Jesus Raphael Soto Lot n° 93

Jesus Raphael Soto Maquette Esfera Theospacio 1989/2008 Metal rods, colored, on plastic suspension in front of Plexiglas 53 × 34 × 40 cm. On the back of the plexiglass with monogram stamp and numbering. Copy 25/75 (+VII A.P.). Avila Edition, Paris (2008). - With minor signs of age. Provenance Galerie Denise René, Paris (2011); Private collection, Belgium. In 1989, the Madrid gallery Theospacio organized a solo exhibition for Jesús Rafael Soto. On the occasion of this show, the artist creates the installation "Esfera Theospacio" with a height of 3.3 meters and a sphere diameter of 2.5 meters. The design model of this impressive work will later be published as a multiple, one copy of which can be offered in this auction. Even in the much smaller scale, the object unfolds its fascinating effect. Alone from the precise arrangement and painting of the hanging aluminum rods, the sphere forms as a three-dimensional object in the eye of the beholder. It seems to float halfway up the suspension, while at the same time the vertical orientation of the rods evokes the impression of a rapid fall. Space and the human possibilities of perceiving its dimensions are of particular concern to the artist. "For me, space is essentially ambiguous. We can only grasp states of spatial ambiguity, which precludes the traditional three-dimensional notion. The fullness and elasticity of its texture, its modulable state in constant transformation, make it intangible." (Jesús Rafael Soto, quoted in: Soto, ext.cat. Theospacio, Madrid 1990, o.p., translated from Spanish). Since the late 1980s, the sphere has been an important motif in many of the artist's works, one example being the monumental "Large Sphere of Seoul," created on the occasion of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.