300 - KWADE, ALICJA

KWADE, ALICJA 1979 Katowice, Poland Title: Coal. Date: 2006. Technique: 76 REKORD coal briquettes cast in bronze, 24-carat gold-plated. Dimensions: Each 4.5 × 5.5 × 17.5 cm. Installation dimensions: 33.5 × 36 × 35 cm. From an edition of 3 copies and 2 artist’s copies. We are grateful to Studio Alicja Kwade, Berlin, for their kind support. Provenance: - Galerie Stephanie Bender, Munich - Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia (acquired from the previous owner) - In a unique way, Kwade elevates fossil fuels to the status of art, thereby challenging established patterns of thought regarding value - An incomparable formal language that translates complex ideas into a form that is easy to understand “I try to understand why reality is structured the way it is, why things are exactly as they are—or rather, why they appear to us in such a way that we consider them real.” (Alicja Kwade, quoted from the exhibition catalog, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel 2018, p. 12) Alicja Kwade was born in 1979 in Katowice, Poland, and moved with her family to Hanover in 1986. From 1999 to 2005, she studied at the Berlin University of the Arts, where she continues to live and work today. Her work encompasses sculpture, installation, photography, and video. By 2019 at the latest, she had ascended to the pantheon of the international art scene by creating the monumental sculpture “ParaPivot” for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Other works are included in numerous private and public collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, the mumok in Vienna, and the LACMA in Los Angeles. At the heart of her artistic practice lies an exploration of reality and society. In her works, she plays with the rules that govern our world and seemingly suspends them—whether they be laws of physics or societal beliefs about value. Through subtle disruptions or shifts in norms, Kwade creates a complex web of tension that immediately sparks associations and captures the viewer’s imagination. Kwade is not concerned with finding answers; rather, her goal is to question habits of seeing and thinking, as well as supposed realities. The 2006 work “Kohle” is part of the series of the same name. Seventy-seven commercially available coal briquettes serve as the model for the bronze casting, which is coated with 24-karat gold. At first glance, the sculpture resembles several stacks of gold bars lined up next to one another. The conspicuous, raised embossing “Rekord” on the upper side of the briquettes—which denotes the brand of coal—as well as the distinctive indentations on the sides reveal it as an illusion and create that typical tension between appearance and reality. An everyday object is transformed into a work of art, thereby behaving in a manner that is profoundly at odds with its actual purpose. The title of the work plays on the double meaning of “Kohle,” which refers, on the one hand, to the fossil fuel and, on the other, colloquially to money. With this object, Kwade reduces society’s definition of value to absurdity, and even twenty years after its creation, the work remains as relevant as ever: While the price of gold has been rising inexorably—especially in the last ten years—coal is on the verge of becoming completely worthless. The phase-out of the coal industry—which, although already part of political discussions in 2006, still seemed impossible at the time—is decided upon in 2026. The once most important energy source is noticeably losing its relevance; nevertheless, Kwade elevates the motif to a work of art. This contradiction between its actual utility and its social and economic standing creates a sense of unease in the viewer while simultaneously offering an alternative reality. Kwade does not resolve this sense of unease. Rather, “kohle” takes on a philosophical function by posing existential questions: Who or what determines value? Why is the world the way it is, and could it be different? Estimated shipping costs for this lot: This lot is not suitable for parcel shipping. Transportation is available only through a shipping company, subject to consultation following the auction. Additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance Up to a total invoice amount of 25,000 euros: max. 41.65 euros Over a total invoice amount of 25,000 euros: 1.8 per thousand Shipping to the USA by individual arrangement after the auction. #Alicja Kwade #Germany #Contemporary Art #Object #Money #2000s #Sculptures. In accordance with §26 UrhG (German Copyright Act), VAN HAM is obligated to pay a statutory resale royalty on the sale proceeds of all original works of fine art and photography whose authors have not been deceased for 70 years prior to the end of the calendar year of the sale. The buyer shall contribute 1.5% of the hammer price toward this fee.