Giulio Paolini

Marian Goodman Gallery (acquired from the artist)

Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1986

Paris, Galerie Maeght Lelong, Giulio Paolini. Melanconia ermetica, May – June 1985, p. 32, no. 9 (ed. 1/6)

Jyväskylä, Alvar Aalto-Museo; Pori, Porin Taidemuseo, On Language and Ecstasy. A Generation in Italian Art, September – December 1985, (ed. 6/6 [b])

Long Island City, New York, P.S.1, The Institute for Art and Urban Resources, The Knot. Arte Povera at P.S.1, October – December 1985, p. 161, illustrated in colour, (ed. 5/6)

Dijon, FRAC Bourgogne, Première présentation d'un choix d'oeuvres. Acquisitions 1984-1985, January – March 1986, (ed. 1/6) 

Nevers, Association pour l'art contemporain, Oeuvres choisies du FRAC Bourgogne, April 1986, (ed. 1/6)

Berkeley, University Art Museum, MATRIX/BERKELEY 101, Giulio Paolini, October – November 1986, n.p., (ed. 5/6)

Mâcon, École Régionale des Beaux-Arts, Réfectoire des Moines de l'Abbaye, Oeuvres du FRAC Bourgogne, October 1986, (ed. 1/6)

Turin, Galleria Christian Stein, Fideliter (1966-1986), December 1986, (ed. no. unknown)

Chambéry, Musée Savoisien; Lille, Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse; La Roche-sur-Yon, Musée Municipal, Turin 1965-1987. De l'Arte Povera dans les collections publiques françaises, March – November 1987, p. 36, no. 38, illustrated in colour (ed. 1/6)

Tours, Centre de création contemporaine, Arte Povera, June – September 1987, (ed. 1/6)

Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Implosion. A postmodern perspective, October 1987 – January 1988, p. 118, no. 66, illustrated (ed. 3/6)

Verona, Studio La Città, Sculpttura: la scultura vista dai pittori, May 1989, pp. 36-37, illustrated (ed. 4/6)

La Chaux de Fonds, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Choix d'oeuvres de la collection du FRAC Bourgogne, June – August 1989, (ed. 1/6) 

Kiel, Galerie Sfeir-Semler, Allegorie, May 1990, n.p., illustrated (ed. 3/6)

Dijon, FRAC Bourgogne, Salle des Frémis-Roussottes, Phénomènes extrêmes (regard sur une collection), May – June 1990, (ed. 1/6) 

Maribor (Yugoslavia), Umetnostna Galerija, 4th International Triennial Ecology and Art ART d'ECO, June – July 1992, pp. 62-63, illustrated (ed. 4/6)

Osaka, Kodama Gallery, Arte Povera, October – December 1992, pp. 80-81, illustrated in colour (ed. 6/6 [a])

Toronto, Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, Frames: Edward Muybridge, Bill Viola, Giulio Paolini, Gary Hill, James Coleman, May 1993, (ed. 2/6)

Salzburg, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Utopia. Arte italiania 1950-1993, July – August 1993, p. 106, illustrated (ed. 4/6)

Fréjus, Centre d'art Le Capitou, Côte à côte, November 1993 – March 1994, (ed. 1/6)

Cluny, Eglise Saint Marcel, Sculptures du FRAC Bourgogne, July – November 1995, (ed. 1/6)

Rome, Accademia di Francia, Villa Medici, Giulio Paolini. Correspondances, March – April 1996, p. 30, no. 13, illustrated in colour (artist's proof)

Louhaus, Lycée Polyvalent Régional Henri Vincenot, Oeuvres du FRAC Bourgogne, November – December 1996, (ed. 1/6)

Bremen, Neues Museum Weserburg; Nuremberg, Kunsthalle Nürnberg; Cologne, Kölnischer Kunstverein; Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig; Göteborg, Konsthallen; Munich, Sammlung Goetz, Arte Povera. Arbeiten und Dokumente aus der Sammlung Goetz 1958 bis heute, June 1997 – May 2000, p. 140, illustrated (ed. 4/6)

Annecy, L'Arteppes art contemporain, Cet art que l'on dit contemporain... troisième partie: regard sur la sculpture, l'installation et autre médiums, March – April 1998, (ed. 1/6)

Châtillon-sur-Seine, Musée du Châtillonnais, Autour du temps. Oeuvres de la collection du FRAC Bourgogne, April – October 2000, (ed. 1/6)

Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bricolage? Oeuvres de la Collection du Fonds régional d'art contemporain de Bourgogne, December 2000 – February 2001, p. 297, illustrated (ed. 1/6)

Rovereto, MART, Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Le Stanze dell'Arte. Figure e immagini del XX secolo, December 2002 – April 2003, p. 393, illustrated (ed. 3/6)

New York, Marian Goodman Gallery, A Sculpture Show, February – March 2003, (ed. 6/6 [b])

Bremen, Neues Museum Weserburg, Sammlung Goetz. Arte Povera und Mike Kelley, March 2003 – January 2004, (ed. 4/6)

Avignon, Palais des Papes, Esprits des lieux. Trésors publiques 20 ans de création dans les Fonds Régionaux d'Art Contemporain, June – October 2003, p. 313, illustrated (ed. 1/6)

Joigny, Atelier Cantoisel, Le XVIII-XXI, Histoire intra-muros, May – October 2004, (ed. 1/6)

Bolzano, Castel Masaccio, Il colore della vita. Die Farben des Lebens. Hommage à Piero Siena, December 2004 – January 2005, pp. 140-141, illustrated (ed. 3/6)

Bourbon Lancy, Musée municipal, Hôtel "La Tourelle", Nues et nus, July – September 2005, (ed. 1/6)

Besançon, Galerie d'Art Contemporain de l'Hôtel de Ville, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie, 2 Temps... 3 Mouvements, February – March 2006, (ed. 1/6)

Rovereto, MART, Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Tableau Drapeau. Capolavori dalla Collezione permanente del MART, May – October 2007, (ed. 3/6)

Vigo, MARCO Museo de Arte Contemporanea, Taking Time, October 2007 – February 2008, p. 202, illustrated in colour, p. 202, illustrated, p. 206, illustrated (detail) (ed. 1/6)

Biumo (Varese), FAI Villa e Collezione Panza, Arte Povera: energia e metamorfosi dei materiali. Opere dalle Collezioni del MART, December 2009 – March 2010, p. 77, illustrated in colour (ed. 3/6)

Paris, Maison populaire, Un plan simple 2/3 (scène), April – July 2009, p. 100, illustrated in colour (detail), (ed. 1/6)

Tanlay, Communs du Château, Où donc, et quand? Oeuvres des FRAC Bourgogne et FRAC Franche-Comté, June – September 2012, (ed.  1/6)

Basel, Kunstmuseum Basel, Arte Povera. Der grosse Aufbruch, September 2012 – February 2013, p. 133, no. 74, illustrated in colour (ed. 4/6)

Milan, Galleria Christian Stein, Giulio Paolini. Fine, November 2016 – April 2017, pp. 76-77, illustrated in colour, pp. 78-79, illustrated in colour (detail), (artist’s proof)

Exh. Cat., Jouy-en-Josas, Fondation Cartier, Sculptures, première approche pour un parc, October 1985, p. 50, illustrated, installation view Paris 1985

Giulio Paolini, Suspense, breve storia del vuoto in tredici stanze, Florence 1988, pp. 118-119, illustrated

Exh. Cat., Worms, Schloss Herrnsheim, Mnemosyne oder das Theater der Erinnerung, 1988, pp. 94-95, illustrated

Germano Celant, Arte Povera, Turin 1989, p. 167, illustrated; Villeurbanne 1989, p. 175, illustrated, installation view Paris 1985; French edition: Villeurbanne 1989, p. 175, illustrated installation view Paris 1985 

Francesco Poli, Giulio Paolini, Turin 1990, n.p., no. 116, illustrated

Exh. Cat., Trieste, Civico Museo Revoltella, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Neoclassico. L’attualità: arte, architettura, design, 1990, p. 24, illustrated, installation view Paris 1985

Adachiara Zevi, 'Giulio Paolini: Le repliche del naufragio/The replicas of the shipwreck', L'Architettura, A. XXXVII, No. 433, Rome, November 1991, p. 909, illustrated

Exh. Cat., Villeurbanne, Le Nouveau Musée, La collection Christian Stein. Un regard sur l'art italien, 1992, pp. 190-191, illustrated

Claude Patriat, Eléments d’une politique culturelle régionale en Bourgogne, Dijon 1992, illustrated on the cover

Xavier Douroux, Franck Gautherot and Erik Troncy, Compilation: une expérience de l’exposition, Dijon 1998, p. 20, illustrated in colour

