has yet trodden. That means working with something that is improbably, where your predecessors would have said, ‘You can’t do that.’ First you take a step toward ugliness and then, somehow or other, you wind up where it’s beautiful.” (Exh. Cat., Kunstmuseum Bonn, Albert Oehlen, 2012, p. 71) Verweis is a visually stunning example of Oehlen’s ability to create beautiful paintings by rejecting the preexisting expectations and standard conventions of painting.