Category Archives: multiples



JONATHAN MONK, Measurements, 2021 [NAK Edition – Postkarten]

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JONATHAN MONK, Measurements, 2021
14,8 x 10,5 cm
offset, felt pen ink, postcard with hand written text
signed, numbered
edition 20
published by NAK / Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen, Germany
inv.JMon 1110_1113

In 1969 Mel Bochner became renown for his “Measurement rooms” for which architectural features of a room were measured and marked out directly onto the walls. Jonathan Monk is known for reproducing art works taken from art history, i.e. (re)making the same work, but in a different way. For “Measurements” (2021) Monk has marked in green printed lines the height and width of a postcard depicting the view of a “Measurement Room”. On the backside of the card he wrote with the help of a ruler, as a straight line support: ‘Written with a ruler for …’ giving this work a hand made touch. KvG

ALISON KNOWLES, Bread and Water, 1992 [glove + tag]

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ALISON KNOWLES, Bread and Water, 1992
ca 20 x 14 x 2 cm
woolen glove, paint, ink stamped and PVC plasticised label, rope
machine types text
signed with initials, dated
inv.AKno 000-pr

This apparently used glove has an industrial paint coating. The text on the attached label reads: Scratch plastic surface of glove to the ear. When this is done the hardened paint makes indeed some kind of a rustling noise. Although it is known that Alison Knowles noticed that the cracks in homemade bread had a resemblance to rivers, it is unknown to what the noise of this woolen glove may possibly refer to.

This item is part of found objects in the series “Bread and Water” by Alson Knowles, collected in 1992 on the occasion of the “Da Capo” Fluxus event in Wiesbaden on behalf of the 30th Fluxus anniversary. All objects have a tag and were probably part of a Moon Circle event.

Additional information:
‘Alison Knowles is neither a composer nor a performer in any traditional terms, yet much of her work is obviously some sort of music. When pressed to categorize herself, she told me she conceives most of her works simply as events. Yet even this catch-all term does not include her sculpture and prints, or her books and poems. But while she works in many media or intermedia, everything she does comes out of the same basic impulses: a concern for communication between human beings, an appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of ordinary objects, a deep respect for John Cage, and a profound understanding of what “communicating” is really about.’ Tom Johnson in Musical America, 1975.

Interview with Alison Knowles: https://www.fluxusheidelberg.org/interviewwithalisonknowles_v1.3.pdf


None of these 4 items with tags are signed.

JONATHAN MEESE, ‘Stirnband ‘Bruzzzelee’, Shing Shang Scheu, 2009

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JONATHAN MEESE, ‘Stirnband ‘Bruzzzelee’, Shing Shang Scheu, 2009
27 x 14 x 20 cm
styrofoam, fabric, paint, acetate
edition 120 + 20 AP, here nr 64/120
signed, numbered
pristine condition
published by Texte zur Kunst, Berlin, Germany
€ 950,- plus € 32,- Track & Trace registered mail

 

History of prices:
Artists24, Düsseldorf, Germany € 800,- February 2024
eBay-galerie-m1, Edenkoben, Germany € 4.000,- 5 September 2021
eBay-sehfahrt, € 5.400 – € 7.560 8 August 2021
Grisebach, Berlin, Germany € 1.290,- March 2021
Galerie m2, Ebenkoben, Germany € 3.500,- August 2013
eBay, € 658,- April 2010

KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Ef/If, 1974

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KRISTJAN GUDMUNDSSON, Ef/If, 1974
21 x 21 cm
SC, 4 pp., hand bound; screen print on various kinds of paper, glued, linen spine
edition 200, here 1/200
signed, numbered
only 3-5 copies have been produced
published by Silver Press, Amsterdam / Reykjavík
condition: yellowed cover, with light bend in cover,
extremely rare
€ 4.000,- plus Track & Trace registered mail
inv.KG 1048-pr

In the seventies Kristján Gudmundsson lived with his family in a large appartement in the Daniel Stalpaertstraat in Amsterdam. He produced more than a few books and “Ef/If” was one of his hand made artist’s books published by Silver Press, founded and owned by himself in Reykjavík, Iceland.
The complete book is in screen print, also the printed text on tracing paper that introduces the concept of the book:
Ef staer∂ þessarar si∂u táknar ibúafjölda jar∂arinnar, þá tákna hringarnir ibúi Kina, Tanzaníu of Íslands.

