After 40 years, the Marberger collection appears at Rago / Wright March 13

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LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. — Aladar Marberger (1947-1988) served as the director of the influential Fischbach Gallery and was a central figure in New York’s 1970s and 1980s art scene. When Marberger was diagnosed with AIDS in 1985, he dedicated himself to publicly fighting the prevalent stigma against the disease and reveling in life and art until his passing in 1988.

His collection — featuring many works by his close friends — went untouched for more than three decades and has only now emerged as the central feature of Living Out Loud: The A. Aladar Marberger Collection, happening Wednesday, March 13 at Rago / Wright. The sale includes works by Elaine de Kooning, Alex Katz, Doug Ohlson, and Raymond Parker. The catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

Marberger evidently served as muse to a number of his artistic friends. Aladar on Aluminum is a 1972 oil on aluminum by Alex Katz (b. 1927-). Katz presaged the Pop Art movement of the 1960s with his use of bold colors among his many portraits. The work is estimated at $50,000-$70,000.

Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989) was a close friend of Marberger, and the sale includes two figurative expressionist works depicting him. Aladar #3 ($40,000-$60,000) is a 1986 oil on canvas measuring 62 by 42in, with the subject sitting cross-legged with a stern countenance. Aladar dates much earlier, to 1973. The oil on Masonite is 36 by 30.25in and carries an estimate of $25,000-$35,000.

The sale’s top-estimated lot is an untitled tied-wire sculpture by Ruth Asawa (1926-2013). Known for her ability to make wire into natural Modernist forms, Asawa gave the sculpture to her friend Maria ‘Mitzi’ Kolisch, a San Francisco-based artist, activist, and scientist. Upon her passing, it was bequeathed to her son, who hung it outside his home in Santa Barbara. The consigners purchased the work from his estate and had it professionally conserved. It is notable that this work is not registered with Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. and is not included in the artist’s catalog raisonné. It has an estimate of $80,000-$120,000.

A 1972 work by Alexander Calder (1898-1976), titled White Path, is a gouache and ink on paper and is registered in the archives of the Calder Foundation under application number A07250. It has direct provenance to the artist, and is estimated at $70,000-$90,000.
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Alex Katz, ‘Aladar on Aluminum,’ estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Rago / Wright.
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Elaine de Kooning, ‘Aladar #3,’ estimated at $40,000-$60,000 at Rago / Wright.
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Elaine de Kooning, ‘Aladar,’ estimated at $25,000-$35,000 at Rago / Wright.
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Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled (Tied-Wire)’, estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Rago / Wright.
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Alexander Calder, ‘White Path,’ estimated at $70,000-$90,000 at Rago / Wright.
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Whitney explores Ruth Asawa’s creative process through her drawings

Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled (BMC.93, In and Out),’ circa 1948–49. Oil and graphite on paper, 16 1/2 by 13in. (41.9 by 33cm). Private collection. Artwork © 2023 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy David Zwirner
Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled (BMC.93, In and Out),’ circa 1948–49. Oil and graphite on paper, 16 1/2 by 13in. (41.9 by 33cm). Private collection. Artwork © 2023 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy David Zwirner
Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled (BMC.93, In and Out),’ circa 1948–49. Oil and graphite on paper, 16 1/2 by 13in. (41.9 by 33cm). Private collection. Artwork © 2023 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy David Zwirner

NEW YORK — Ruth Asawa Through Line, opening at the Whitney Museum of American Art on September 16 and closing in January 2024, spotlights the work of groundbreaking artist Ruth Asawa (1926-2013). Known broadly for her rhythmic looped-wire sculptures, Asawa dedicated herself to daily drawing exercises, which served as the connective tissue ― or through line ― of her creative process and fueled her commitment to art. Through drawing, Asawa explored her surroundings and turned everyday encounters into moments of profound beauty, endowing ordinary objects with new aesthetic possibilities.

