Untitled Rudolf Polanszky

• A work with particularly appealing colours and a dense composition • A characteristic early work, characterised by Actionist impulses and experimental material art • Polanszky’s work is represented in Vienna by the renowned Galerie Krinzinger and has been exhibited on several occasions at Gagosian in New York The late 1980s mark a transitional phase in the artistic development of the Austrian avant-garde artist Rudolf Polanszky: Physical materiality and the principle of deconstruction came to the fore, in contrast to his early performative and conceptual approaches (such as the lard drawings of the 1970s). This canvas painting by Polanszky, dating from 1988, is a prime example of what he himself inscribed as ‘ad hoc synthesis’. By this he means the deliberate rejection of classical compositional rules and academic aesthetics in favour of guided chance. During this creative period, Polanszky moved away from the traditional, two-dimensional application of paint. His works on unprimed jute break out of the plane and develop into reliefs and collages. Typically, as is the case here, he combines oil paint with materials foreign to the medium – often discarded industrial materials such as plexiglass, foam, synthetic resin or mirror foil. The materials used often already bear traces of weathering and wear, thereby integrating the uncontrollable process of decay into the final texture of the paintings. From an art-historical perspective, Polansky’s work can be situated between Post-Actionism and a radical further development of Arte Povera. Whilst Viennese Actionism placed the body at the centre, Polansky sublimated this energy in the late 1980s into the pure transformation of matter. At the same time, the raw, unvarnished aesthetic points to his close intellectual kinship with Franz West. Both artists share a fascination with the unfinished, the non-conformist and the ironic subversion of the ‘masterpiece’. | 1951 Wien | Zeitgenössische Kunst | Gemälde | Nummer: 26x2267 | Provenance: Privatsammlung, Österreich.

Estimate:£23,365.02

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