Michaela Unterdörfer, Die Rezeption der Antike in der Postmoderne. Der Gipsabguss in der italienischen Kunst der siebziger und achtziger Jahre, Weimar 1998, p. 220, no. 34, illustrated

Mario Bertoni, Tempi e forme. Una ricerca sulle arti visive contemporanee, Turin 1998, p. 203, illustrated 

Raymond Lachat, L’Art en Italie 1945–1995, Paris 1999, p. 144, illustrated in colour 

Quétigny, FRAC Bourgogne, Fonds régional d’art contemporain de Bourgogne 1984-2000, 2000, p. 297, illustrated

Eva Clausen, 'La vocazione teatrale dell’opera d’arte', art'o, No. 12, Bologna, Autumn 2002, p. 34, illustrated, installation view Paris 1985

Exh. Cat., Rovereto, MART, Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Le Stanze dell’Arte. Figure e immagini del XX secolo, 2002, p. 393, illustrated

Exh. Cat., Caraglio, Il Filatoio Rosso di Caraglio, Chronos. Il tempo nell’arte dall’epoca barocca all’età contemporanea, 2005, p. 39, illustrated

Adachiara Zevi, Peripezie del dopoguerra nell’arte italiana, Turin 2005, p. 365, (text)

Maddalena Disch, Giulio Paolini, Catalogo ragionato, Tomo secondo 1983–1999, Vol. II, Milan 2008, p. 553, no. 542, illustrated

Exh. Cat., Berkeley, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Matrix Berkley: A Changing Exhibition of Contemporary Art, 2009, pp. 204-205, illustrated

Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is fairly accurate. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is some evidence of handling in places throughout. Close inspection reveals some faint rub marks and abrasions in isolated places. There are to hairline cracks to the lower figure's left arm and a few small chips, notably to the extreme edge of both bases, one of which has been consolidated. Further inspection reveals some minor flaking near the lower figures head between the knee and the base.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Celebrated as a leading figure of Italy’s post-war avant-garde and linked to the Arte Povera movement, Giulio Paolini’s practice ranges from plaster casts of classical statuary to reproductions of well-known paintings by Velázquez and Chardin. Driven by fundamental questions on the nature of art and the role of the artist, he investigates the very essence of an artwork and its relation to the past. A plaster cast of the well-known Roman sculpture The Wrestlers, housed in the Uffizi Collection in Florence, Intervallo is herein wholly paradigmatic of Paolini’s unique conceptual dialogue. A masterpiece within the canon of Paolini’s sculptures, editions 1/6, 2/6 and 3/6 of the present work are held in the permanent collections of the Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain Bourgogne, Digione, the Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, Toronto, and the MART Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto, respectively.

A bisected facsimile of the renowned marble sculpture, Intervallo engages with some of the key tenents of Paolini’s practice: fragmentation, citation and authorship. The famous Roman sculpture The Wrestlers is in fact a replica of the lost Greek original of the third century BCE. Herein, Poalini’s plaster cast is a replica of a replica and articulates the artist’s investigation into the interrelationship of the bygone and the present, as well as the feasibility of artistic originality. Melding past, present and future, Paolini purports a philosophical conception of art that examines established art historical structures and ideals. With Intervallo, sliced in half at the waist and displayed against two adjacent walls, Paolini takes the investigation into the purpose of the artwork one step further. The traditional nobility and superiority originally associated with classical statuary is severed and the othodox way of exhibiting and encountering a sculpture is altered to pose questions about the space between objects and their relationship to their surrounding environment.

Hugely influenced by Piero Manzoni’s investigation into the essence of an artwork through his revolutionary Achromes  – kaolin soaked surfaces which did not signify or represent anything but their own existence – Paolini believed art should not be defined by traditions but should exist in its own right. Whilst his appropriation of a classical Roman sculpture, invokes Italy’s cultural past, its bisected replication in plaster announces a series of oppositions: hard/brittle, noble/ignoble, historical/contemporary, unique/common and the cultural/the everyday. In his willingness to introduce the everyday into the realm of high art he draws distinct parallels to the key tenets of Arte Povera. In particular, his appropriation of classical statuary establishes a link to the work of his contemporary Michelangelo Pistoletto, who famously re-appropriated the classical sculpture of the Roman goddess of love in his work Venus of the Rags.

Emblematising the richest output of Paolini’s fertile engagement with antiquity and executed in the artist’s chosen media of plaster cast –  inherently capable of serial production – Intervallo represents Paolini’s longstanding fascination with the challenges of pure originality and demonstrates the absolute heights of his narrative and aesthetic talents.