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125
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Fluxus Page, Robin Etching 1234. (Seascape, Landscape, Skysc…
See original version (German)
125
-
Fluxus Page, Robin Etching 1234. (Seascape, Landscape, Skysc…
See original version (German)
Estimate €500 - €750
Voluntary lot
Description
Fluxus
Page, Robin
Etching 1234. (Seascape, Landscape, Skyscape and Not yet Sunset.) 1972. Aquatint etching, partly heliogravure and embossing, partly with assemblage. Mostly 38 x 48 cm (60 x 70 cm). Signed, numbered and titled. Magnificent prints, some with vibrant colours.
See also the portfolio, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, A 2003/GVL 893. - One of 100 copies. - Robin Page’s etchings can be read as a conceptual response by a Fluxus artist to the long tradition of landscape art from the Romantic period to the modern era. By giving the motifs of sea, land, sky and sunset sober, almost generic titles, Page draws on the linguistic and image-critical strategy of Marcel Duchamp, who employed the work title as a central medium for shifting meaning. At the same time, the melancholic, seemingly Old Master-like artist figure in “Not yet Sunset” is reminiscent of 19th-century self-portrayals, yet – much like in René Magritte’s work – is unmasked by the title as a reflection on perception and pictorial convention. The series thus stands at odds with the contemporary Pop aesthetic and the lyrical landscapes of post-war modernism, positioning itself closer to conceptual art and “dematerialised” artistic practice, as discussed in the 1960s and 1970s by artists such as Hans Haacke or within the Minimal and Conceptual art scenes. Within the Fluxus movement, whose aim was to dissolve the boundaries between art and life, Page occupies a special role with these prints because he uses a traditional medium to ironically subvert the genre itself. In Germany, this approach is closely related to that of Joseph Beuys, whose actions and objects also aimed to recode concepts of nature, landscape and reality, albeit with a stronger political and mythological emphasis. Thus, Page’s ‘Seascape’ series and ‘Not yet Sunset’ form a quiet yet precise commentary on the canonisation of landscape in art history – a graphic laboratory in which Romantic longing, painterly tradition and conceptual critique of language collide.
Aquatint etchings, some featuring heliogravure and embossing, others incorporating assemblage. Signed, numbered and titled. Magnificent prints, some in vibrant colours. – Robin Page’s etchings can be read as a Fluxus artist’s conceptual response to the long tradition of landscape art, from Romanticism to modernism. By condensing the motifs of sea, land, sky and sunset into sober, almost generic titles, Page draws on Marcel Duchamp’s linguistic and pictorially critical strategy, in which the work’s title functions as a central medium of semantic displacement. At the same time, the melancholic, seemingly old-master-like artist figure in ‘Not yet Sunset’ evokes nineteenth-century self-representation, but – much like in René Magritte’s work – is revealed by the title as a reflection on perception and pictorial convention. The series thus bridges the gap between contemporary Pop aesthetics and the lyrical landscapes of the post-war period, aligning itself more closely with conceptual art and ‘dematerialised’ artistic practices as discussed in the 1960s and 1970s by artists such as Hans Haacke and within the Minimal and Conceptual art scenes. Within the Fluxus movement, whose aim was to dissolve the boundaries between art and life, Page occupies a particular position with these prints because he uses a traditional medium to undermine the genre itself with irony. In the German context, this stance can be seen as closely aligned with that of Joseph Beuys, whose actions and objects likewise sought to recode notions of nature, landscape and reality, albeit with a more pronounced political and mythological dimension. In this way, Page’s ‘Seascape’ series and ‘Not yet Sunset’ form a quiet yet precise commentary on the canonisation of landscape within art history—a graphic laboratory in which romantic longing, painterly tradition and conceptual critique of language collide.
See original version (German)
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