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Lot Essay
“I actually think that reality is far more provocative than my art … I just take it; I’m always borrowing pieces—crumbs really—of everyday reality. If you think my work is provocative, it means that reality is extremely provocative, and we just don’t react to it.” Maurizio Cattelan
The emotive figure that is the subject of Maurizio Cattelan’s Untitled makes this work one of his most provocative. Infused with a conceptual depth that is typical of his best work, the artist’s composition offers up multiple readings. Suspended with her arms outstretched, the figure is reminiscent of a crucifixion, a staple of art history, yet dressed in a nightshirt and restrained by her hands and feet. One of the Cattelan’s most celebrated sculptures, the present work was exhibited at the Menil Collection in 2010, while others from the edition have been exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2011–2012; Kunsthaus Zurich 2012; and Warsaw, Center for Contemporary Art, 2012–2013.
The origins of the present work can be found in a photograph by the artist Francesca Woodman. In Untitled, Rome, Italy (1977-78), the artist pictures herself dressed in a similar loose-fitting nightshirt and hanging by her hands from a doorway. Cattelan was struck by the incongruous nature of the image and proceeded to produce a three-dimensional sculpture based on the image. The Italian artist’s work was first exhibited as a free-hanging sculpture at the Kunsthaus Bregenz, however it underwent a radical transformation when the artist saw it lying face down in its packing case. Pinned down by the hands and feet with wooden restraints, the figure was ostentatiously protected from harm, yet also appeared to be tortuously imprisoned or even crucified. Cattelan, as ever open to playful innovation, decided to leave the work in this constrained, surreal state. The sculpture was first shown this more powerful form affixed to the side of a synagogue in Pulheim-Stommeln, Germany. In this sense, Cattelan presented her both as a packaged object and transfigured as a martyr.
“What interests me is some images’ inner power to stick in your mind permanently,” Cattelan has said. “This impact is inextricably linked to influence—the more impact you can create, the more influence you have. I’m fascinated by the ability to make things go viral: it feels like the closest we could get to having a human superpower” (M. Cattelan, quoted in T. Wychonawok, “We met Maurizio Cattelan,” Numéro 05, December 2016). From his suspended horses (Novecento, 1997) and inverted police officers (Frank and Jamie, 2002) to La Nona Ora (1999), a sculpture of a meteor-struck Pope John Paul II, which was exhibited alongside the present work in Milan’s Palazzo Reale in 2010, his works have become immediately recognizable.
Yet, Cattelan has long refused the title of artist provocateur. Claiming only to hold up a mirror to society, he has said “I actually think that reality is far more provocative than my art. I just take it; I’m always borrowing pieces—crumbs really—of everyday reality. If you think my work is provocative, it means that reality is extremely provocative, and we just don’t react to it. Maybe we no longer pay attention to the way we live in the world….We are anesthetized” (M. Cattelan, quoted in N. Spector, Maurizio Cattelan: All, exh. cat., Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2012, p. 43).
The emotive figure that is the subject of Maurizio Cattelan’s Untitled makes this work one of his most provocative. Infused with a conceptual depth that is typical of his best work, the artist’s composition offers up multiple readings. Suspended with her arms outstretched, the figure is reminiscent of a crucifixion, a staple of art history, yet dressed in a nightshirt and restrained by her hands and feet. One of the Cattelan’s most celebrated sculptures, the present work was exhibited at the Menil Collection in 2010, while others from the edition have been exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2011–2012; Kunsthaus Zurich 2012; and Warsaw, Center for Contemporary Art, 2012–2013.
The origins of the present work can be found in a photograph by the artist Francesca Woodman. In Untitled, Rome, Italy (1977-78), the artist pictures herself dressed in a similar loose-fitting nightshirt and hanging by her hands from a doorway. Cattelan was struck by the incongruous nature of the image and proceeded to produce a three-dimensional sculpture based on the image. The Italian artist’s work was first exhibited as a free-hanging sculpture at the Kunsthaus Bregenz, however it underwent a radical transformation when the artist saw it lying face down in its packing case. Pinned down by the hands and feet with wooden restraints, the figure was ostentatiously protected from harm, yet also appeared to be tortuously imprisoned or even crucified. Cattelan, as ever open to playful innovation, decided to leave the work in this constrained, surreal state. The sculpture was first shown this more powerful form affixed to the side of a synagogue in Pulheim-Stommeln, Germany. In this sense, Cattelan presented her both as a packaged object and transfigured as a martyr.
“What interests me is some images’ inner power to stick in your mind permanently,” Cattelan has said. “This impact is inextricably linked to influence—the more impact you can create, the more influence you have. I’m fascinated by the ability to make things go viral: it feels like the closest we could get to having a human superpower” (M. Cattelan, quoted in T. Wychonawok, “We met Maurizio Cattelan,” Numéro 05, December 2016). From his suspended horses (Novecento, 1997) and inverted police officers (Frank and Jamie, 2002) to La Nona Ora (1999), a sculpture of a meteor-struck Pope John Paul II, which was exhibited alongside the present work in Milan’s Palazzo Reale in 2010, his works have become immediately recognizable.
Yet, Cattelan has long refused the title of artist provocateur. Claiming only to hold up a mirror to society, he has said “I actually think that reality is far more provocative than my art. I just take it; I’m always borrowing pieces—crumbs really—of everyday reality. If you think my work is provocative, it means that reality is extremely provocative, and we just don’t react to it. Maybe we no longer pay attention to the way we live in the world….We are anesthetized” (M. Cattelan, quoted in N. Spector, Maurizio Cattelan: All, exh. cat., Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2012, p. 43).