MIRA SCHENDEL | Untitled, from the series 'Datiloscritos'

Gabinete de Artes Gráficas, São Paulo
Private Collection, Italy (acquired from the above)
Thence by descent to the present owner

São Paulo, Gabinete de artes gráficas, Mira Schendel, Desenhos, Datiloscritos, Mandalas, Paisagens, May - June 1975 

This work is in good condition overall. The media layer is stable, and the ink is rich in tone. The sheet presents an aged appearance overall, which is consistent with its date of execution. Eight faint scattered pinpoint spots of foxing are present, seven in the upper quadrants, and one in the center. A pinpoint yellow-toned surface deposit is present in the lower right quadrant. Very faint handling marks are visible along the extreme edges of the sheet.
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.

"The Datiloscritos (typed writings) involve obsessively repeated letters and signs in the style of concrete poetry, particularly that of the British Benedictine monk Dom Sylvester Houédard, whom Schendel got to know in the late 1960s. Yet as writings Schendel's Datiloscritos are illegible. These are not poems but abstract drawings featuring careful geometric shapes. Repetition, we know, was for the Minimalists the quintessential anticompositional device; here, though, repetitive operations become thoughtful, delicate forms of composition... the Datiloscritos suggest the mechanical noise of a typewriter, percussive, inarticulate, yet tactile and incisive at the same time."  Luis Pérez-Oramas, in Exh. Cat. New York, Museum of Modern Art, León Ferrari and Mira Schendel: Tangled Alphabets, 2009, p. 38