Jesús Rafael Soto *
(Cuidad Bolivar 1923 – 2005 Paris)
Untitled, c. 1983, signed on the reverse, acrylic on wooden elements mounted on panel 88 x 88 x 16 cm , in artist’s frame
This work is registered in the Archives of the Comité Soto, Paris and is accompanied by a photo certificate of authenticity
Provenance:
Renato Cardazzo Collection, Milan
Galleria del Naviglio, Milan (label and stamp on the reverse and photo certificate signed by Renato Cardazzo available)
Galleria d’Arte Bergamo (label on the reverse)
Private Collection, Italy
European Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Exhibited:
Milan, Studio Gariboldi, Jesús Rafael Soto, April-May 2012
The work presented here belongs to a phase of full maturity in the research of Jesús Rafael Soto, an undisputed protagonist of Kinetic Art and one of the leading interpreters of international abstraction in the post-war period. Following his move to Paris in the early 1950s, the artist engaged in a dialogue with Optical Art and the experiments of the Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel, contributing decisively to the development of a new conception of the artwork: no longer a static object, but a perceptual phenomenon.
At the core of his poetics lies the transcendence of traditional painting through the dissolution of form within space and time. Soto systematically investigated the mechanisms of vision, challenging the stability of the image through serial structures, linear textures, and overlays that generate optical vibrations. Renowned in this regard are his "Penetrables"—immersive environments where the viewer is invited to physically enter the work, becoming an integral part of it. This radical concept transforms the aesthetic experience into a total sensory event.
The present work translates these principles with extreme consistency. The surface is animated by a background of dense, regular black and white vertical lines, constructing an unstable and pulsating visual field. Arranged upon this grid are polychrome square modules—orange, yellow, magenta, black, and white—organized according to a calibrated yet dynamic balance. The forms appear to emerge and recede simultaneously, producing an effect of suspension that defies perception and suggests a further spatial dimension.
The dialogue between structure and discontinuity constitutes a key element of the composition: the almost musical regularity of the background is interrupted by chromatic blocks that introduce rhythmic accents and visual variations. In this way, Soto activates a continuous perceptual process, in which the image is never definitively fixed but is instead constructed through interaction with the viewer’s gaze.
Ultimately, this painting represents an exemplary synthesis of his research: a work where formal reduction is accompanied by extraordinary phenomenological complexity, confirming the artist's ability to transform minimal elements—line, color, repetition—into an intensely dynamic and engaging visual experience.
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(Cuidad Bolivar 1923 – 2005 Paris)
Untitled, c. 1983, signed on the reverse, acrylic on wooden elements mounted on panel 88 x 88 x 16 cm , in artist’s frame
This work is registered in the Archives of the Comité Soto, Paris and is accompanied by a photo certificate of authenticity
Provenance:
Renato Cardazzo Collection, Milan
Galleria del Naviglio, Milan (label and stamp on the reverse and photo certificate signed by Renato Cardazzo available)
Galleria d’Arte Bergamo (label on the reverse)
Private Collection, Italy
European Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Exhibited:
Milan, Studio Gariboldi, Jesús Rafael Soto, April-May 2012
The work presented here belongs to a phase of full maturity in the research of Jesús Rafael Soto, an undisputed protagonist of Kinetic Art and one of the leading interpreters of international abstraction in the post-war period. Following his move to Paris in the early 1950s, the artist engaged in a dialogue with Optical Art and the experiments of the Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel, contributing decisively to the development of a new conception of the artwork: no longer a static object, but a perceptual phenomenon.
At the core of his poetics lies the transcendence of traditional painting through the dissolution of form within space and time. Soto systematically investigated the mechanisms of vision, challenging the stability of the image through serial structures, linear textures, and overlays that generate optical vibrations. Renowned in this regard are his "Penetrables"—immersive environments where the viewer is invited to physically enter the work, becoming an integral part of it. This radical concept transforms the aesthetic experience into a total sensory event.
The present work translates these principles with extreme consistency. The surface is animated by a background of dense, regular black and white vertical lines, constructing an unstable and pulsating visual field. Arranged upon this grid are polychrome square modules—orange, yellow, magenta, black, and white—organized according to a calibrated yet dynamic balance. The forms appear to emerge and recede simultaneously, producing an effect of suspension that defies perception and suggests a further spatial dimension.
The dialogue between structure and discontinuity constitutes a key element of the composition: the almost musical regularity of the background is interrupted by chromatic blocks that introduce rhythmic accents and visual variations. In this way, Soto activates a continuous perceptual process, in which the image is never definitively fixed but is instead constructed through interaction with the viewer’s gaze.
Ultimately, this painting represents an exemplary synthesis of his research: a work where formal reduction is accompanied by extraordinary phenomenological complexity, confirming the artist's ability to transform minimal elements—line, color, repetition—into an intensely dynamic and engaging visual experience.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
