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Lot Essay
Because I have an active and obsessive eye‚ I’m interested in finding as much contentment as I possibly can. In my work I create problems and then solve them in order to feel peace.
—Mark Grotjahn
Glowing with an irrepressible energy and expanding on an extensive scale, Untitled Butterfly (Black + Cream-cicle) is an exquisite example of Mark Grotjahn’s iconic Butterfly paintings. This series of centrifugal wing-like motifs, which the artist began in 2001, serves as an investigation of symmetry, perspective, and form, and holds a key place within his oeuvre. Evolved from a single framework, these geometric paintings and drawings examine the constructs of dual and multi-perspective and come to light in a diversity of forms as Grotjahn varies the palette and composition.
Grotjahn synthesizes the rigors of form and color in his vibrating lines of force and monochromatic palette. In the present work, the central band of cream-color pencil becomes the fulcrum for two sets of radiating lines that emerge from slightly asymmetrical vanishing points on either side of the painting. The butterfly wings unfold from a thin vertical axis – like a sliver of an opening into an alternate reality. Roughly hewed, the strips of color fan out, shades shifting from light to dark. In contrast to the highly controlled black-and-white bands, the disruptive presence of errant traces and smudges across the surface evokes a sense of active spontaneity and chance. The juxtaposition of the calculated razor-sharp perspectival rays and the random allover marks marries Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism. Deriving the name of the series from the natural world, Grotjahn simultaneously summons butterflies while investigating the fundamental principles of abstraction, achieving a masterpiece which is aesthetically seductive as much as it is acutely logical.
In Untitled Butterfly (Black + Cream-cicle), the artist creates an abstract representation of linear perspective, a technique which has been used since the Renaissance to enhance depth and volume on a two-dimensional surface through the use of geometric lines and a vanishing point. The formal geometrical composition and interlaced tonal colors allude to the various narratives throughout the course of art history, from Russian Constructivism to Op art. As remarked by Michael Ned Holte, “The butterfly has become to Mark Grotjahn what the target is to Kenneth Noland, the zip was to Barnett Newman, and the color white is to Robert Ryman. Grotjahn’s abstracted geometric figure is suitably elusive. In fact, the more familiar it becomes, the more he refines its ability to surprise and, perhaps paradoxically, takes it further away from actual butterflyness” (Michael Ned Holte, "Mark Grotjahn," Artforum, November 2005, p. 259).
To create these hypnotic drawings, Grotjahn follows an exacting process. He first begins by mapping out the triangular radii in black pencil. He then establishes the alternative palette by laying out a lighter colored pencil over the black, working systematically, filling in his contours from left to right. In some places, the force of the artist's body is visible, with the segments evidencing a burnished sheen of weighty layers of color pencil. Using his own interpretation of the classical rule of perspective (Grotjahn's canvases often incorporate two vanishing points in close proximity) the artist intensely renders the surface of his works to leave a landscape of concentrated working. The intensity of the artist's working practice can be seen across the entire surface of this work, as Grotjahn artfully combines the aesthetics of abstraction with the emotional response of the viewer themselves.
The exquisite beveled lines of the present Untitled Butterfly (Black + Cream-cicle) create an almost planar composition, endowing the work with the sublime diversity of hue, texture, and tone. In spite of the minimalist palette, the meticulously hand-crafted theatrical dark lines vibrate and oscillate, alluding to notions of light and space which harness the sense of the metaphysical. The viewer, in front of this awe-inspiring example by Grotjahn, becomes instantly, and pleasantly, enveloped by the vortex of mysticism that enshrouds this work.
—Mark Grotjahn
Glowing with an irrepressible energy and expanding on an extensive scale, Untitled Butterfly (Black + Cream-cicle) is an exquisite example of Mark Grotjahn’s iconic Butterfly paintings. This series of centrifugal wing-like motifs, which the artist began in 2001, serves as an investigation of symmetry, perspective, and form, and holds a key place within his oeuvre. Evolved from a single framework, these geometric paintings and drawings examine the constructs of dual and multi-perspective and come to light in a diversity of forms as Grotjahn varies the palette and composition.
Grotjahn synthesizes the rigors of form and color in his vibrating lines of force and monochromatic palette. In the present work, the central band of cream-color pencil becomes the fulcrum for two sets of radiating lines that emerge from slightly asymmetrical vanishing points on either side of the painting. The butterfly wings unfold from a thin vertical axis – like a sliver of an opening into an alternate reality. Roughly hewed, the strips of color fan out, shades shifting from light to dark. In contrast to the highly controlled black-and-white bands, the disruptive presence of errant traces and smudges across the surface evokes a sense of active spontaneity and chance. The juxtaposition of the calculated razor-sharp perspectival rays and the random allover marks marries Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism. Deriving the name of the series from the natural world, Grotjahn simultaneously summons butterflies while investigating the fundamental principles of abstraction, achieving a masterpiece which is aesthetically seductive as much as it is acutely logical.
In Untitled Butterfly (Black + Cream-cicle), the artist creates an abstract representation of linear perspective, a technique which has been used since the Renaissance to enhance depth and volume on a two-dimensional surface through the use of geometric lines and a vanishing point. The formal geometrical composition and interlaced tonal colors allude to the various narratives throughout the course of art history, from Russian Constructivism to Op art. As remarked by Michael Ned Holte, “The butterfly has become to Mark Grotjahn what the target is to Kenneth Noland, the zip was to Barnett Newman, and the color white is to Robert Ryman. Grotjahn’s abstracted geometric figure is suitably elusive. In fact, the more familiar it becomes, the more he refines its ability to surprise and, perhaps paradoxically, takes it further away from actual butterflyness” (Michael Ned Holte, "Mark Grotjahn," Artforum, November 2005, p. 259).
To create these hypnotic drawings, Grotjahn follows an exacting process. He first begins by mapping out the triangular radii in black pencil. He then establishes the alternative palette by laying out a lighter colored pencil over the black, working systematically, filling in his contours from left to right. In some places, the force of the artist's body is visible, with the segments evidencing a burnished sheen of weighty layers of color pencil. Using his own interpretation of the classical rule of perspective (Grotjahn's canvases often incorporate two vanishing points in close proximity) the artist intensely renders the surface of his works to leave a landscape of concentrated working. The intensity of the artist's working practice can be seen across the entire surface of this work, as Grotjahn artfully combines the aesthetics of abstraction with the emotional response of the viewer themselves.
The exquisite beveled lines of the present Untitled Butterfly (Black + Cream-cicle) create an almost planar composition, endowing the work with the sublime diversity of hue, texture, and tone. In spite of the minimalist palette, the meticulously hand-crafted theatrical dark lines vibrate and oscillate, alluding to notions of light and space which harness the sense of the metaphysical. The viewer, in front of this awe-inspiring example by Grotjahn, becomes instantly, and pleasantly, enveloped by the vortex of mysticism that enshrouds this work.