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PostWar & Contemporary
3444
ANTHONY CARO(NewMalden/London 1924 - 2013 Lon-
don)
Table Piece CCLXXXIX (Reno). 1975/76.
Rusted steel, lacquered.
64.8 x 172.1 x 22.9 cm.
Provenance:
- Acquired fromGalerie André Emmerich,
Zurich/New York, by the present owner
in 1978.
- Since then private collection Switzerland.
Literature: Blume, Dieter: Anthony Caro.
Catalogue raisonée, vol. I. Table and
related sculptures 1966 - 1978, Cologne
1981, no. 296 (with ill.).
Exhibition: 1978 Zurich, Anthony Caro.
Galerie André Emmerich, 31 March -
13 May 1978.
In the 1960s, Anthony Caro turned to
Abstract Art and developed, amongst
other things, his Table Pieces, one of which
we are offering at auction here. They
represent a conscious decision in favour
of smaller sculpture; the development of
floor to table sculpture in which the table
becomes part of the work. The early Table
Pieces always have an element which ex-
tends over the table, so that they cannot
be placed on the floor. However, even the
works from the 1970s, such as this one,
only function at their scale when they are
placed on a table. The table, however, has
not been converted indirectly into a plinth,
but rather an important component of the
piece.
With his abstract sculptures, the artist
forms the space and, at the same time,
the void; he controls the dynamic and
statics of the work. The devising and
configuration of the form is the very core
and quintessence of sculpture – it is not
a metaphorical allusion or association.
„He obliges the viewer to actively engage,
because each object offers itself as a new
experience of perception“ (cit.: Skulptur.
Die Moderne 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, vol.
IV, Cologne 1986, p. 214).
The shift towards steel in the middle of
the first half of the 20th century, when up
to that point sculptures had been made
in stone, offered sculptors an unimagined
freedom in the creation of forms, since
they no longer had to submit to the struc-
tural features of the stone. By welding,
riveting, etc., they could shape the malle-
able material and assemble it according
to their own ideas. Thus the production
process became increasingly important.
In Caro’s works this is forcefully demonst-
rated: the individual elements, fromwhich
our Table Piece has been constructed, can
be clearly identified through, for example,
the welded seams, which means that each
individual piece is exactly in the place whe-
re Caro wanted it to be. The production
process becomes a more important com-
ponent of the sculpture and establishes its
uniqueness: „The accumulation of industri-
al parts, [...], allows a direct and spontane-
ous work process, not dissimilar to musical
improvisation. It is worth noting that the
sculptures are always formed directly from
the material, without preparatory sketches
or models.“ (cit.: Blume, Dieter: Anthony
Caro. Catalogue raisonnée, vol. II. Table
and related sculptures 1979-1980, Colog-
ne 1981, p. 5).
Caro himself commented on the produc-
tion process: „Often many months go by
before I see them again ... When I come
to take a look at them, the umbilical cord
which held me to them has been cut and
I feel free to make very radical changes ...
I believe that working in this fashion helps
to keep spontaneity and freshness in my
work.“ (ibid, p. 11)
CHF 40 000 / 60 000
(€ 37 040 / 55 560)