Small Splotch n.º 3

Comunicación con fines de promoción cultural de artistas incluidos en la Colección Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson protegidas por derechos de propiedad intelectual. Prohibida su reproducción, total o parcial, ni tratamiento por cualquier medio ni transmisión o cesión de cualquier forma, sin autorización del titular de los derechos sobre las obras.

TECHNICAL DATA

Author: Sol Lewitt (Hartford, Connecticut, 1928-Nueva York, 2018
Title: Small Splotch n.º 3
Year: 2001
Medium: resin, fibreglass and acrylic
Dimensions: 60,6 x 73 x 75,6 cm

In a shift away from the monochrome geometric structures for which Sol LeWitt is best known, in 1999 he started experimenting with new types of sculptures composed of wavy, eccentric contours in bright colours applied with the shiny acrylic paint he had been using in his Wall Drawings. This gave rise to a series of pieces known generically as Non-Geometric Forms, which evolved one year later into the Splotches, like the one shown here. Titled Small Splotch #3 and executed in 2001, it was purchased for the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Collection at Christie’s, London, on 3 October 2023 (Lot 53).

The starting point for the sculptures in the Splotch series was a footprint or bird’s eye view of the form hand-drawn by the artist. Based on this preliminary idea, LeWitt’s partner-fabricator, Yoshitsugu Nakama, used a computer program to create a three-dimensional image from which to build a structure out of industrial-grade foam. Smoothed and then covered with epoxy resin and fibreglass, the form was finished mechanically with brightly-coloured acrylic paint applied with a machine programmed to follow detailed instructions about the form and the distribution of the colour. Their shiny colours and dense curvilinear movement suggest a succession of mountain peaks or a dynamic geological formation, while their apparently free and random appearance marks a stark contrast with the controlled geometry of the previous structures.