Lot 78A
Rufino Tamayo (Mexican, 1899-1991), "Personaje en Gris" (Personage in gray), etching in colors, 1980. A Rufino Tamayo limited edition etching in colors entitled "Personaje en Gris" (Personage in Gray) on Guarro paper, from a signed and numbered edition of 99, signed "Rufino Tamayo" in crayon on lower right, numbered "74/99" in crayon on lower left, framed in a wooden frame with floating linen mat under glass. The etching is from the series Rufino Tamayo 15 aguafuertes 1980 published at Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona. [Record of printing: bon à tirer, 99 copies numbered 1/99 to 99/99, 15 artist prints I/XV to XV/XV, 15 HC 1/15 to 15/15 and five unnumbered. Signed and numbered in crayon.] Size: 35.25" L x 27.5" W (89.5 cm x 69.8 cm) unframed; 38.5" L x 30.75" W (97.8 cm x 78.1 cm) with frame and matte
Rufino Tamayo was an innovator known for his graphic work in several media including etchings, woodcuts, lithographs, aquatints, and mixografia prints. Tamayo emerged as an artist in the early 20th century when a nationalist movement known as "indigenismo" was very popular among Mexican modernists who were inspired by the indigenous cultures of their heritage. The subject of this piece is an abstract figure who metaphorically represents the native peoples/cultures of Mexico. In addition to being a prolific visual artist, Tamayo was a pure Zapotec Indian who subscribed to the philosophy of indigenismo and also became head of the department of ethnographic drawing at the National Museum of Archaeology in Mexico City in 1926. He studied at the Academy of San Carlos from 1917 to 1922 and moved to New York City in 1937 where he showed at Knoedler and Marlborough Galleries. Tamayo was also embraced by the international community at the 1950 Venice Biennale where he exhibited his paintings. He then lived in Paris for ten years before returning to his native Mexico where he erected a museum in his home town of Oaxaca. Rufino Tamayo's work as a painter, muralist, and printmaker represents the oeuvre of a true exemplar of the rich Mexican fine art tradition. His work has been displayed all over the globe in reputable museums including The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C., and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid. This piece is a wonderful example from his remarkable body of work.
Tamayo was also a pioneer of a process known as Mixografia - a technique that is a very unique fine art printing process which allows for three-dimensional, sculptural texture, akin to bas-relief or fresco. When printer Luis Remba asked Tamayo to create a series of lithographs in the early 1970s, Tamayo who had been creating graphic art since 1925 expressed interest in discovering a new medium that would imbue dynamic textures and more volume into his original prints. This collaboration resulted in a new genre that expanded the possibilities - both technically and aesthetically - called Mixografia. Tamayo would make approximately 80 original mixographs during his lifetime. This process also required the invention of a more resilient handmade paper in order to withstand the pressure and tension involved in the Mixografia three-dimensional printing technique. The heaviness and thick consistency of this paper actually further enhanced the sculptural depth of each Mixografia print. According to expert Denis Bloch, "Most of the compositions in Rufino Tamayo's original graphics are extremely simple yet highly inventive in their technicality. Tamayo was known for taking an elementary drawing and filling it with structural elements, textures and colors obtaining striking etchings, lithographs and mixographs created with eloquent and economical expression." (http://denisbloch.blogspot.com/2011/02/rufino-tamayo-mixografia-prints.html, cited 6/8/2016). Indeed this example, displays these qualities.
The Prints of Rufino Tamayo: Catalogue Raisonne, 1925-1991 (Artes Visuales Turner) by Ramiro Martinez, Juan Carlos Pereda, Raquel Tibol (June 2, 2004). The entry is #271 on page 219. The English translation is as follows: "Personaje en gris (Personage in gray) Etching; Printed area: 76 x 56 cm; Size of paper: 76 x 56 cm; From the series Rufino Tamayo 15 aguafuertes 1980 published and printed at Ediciones Poligrafa, Barelona, on Guarro paper. Record of printing: bon à tirer, 99 copies numbered 1/99 to 99/99, 15 artist prints I/XV to XV/XV, 15 HC 1/15 to 15/15 and five unnumbered. Signed and numbered in crayon."
Provenance: private Longmont, Colorado USA collection, acquired at a gallery in Mexico
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#115520
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