Christie's charge a buyer's premium of 20.825% of … Read more

From 1963 until his tragic dead in 1986, Viktor IV was one of the most remarkable Amsterdam residents. He is remembered not only for his art: sturdily painted panels of driftwood, but also for his unconventional lifestyle, his original, humorous and creative ideas. He had a great impact on people that came into contact with his world. Karl Gluck was born in 1929 in the USA. He changed his name to Viktor IV in 1964 when he decided to give up his career as a professional photographer. He wanted to become an artist. As a painter he thought he could express himself more directly. Viktor IV bought a ship in the river Amstel, near the 'Blauwe Brug', which he called the 'Kamurkura Buddha'. In the 1960's he painted the well-known panels of driftwood and old hatches. He found these old pieces of wood in the water, dried them and cleaned them superficially. Then the artist painted the panels in natural shades and after thickly varnishing the wood the colours tended to look older: as if they had always been there. The images function as personal symbols or events from daily life, often combined with text. He called these panels' 'icons' but not because they had a religious connotation in the classical sense; they must be interpreted as personal comments on everyday events. In these icons Viktor reacted spontaneously to thoughts that arose from his highly original mind. Very often the subject matter is closely connected with day to day life in Amsterdam (lot 116, 117 and 129). At an early stage in his career Viktor IV received recognition from W.H.J.B. Sandberg and Ad Peeters, director and curator at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (exhibitions in 1977, 1983 and 1988 (Museum Fodor)) In the late 1960's the production of the icons slowed down. In these years he started to work more often on paper. Text, images and collages were interwoven in a very intuitive and idiosyncratic language. He put these 'logbook papers' together in 44 books. Every page is stamped with a number and a date (starting from July 1969) (lot 119-124). Around 1975 Viktor IV decided to change his name into Bulgar Finn. He thought that his ancestors came from Bulgaria. Remarkably enough, this imaginary Bulgarian past was accompanied by a fascination with Runes, the Nordic alphabet. On small wooden panels he painted countless works in the colours red, blue, orange, black and white with hidden short words in runic script. Words such as: yes, the egg, gate and tak. Like wise, in this period he started to make simple measuring sticks and pieces of wood with a short textual messages (lot 109 and 110). His dislike of the figure 6 is notable and it can hardly ever be found in his work. Life as such was never taken for granted by Viktor alias Bulgar Finn. Around 1978 he became fascinated with the concept of time. He wanted to give time another, less important significance in men's lives. In order to achieve this he developed clocks that could remove or deny time. Viktor made these confusing clocks with the brand name Bulgar Time. He designed among others clocks with clock faces, which are turned 180 degrees or clocks with triple running speed or he just left out the 6 (lot 125). Several of these models were manufactured as prototypes in Switzerland. In 1986, shortly before his death he found a Danish distributor, who marketed the four most successful models in a limited edition. A big Bulgar Time Clock is hanging in the Town Hall of Amsterdam. For Viktor, life and art were completely merged. One of his most important and challenging projects was the boat ' Berendina Fennina'. Together with his partner, Ina Munck, whom he met in 1968 in Copenhagen, he created "The second Quality Construction Company". Around their boat they built an agglomeration of small boats and rafts constructed mostly from driftwood and secondhand materials. The total structure was filled with straw and became a real drifting garden that attracted much attention and became one of Amsterdam's most photographed spots. For Amsterdam, Viktor's life and art became a symbol of man's freedom to choose and realize a life according to his own creative ideas. (For more information on Viktor IV see: Ad Petersen, Ina Munck, Viktor IV, Amsterdam 1988.)

Viktor IV (1929-1986)

Sun

Details

Viktor IV (1929-1986)
Sun
a painted wooden object
26 x 17.5 cm.

Special notice

Christie's charge a buyer's premium of 20.825% of the hammer price for lots with values up to NLG 200,000. If the hammer price exceeds the NLG 200,000 then the premium is calculated at 20.825% of the first NLG 200,000 plus 11.9% of any amount in excess of NLG 200,000.

More from TWENTIETH CENTURY ART INCLUDING BELGIAN ART

View All