Probing,
1985
David Humphrey
Painting : oil
167.6 x 223.5 x 0.3 cm 66 x 88 x 0.1 inch
One of the last works available by this artist
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About the artwork
Type
Unique work
Signature
Hand-signed by artist
Authenticity
Sold with certificate of Authenticity from the artist
Invoice from the gallery
Dimensions cm • inch
167.6 x 223.5 x 0.3 cm 66 x 88 x 0.1 inch Height x Width x Depth
Support
Framing
Beige frame
Artwork dimensions including frame
177.8 x 233.7 x 5.1 cm 70 x 92 x 2 inch
Artwork sold in perfect condition, framed, ready to hang
Artwork location: United States
This surreal artwork features a dynamic composition, dominated by two large, irregular stone-like forms, suspended atop a dark, angular platform. The stones are deeply textured, with earthy tones juxtaposed against the smooth background of swirling blue and ochre. Emerging from the stones are two tree branches, creating a stark contrast between organic and inorganic elements. Floating around the central forms are two disembodied human-like faces, painted with a haunting realism that draws the viewer's eye. These faces, with serene expressions, challenge perceptions of space and gravity. A single, barren tree stands to the left, its branches reaching towards the swirling sky. The painting's unique interplay of elements evokes a sense of dreamlike intrigue, inviting contemplation of the boundaries between reality and imagination.
The acclaimed David Humphrey (born 1955) has been exhibiting his work internationally since the 1980s when he first burst upon the New York art scene. His compositions often feature human figures, animals and objects interwoven into abstract passages to create complex narratives that reckon with the dynamics of human relationships, gender, the environment and race, all while resisting any one interpretation.
"David Humphrey is an American painter, art critic, and sculptor associated with the postmodern turn in painting that began in the late 1970s. He is best known for his playful, cartoonish, puzzling paintings, which blend figuration and abstraction and create "allegories" about the medium of painting itself."
About the seller
The Art Design Project - Art Gallery • United States
Artsper seller since 2019
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Presentation
Though his paintings, works on paper, and sculptures defy categorization, David Humphrey emerged as an artist in the late 1970s along with Postmodernism, an approach that continues to inform his heterogeneous compositions, visual pastiches that, in his words, “erase the breaks" between divergent styles. As he explains: “I suppose that the dynamic of relationship—the psychology of bonding, lovemaking, attachment, and so on—has kept me interested for a long time. I come back to it as a way to thicken the grammar of picture making." In his paintings, this grammar includes gestural abstraction, cartoonish figuration, Pop Art, Surrealism, and Expressionism. His vibrant compositions feature human figures, narrative vignettes, animals, and objects interwoven into abstract passages. They read as sexually and psychologically charged dreamscapes, through which Humphrey breaks down boundaries to explore our relationships with each other and the world.
Painters
American artists
More works from The Art Design Project - Art Gallery
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