Antônio Dias (b. 1944)

Acquired from the artist
Private Collection, Italy

This work is in excellent condition. The canvas is well stretched. The paint layer is stable and clean. There do not appear to be any losses or restorations. The work should be hung as is. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.)
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.

Rational and vigorously conceptual, Antonio Dias’ work is fraught with formal elegance. A master of appropriation, erotic satire, Pop assemblage and multimedia, Dias' innovative approach to art-making exploits the power of seemingly rigorous structures to subvert and deconstruct meaning. One of the most acclaimed artists of his generation, he is regarded, according to Brazilian critic and curator Paulo Herkenhoff, as the “main link between the neoconcretists and the artists of the 1970s: between Hélio Oiticica and Cildo Meireles, Lygia Clark and Tunga, the non-objects and Waltércio Caldas...between conceptual art and the tradition of concrete poetry.”

As an austere non-image belonging to the landmark series executed in the early 1970s, The Illustration of Art achieves a new contemporary aesthetic. Conceived in 1971 during a pivotal residency in New York granted by a Guggenheim Fellowship, the work conflates intellectual interests as distinct as astronomy, minimalism, and the pursuit of a 'pure art of ideas'. The vast commercialization of art during this period and its ultimate commodification by the emergence of the contemporary art market is made ironically evident in the self-serving referential system implied by the American dollar sign in this darkly humorous painting. Suspended in mid-air, this universal sign adopts critical relevance when examined against the precepts of a rising institutionalized art economy.