Koller View 4/21

3 Preview of the Impressionist and Modern Art auction on 3 December 2021 The German artist Walter Dexel was in contact with the artists of the Weimar Bauhaus, such as Làszl ò Moholy-Nagy, as well as the De Stijl group, founded by Theo van Doesburg. These radical currents had a decisive influence on his painterly work. Beginning in 1922 Dexel developed a pictorial language influ- enced by Constructivism, which followed strict mathematical-rational rules. ‘Composition 26’ (ill. 1), with its clear geometry, is a fine example from this period. Most of Dexel’s paintings on the market date from the 1960s, when he revisited his early work; examples from the 1920s are extremely rare. He made several smaller collages, studies and reverse paintings on glass in 1926, but only two oil paintings are known: ‘Composition 26’ offered here on 3 December, and ‘Figuration 26A’. Compositionally, the two works are almost identical and were apparently designed as coun- terparts. ‘Figuration 26A’ has been in the collection of theMuseumof Modern Art in New York since 1984. An early work by Ossip Zadkine, ‘L‘Oiseau’, 1929, is also featured in the December auc- tion (ill. 2). Immediately after casting the original bronze, he exhibited it to the Parisian art public at the Salon d'automne. The formal interplay between naturalistic rep- resentation and abstraction is revelatory of Zadkine’s interest in object design and interior architecture, which dates from the 1920s. He knew some of the important designers and architects of the time who also acquired his works, such asMarc Du Plantier. Only two examples of this sculpture are known, and this is the first ever offered for sale. Early Abstractions FOR FURTHER INFORMATION IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART Jara Koller jara.koller@kollerauctions.com ONLINE CATALOGUES www.kollerauctions.com 1 2 1 W alter Dexel (1890–1973). Komposition 26. 1926. Oil on canvas. 66.2 × 58 cm. Estimate: CHF 80 000/120 000 2 O ssip Zadkine (1890–1967). Oiseau. 1929. Bronze with green and gold patina, partially polished. H 80 cm. Estimate: CHF 160 000/220 000 © 2021, ProLitteris, Zurich