If the size of this page represents the number of people in the world, then the circles represent the people of China, Tanzania and Iceland.

The works of Kristján Gudmundsson invite to contemplate on his method of working related to what his art encompasses. Usually texts on his works contain either personal memories or chronological summery. In fact, in many works he attempts time by time again to capture factual data into hand sized works, like here in this thin booklet that contains the amount of inhabitants of China, Tanzania and Iceland. In the middle of the last page a tiny bright white screen printed (sic) dot of 1 mm diameter may be detected, when exposed to strong daylight.
Right from the start the production of the book caused problems. In order to keep the costs low the text was prepared for the printer through adhesive letters, hence the dancing letters on the title page. The running direction of paper was not taken into account which caused waving binding. The very thin tracing paper of the first page stuck to the screen when printed. And the most problematic part of the book was the white circular dot of less than 1 millimeter on the last page; with a magnifying glass the print had to be checked every time, and more than quite often no dot at all could be detected; again a misprint or in fact no print. Not being well provided with enough production money Kristján Gudmundsson soon stopped the printing of the book.

A very fragile and extremely difficult book to find; in Kristján Gudmundsson’s catalogues and monographs this book is always overlooked. Therefore, by now it may be considered almost as a unique work of art. KvG

JOHN M ARMLEDER, Cercle et Carré, 1987 [light sculpture]

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JOHN M ARMLEDER, Cercle et Carré, 1987
ca 130 x 30 x 20 cm
handmade pedestal; wood, paint, lamp, perforated metal plate, electricity wire
signed, numbered on certificate with instructions
edition 18, here 12/18
published by Galerie Anselm Dreher, Berlin, Germany
condition: excellent, although painted pedestal with original patine has minor paint chips
€ 4.600,- plus transport costs
inv.JMA 1046-47

Sometimes an edition is loaded with information about the artist’s mindset while its appearance suggests the opposite, for a part due to its self-evidence. Such a piece is ‘Cercle et Carré’ with its geometrical forms, the aesthetics of simplicity, the functionality of formal design, the ambition of the avant-garde and humour; it is all there.
John Armleder is renowned for re-introducing abstract art in a dominating one-way art market in the early eighties of the previous century, for referring to predecessors in art history (hence the title ‘Cercle et Carré’) and for ‘making art that is comparable to making a B-film’ as he describes it. In this sense this edition is as banal as that. ‘Cercle et Carré’ has the look of a modernist Italian design, yet all three parts have been composed and put together by the artist, as if it is an installation. He put together lamp, pedestal and a piece of metal, then switched on the light. KvG

 
In the eighties John M Armleder told me that the work he makes is similar to making B-movies. Here one could conclude that ‘Circle et Carré’ looks very much like the work of a designer. Indeed the lamp on itself is a design, but his installation with metal grid on the wall is a remarkable ephemeral addition by the artist.

inv.JMA 1045
 

JOHN M ARMLEDER, Furniture Sculpture 267, 1991 [tubes]

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Furniture Sculpture 267, 1991
ca 278 x 104 x 110 cm
flexible aluminum tubes in handmade wooden box
edition 30, 3 versions
signed, numbered, dated on certificate
GALERIE VAN GELDER EDITIONS
1 tube   € 5.200,-  edition 10
2 tubes € 6.600,- edition 10
3 tubes € 12.800,- edition 10

When John Armleder made this multiple in 1991 he was quite intrigued by the transportability of this foldable and compact multiple. He considers this sculptural edition as an ultimate example of a multiple that is a true three dimensional work, and yet can very easily be carried around to any place on the world.