Graphite on paper
11 3/4 x 16 1/2 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Maureen Paley, London
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Estimate: $8,000 - $9,000 Starting Bid: $4,100 Bid Increments: $500 |
 Advance Bid |
Politics and culture are odd bedfellows, but their convergence at several crucial junctures in human evolution has provided many writers and artists with an overflowing source of inspiration. “Untitled” falls within a recent body of work by Kaye Donachie which focuses in on the story of Monte Verita, an early 20th century commune of artists, nudists, bohemians and vegetarians. Monte Verita’s philosophical insistence on a return to nature was a counter point to the rapid industrialization of Europe at that time. The spirit of that time is relived in Donachie’s paintings and drawings. While the butterfly and flower in “Untitled” may not be an obvious symbol of utopian hopes, the act of drawing them might be. Donachie’s looking back to the climate of previous cultures is in itself a refusal to participate in the progress-oriented strivings of technology today. “Untitled” reminds us of another hotbed period of political and cultural intersection, the 60s’, when the fruits of counterculture looked so good that the manifested message couldn’t help but be accepted.
Donachie was born in 1970 in Glasgow and currently lives and works in London. She has received a BA from University of Central England, Birmingham (1992), Hochschule der Kunste, Berlin (1996) and a MA from the Royal College of Art, London (1997). She has held solo exhibitions at John Connelly Presents, New York (2006); Maureen Paley, London (2005, 04 & 1998); Peres Projects, Los Angeles (2005); Artists Space, New York (2004) and Malvern Arts Centre, Worcester (1992). She has received group exhibitions at Yvon Lambert, New York (2007); Tate St Ives (2007); Musee d’Art Contemporain, Bordeaux (2007); Thomas Dane, London (2007); Lelong, New York (2006); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2005); and Prague Biennale (2003).
M.G.
