7237 - Koehler, Reinhold

Koehler, Reinhold Positive-Negative Décollage Ink on cardboard, partially torn and re-collaged. 1961. 65 x 50 cm. Signed “Koehler” in the lower right (scratched into the cardboard). Koehler/Witte D 1961-34. Through horizontal tears in the black-inked cardboard, staggered vertically one above the other, and through large-scale tears along the edges, Reinhold Koehler achieves here a visually compelling reversal from positive to negative. "In 1960, a completely new technique also emerged within 'Décollage pur.' Here, a strip—a sort of tongue—is torn open but not torn off. Rather, the strip is folded back where it still hangs from the paper and reattached with its back side facing its negative mirror image. The ink-black on the back of the reattached strip shows through, so that there is always a pair of white and gray hues. We refer to this technique as the ‘reversal technique’ or ‘reversal tear-offs.’” (Angela Koehler: “Dékoehlage—Techniques and Terms of Décollage,” in: “Reinhold Koehler Décollage,” exhibition catalog, Kunstmuseum Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach 2018, p. 24). – Included: Two signed, partially dated, and titled “décollages imprimés” by the artist, including “Figur 760,” 1967. Provenance: Estate of the artist Formerly Galerie Christian Pixis, Munich - 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.