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Sculpture Ruth Asawa bartered for kids’ piano lessons at Fine Estate, Inc., May 21

Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled S.391,’ estimated at $200,000-$300,000. Image courtesy of Fine Estate, Inc. and LiveAuctioneers
Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled S.391,’ estimated at $200,000-$300,000. Image courtesy of Fine Estate, Inc. and LiveAuctioneers

Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled S.391,’ estimated at $200,000-$300,000. Image courtesy of Fine Estate, Inc. and LiveAuctioneers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – In its Sunday, May 21 auction, Fine Estate, Inc. will offer something very special indeed: a wire sculpture by the late Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa. Known as Untitled S.391, it is estimated at $200,000-$300,000. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center presents The Faces of Ruth Asawa

Ruth Asawa with life masks on the exterior wall of her house. Photography by Terry Schmitt. Artwork: ‘Untitled (LC.012, Wall of Masks),’ circa 1966–2000. Ceramic, bisque-fired clay. © 2022 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy David Zwirner
Ruth Asawa with life masks on the exterior wall of her house. Photography by Terry Schmitt. Artwork: ‘Untitled (LC.012, Wall of Masks),’ circa 1966–2000. Ceramic, bisque-fired clay. © 2022 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy David Zwirner
Ruth Asawa with life masks on the exterior wall of her house. Photography by Terry Schmitt. Artwork: ‘Untitled (LC.012, Wall of Masks),’ circa 1966–2000. Ceramic, bisque-fired clay. © 2022 Ruth Asawa Lanier, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy David Zwirner

STANFORD, Calif. – The Cantor Arts Center, located on the Stanford University campus, recently opened a long-term exhibition of a lesser-known aspect of Ruth Asawa’s (American, 1926-2013) art. Dubbed The Faces of Ruth Asawa, the show focuses on clay face masks she made of family and friends and displayed outside her home.

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SFO Museum devotes show to California women artists

Left, Coupe salad plate, circa 1950s, designed by Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Right, Vase, circa 1950, Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Images courtesy of SFO Museum

 

Left, Coupe salad plate, circa 1950s, designed by Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Right, Vase, circa 1950, Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Images courtesy of SFO Museum
Left, Coupe salad plate, circa 1950s, designed by Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Right, Vase, circa 1950, Edith Heath. Ceramic, glaze. Courtesy of the Modern i Shop. Images courtesy of SFO Museum

SAN FRANCISCO – The SFO Museum is currently showing California Modernist Women: Groundbreaking Creativity, an exhibition of pieces by 20th-century women artists who lived and worked in the state. The show continues through April 30, 2023.

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SFMoMA explores affinity of works by Paul Klee and Ruth Asawa

Left, Paul Klee, ‘Fast getroffen (Nearly Hit),’ 1928; Collection SFMOMA, Albert M. Bender Collection, Albert M. Bender Bequest Fund purchase; photo: Mary Ellen Hawkins. Right, Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled (S.530, Hanging, Two-Lobed, Continuous Form),’ ca. 1952-1954; Collection SFMOMA, Gift of Robert B. Howard; © 2021 Estate of Ruth Asawa / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo: Katherine Du Tiel
Left, Paul Klee, ‘Fast getroffen (Nearly Hit),’ 1928; Collection SFMOMA, Albert M. Bender Collection, Albert M. Bender Bequest Fund purchase; photo: Mary Ellen Hawkins. Right, Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled (S.530, Hanging, Two-Lobed, Continuous Form),’ ca. 1952-1954; Collection SFMOMA, Gift of Robert B. Howard; © 2021 Estate of Ruth Asawa / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo: Katherine Du Tiel
Left, Paul Klee, ‘Fast getroffen (Nearly Hit),’ 1928; Collection SFMOMA, Albert M. Bender Collection, Albert M. Bender Bequest Fund purchase; photo: Mary Ellen Hawkins. Right, Ruth Asawa, ‘Untitled (S.530, Hanging, Two-Lobed, Continuous Form),’ ca. 1952-1954; Collection SFMOMA, Gift of Robert B. Howard; © 2021 Estate of Ruth Asawa / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photo: Katherine Du Tiel

SAN FRANCISCO – On July 10, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) opened Lineage: Paul Klee and Ruth Asawa, an exhibition that explores and contextualizes the contributions of both artists. The show will run until December 5.

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