544 - Markus Lüpertz (1941, Liberec, Czech Republic)

Markus Lüpertz (1941, Liberec, Czech Republic) Guitar Bronze with black patina. Approx. 68 x 34.5 x 15 cm. Edition size unknown. Monogrammed on the side edge of the plinth. • A very rare bronze by the artist • The guitar serves as a homage to the significant Cubist still lifes by Braque and Picasso • A captivating sculptural experiment at the intersection of painting, relief, and sculpture “I approached sculpture like a painter.” With his unique bronze sculpture “Guitar,” Markus Lüpertz takes up a motif that has preoccupied him in his painting since the 1970s. As a classic subject of Cubist still lifes—particularly in the works of Picasso and Braque—the guitar also stands within a long tradition of artistic experimentation at the intersection of surface and space. Lüpertz continues this exploration in his own distinctive way. His guitar appears as if it were a motif extracted from a painting that has suddenly taken on a three-dimensional form. The flatly rendered body, the deeply incised lines, and the deliberately rough surface preserve the gestural character of his painting. The artist is not interested in a lifelike depiction of a musical instrument, but rather in the translation of a painterly form into three-dimensional space. The result is an unconventional sculptural experiment at the intersection of painting, relief, and sculpture. The bronze powerfully illustrates how closely the two media are intertwined in Lüpertz’s artistic thinking. It is precisely the unusual choice of motif that gives this work a special place within his predominantly figurative body of sculptural work. Provenance: Private collection, Southern Germany, acquired directly from the artist. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).