LOT ISA Auctionata Auktionen AG  /  Photography, Prints & Modern Art  / 

30

Rudolf Petrik, Gouache ‘Composition of Rectangles‘, c. 1955

Currency:EUR Category:Collectibles Start Price:500.00 EUR Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 EUR
Rudolf Petrik, Gouache ‘Composition of Rectangles‘, c. 1955
This gouache, painted with matt, vibrant colors by the Viennese Secessionist artist Rudolf Petrik, dates back to the time around 1955, when the artist was mainly focused on abstract painting. In this time, he produced numerous works in different techniques, such as oil and gouache, with which he intended to overcome the figurative character of his art. The present work shows an abstract-geometric composition of monochrome, apparently overlapping rectangles in gray, yellow, blue, red and beige, representing the artist’s fine sense for color harmonies.



The gouache is in a good overall condition with small traces of age and use. The margins show tiny pin holes. The work is signed with pencil ‘Petrik‘ on the back side. Besides, the verso also shows the estate stamp. The gouache measures 40 cm in height and 49.5 cm in width. (cbo)



Rudolf Petrik (1922-1991)

Rudolf Petrik was born in 1922 in Vienna where he studied at the academy of arts under Robin Christian Andersen and Josef Dubrowsky. The influence of his teachers can be detected in this early body of work, in which he painted in a naturalistic manner. As off 1952 his work shifted to a more geometric use of form, mostly rendered in oil or gouache. In 1953, Petrik became a member of the renowned Vienna Secession. In the following years he took part in numerous group exhibitions alongside some of the most famous Austrian artists of the time such as Wolfgang Hollegha, Fritz Wotruba, Arnulf Rainer, Josef Mikl, Maria Lassnig and Markus Prachensky. He was one of the artists that shaped the avant-garde art movement in Austria. They wanted to free their work from all representation and put their work in context with current international art movements that were coming in. A platform for these artists to meet and mingle was Monsignore Otto Mauer’s gallery “Nächst St. Stephan” in Vienna’s Grünangergasse.



As off the mid-1960s Petrik was occupied with finding a way to visually transform writings into his picture planes. He incorporated quotes, as well as notes from his diaries into his art works and called these ‘Schriftbilder’ (‘Writing Pictures’). He created this body of work as means to counteract the loss of literature.



Next to his profession as an artist, Petrik was also known for his writings as an author. He was involved with the contemporary literary scene surrounding Ernst Jandl, Friederike Mayröcker and Ilse Aichinger. The art historian Otto Breicha described Petrik’s work in a couple of text passages and paid his respect to the entire body of work. Today his work can be found in the Austrian Gallery Belvedere in Vienna, in the Neue Gallery in Linz, as well as numerous private collections, as for example the Collection Leopold.
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