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Lot Essay
Artists make art in the same manner that children play: seriously. For both, their activity is a form of gaining competency, of struggling to reframe their thinking, of making sense of puzzling questions. Although, the process is complex and generally fulfilling, it is not always satisfactory. Oftentimes, despite repeated attempts, answers may arrive in bits and pieces in what seems like a coded language, or not at all. Regardless, the struggle to seek moments of knowing persists simultaneously in their conscious and unconscious. To attain such moments, they may tirelessly recreate the same experience over and over until, suddenly, Eureka! That is, if they are lucky. The luckiest are able to make clear sense out of their discovery.
Not everyone struggles with questions by playing as they did in childhood. Generally, adults differentiate between work and play, even while saying "work hard, play hard." In adulthood, work often becomes a mindless routine as opposed to childhood play, which is a fascinating experience that unfolds to expose mysteries, unforgettable things that later form building blocks for further learning.
Artists resemble children in many ways. Both create with a similar sense of wonderment. They look forward to being surprised by their unexpected findings. Their sense of understanding sharpens each time they resolve a question. For both, the process of creating uncovers their universe.
Included in this Sale are three related works by Gunther Gerzso, all produced in 1958; Untitled (No. 9) and Untitled (No. 14) (see Day Session, lots 150 and 151). Other than in a retrospective exhibition, it would be nearly impossible to study them side by side. The three look nothing alike, although each expresses a different face of Gerzso's uneasiness. Individually, each offers an alternative perspective on his struggle to find different approaches to reframe his thinking, but to no avail. In all three, we are seeing the creative process in action before the image became an integral part of his personal iconography. In the urban landscape Untitled (No. 9), the moon and the building top bring together a binary system. Distance between them cannot be bridged: although they will remain side by side, they will never be together. Untitled (No. 14) is of particular interest. Here, Gerzso introduces--tentatively--the biomorphic sky that he gradually darkened, nearly to black, once he recognized its personal meaning. It came to represent "the other side," or what follows death. Techos Verdes (the present lot) is the largest of the three. Its thinly painted structure belies the danger suggested by the enveloping dark mist that warns the spectator: "do not come near."
Salomon Grimberg, Dallas, Texas, March 29, 2008.
Not everyone struggles with questions by playing as they did in childhood. Generally, adults differentiate between work and play, even while saying "work hard, play hard." In adulthood, work often becomes a mindless routine as opposed to childhood play, which is a fascinating experience that unfolds to expose mysteries, unforgettable things that later form building blocks for further learning.
Artists resemble children in many ways. Both create with a similar sense of wonderment. They look forward to being surprised by their unexpected findings. Their sense of understanding sharpens each time they resolve a question. For both, the process of creating uncovers their universe.
Included in this Sale are three related works by Gunther Gerzso, all produced in 1958; Untitled (No. 9) and Untitled (No. 14) (see Day Session, lots 150 and 151). Other than in a retrospective exhibition, it would be nearly impossible to study them side by side. The three look nothing alike, although each expresses a different face of Gerzso's uneasiness. Individually, each offers an alternative perspective on his struggle to find different approaches to reframe his thinking, but to no avail. In all three, we are seeing the creative process in action before the image became an integral part of his personal iconography. In the urban landscape Untitled (No. 9), the moon and the building top bring together a binary system. Distance between them cannot be bridged: although they will remain side by side, they will never be together. Untitled (No. 14) is of particular interest. Here, Gerzso introduces--tentatively--the biomorphic sky that he gradually darkened, nearly to black, once he recognized its personal meaning. It came to represent "the other side," or what follows death. Techos Verdes (the present lot) is the largest of the three. Its thinly painted structure belies the danger suggested by the enveloping dark mist that warns the spectator: "do not come near."
Salomon Grimberg, Dallas, Texas, March 29, 2008.