沃爾夫岡·提爾曼斯

Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York

Private Collection, Connecticut

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is fairly accurate. Condition: Please refer to the department for a professional condition report.
"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."

Executed in 2005, Freischwimmer 119, belongs to Wolfgang Tillmans' highly coveted eponymous series, whose title refers to German levels of swimming proficiency and embodies the artist’s most conceptually complex and visually enigmatic contribution to contemporary art. The works deliver a form of non-representational photography that calls into question the verisimilitude and objectivity principally associated with the medium. Images that elucidate no concrete reality except for their own, these pictures challenge pre-established boundaries, achieving exquisite painterly abstraction through an entirely mechanical photographic process. Created in the darkroom without the use of a camera, these works echo the avant-garde photographic experiments of Man Ray and György Kepes. However, unlike these early iterations of the photographic medium, in which photo-sensitive paper is exposed to light in stages and solid objects are used to impart intriguing light effects, the exact process behind Tillmans' Freischwimmer works has not been revealed. Shrouded in mystery, Tillmans’ alchemical mastery of light takes on the appearance of pigment, and purports a lyrical sense of light-painting that constructs a tranquil, contemplative photographic space. Evocative of the undulating movements of water or the subtle effusions of wind, these transfixing chromatic landscapes captivate the viewer in an exhilarating visual experience, which is enhanced by the works’ impressive and monumental scale.

The photographic practice of German-born artist Wolfgang Tillmans encompasses a broad spectrum of genres – from portraiture, and landscape, through to still life and abstraction. In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and non-British artist to win the Turner Prize and his multifaceted practice will be celebrated with a seminal exhibition at Tate Modern, London from February – June 2017.