7214 - Zurich, Unica

Zurich, Unica Untitled Pen and ink in black and watercolor on cardboard. 1966. 32.3 x 25 cm. Characterized by delicate and intricate lines, the drawing appears both surreal and organic. The fine, intertwining lines give rise to shapes and figures that sometimes seem to merge with one another. These features are characteristic of Unica Zürn’s drawings. Her delicate lines, from which hybrid beings, organic forms, and fantastical figures emerge, allow her works to navigate the space between the representational and the unconscious. This gives rise to a visual world shaped by inner and, at times, hallucinatory visions. In her literary works as well, Zürn explored existential and psychological borderline experiences. Themes such as domestic violence, abortion, and sexual abuse find their way into her texts. Her drawings were created primarily during her hallucinatory and depressive phases and reflect these psychological states in her visual language. Her works were exhibited in Paris in 1953 and 1957, among other places. There, she moved in the circles of the French and international avant-garde and was in contact with artists and writers such as Hans Arp, André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, and Henri Michaux. Provenance: UBU Gallery, New York (with label on the reverse) Private collection, Berlin Exhibition: Art 38 Basel, June 13–17, 2007, UBU Gallery, New York, no. 64 (ZURN 23) Lit.: Unica Zürn. Drawings from the 1960s. New York, UBU Gallery, 2005. Exhibition catalog no. 42 (ill.) - Please request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is listed in the catalog only in exceptional cases. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.