Untitled, 2005. acrylic and PVC foil on canvas, in Plexiglas box 92 1/8 x 78 1/8 x 8 1/4 in. (234 x 198.4 x 21 cm)

PROVENANCE Gavin Brown's enterprise, New York
EXHIBITED Los Angeles, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Painting in Tongues, January, 29 – April 17, 2006
LITERATURE M. Darling, Painting in Tongues, Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, 2006, no. 7 (illustrated on the back cover)
Reveling in notions of kitsch and cliché, Anselm Reyle has established his multi-media practice around the investigation of superficial glamour and the “danger of being decorative.” (C. Mooney, “The New King of Kitsch?”, ArtReview, December 1, 2011 p.62). Working in the traditions of assemblage, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, Reyle maintains that he would like to add something to these aspects of art history. This would explain the relevance of detritus and 1980s punk rock aesthetics as sources of inspiration; evoked through the use of everyday materials, the application of vibrant hues, and the critical position of “reacting” to his works during the final process of creation rather than contemplating them. To this end, the concept of gesture is central to Reyle’s practice and exemplified in the present lot, Untitled, 2005. However, Reyle’s gesture, gathering foil into a crumpled relief, deliberately undermines the reified hand of the painter. While the notion of disorder conveys a sense of effortlessness or a counter-effort, the creative process behind Reyle’s foil works suggests a form of participation within commodity culture. Here, materials are plucked from the everyday just as easily as they are discarded. In this way, the accessibility of objects and the precariousness of rejection are simultaneously observed in high and low culture contexts. Ultimately, this process is best described by the artist: “I saw this kind of foil displayed in a store as decoration. I had the idea to connect it with painting. When I make [artwork] I create quite a lot at once to select from. Those that look too complicated, I throw away. They have to look easy.” (C. Mooney, “The New King of Kitsch?”, ArtReview, December 1, 2011 p.66).