Lot Essay
The Untitled gouache from 1971 is a rarity in Palermo's oeuvre of predominately minimalist paintings. In contrast to the cool monochrome fields for which the German artist has gained international recognition, the present work is an expressive exercise in concealment. Like Arnulf Rainer's over-paintings, a gestural drawing has been literally wiped out by two broad fields of ultramarine blue. But Palermo takes his game of concealment one step further by supplying a monochrome canvas with blue edges which is meant to be hung over the delicate gouache, thus hiding it from view. Only 28 years old at the time of this fascinating work's conception, Palermo adds a new dimension to his already mature and complex oeuvre. This work was created at a time when the young artist was experimenting with a number of new forms, both in terms of composition as well as in the presentation of his art, which tested the limits of what a picture is and could become. The composition of the two fields of blue paint reflect the artist's preoccupation with broad stripes which characterise his work from the late 1960s into the mid 1970s.