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25
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José Antonio SISTIAGA (1932–2023) Untitled, 1965
Polychrome …
See original version (French)
25
-
José Antonio SISTIAGA (1932–2023) Untitled, 1965
Polychrome …
See original version (French)
Estimate €8,000 - €10,000
Voluntary lot
Description
José Antonio SISTIAGA (1932–2023)
Untitled, 1965
Polychrome inks, signed and dated twice in the lower left corner.
70 x 100 cm
Provenance: Private collection, Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Acquired directly from the artist in 1994.
A certificate of authenticity from the Art Sistiaga estate may be provided to the purchaser.
As the principal founder of the Gaur movement alongside his friend Amable Arias, José Antonio Sistiaga perfectly exemplifies the trajectory of post-war artists.
Feeling stifled in Franco’s Spain, which suppressed Basque identity, the young Sistiaga moved to Paris between 1954 and 1961. There he observed the dynamism of the avant-garde and became fascinated by Abstract Expressionism.
On his return to his homeland, he settled for a time in the Balearic Islands, where he came to a definitive understanding of colour.
José Antonio Sistiaga is one of those ‘gestural’ painters. From gesture to the apprehension of movement, this became the recurring theme of his work. In 1970, he produced a groundbreaking kinetic experiment: the creation of the only abstract feature-length film in the history of cinema, painted directly onto 35mm film. Copies of the films painted by Sistiaga are held in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Cinémathèque Française, the Reina Sofia in Madrid and the Harvard Film Archive.
From Indian ink (lot 23) to colourful gestures (lot 24), via the rare series of stamps (lot 25), the repetition of ever-changing gestures enabled Sistiaga to transcribe movement into his painting. The artist’s latest series of paintings, Vitesse-Lumière-Couleur, is yet another symbol of this.
José Antonio Sistiaga is a complete, all-round artist. A teacher and facilitator, he organises free expression workshops for children. As a creator of happenings, an intellectual and a poet, he brings together all the arts and fosters dialogue between them. He accompanies his exhibitions with avant-garde musical selections and chose to feature works by Boulez, Messiaen and Schönberg during the 1966 exhibition at the Barandiaran Gallery.
Having lived in Ciboure for much of his life, until his death, he was the one of the eight Basque artists who maintained the closest ties with France.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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