Austrian Art – Highlights

Auctions 303 & 304 | 14 & 15 July 2021 Austrian Art – Highlights Günter Brus, „Bestattung im Eigenblut“, 1981. Estimate: € 50,000/70,000

In 2016, we very successfully introduced Austrian Contemporary Art as a separate category in our sales. In the meantime, Karl & Faber has become a focal point for Austrian art in Germany. ﻿Please find here some highlights from our upcoming auction on 15 July at 6 pm.

Josef Floch, Woman in a red dress, 1927 Estimate: € 40,000/60,000 Click here to see the lot

This painting demonstrates Josef Floch’s particular interest in depicting isolated and introverted figures in a simple environment, often conceived as a shelter. ﻿It probably depicts Nelly Hammerschlag, whom Josef Floch portrayed several times. Josef Floch is one of the most renowned artists of the 20th century in Austria, whose work has been rediscovered in recent years. His paintings are to be found in many important collections around the world, including the Belvedere in Vienna.

Joannis Avramidis, Head with distant planes I, 1969/1970. Estimate: € 80,000/120,000 Click here to see the lot

In his search for the ultimate figure, Joannis Avramidis radically reduces organic forms according to self-imposed principles of construction. In this “Head” he assembles various surfaces into prismatic blocks that are reminiscent of archaic-looking primordial forms, timeless and austere: "I have the wish that my work should be as independent of time as possible. My ideal is that I could have made my work in another time, such as the early Renaissance or the ancient archaic period."

Herbert Gurschner, Princess Adalberta of Bavaria (Maria del Pilar of Bavaria), 1932. Estimate: € 30,000/40,000 Click here to see the lot

The composition of this female portrait is reminiscent of Renaissance portraits such as "Mona Lisa". Depicted with elongated proportions sitting in a window alcove, Princess Pilar of Bavaria is one of the most famous portraits of the artist. The portrayed, looking thoughtful, is wearing a simple, bright blue dress and is sitting directly opposite the viewer. The artist repeats the blue of the landscape in the colour of the princess' eyes and directs the viewer's gaze to the two turquoise rings on her graceful hands.

Click here to see the lot Günter Brus, „Bestattung im Eigenblut“, 1981. Estimate: € 50,000/70,000

Violence and passion, dissolution of limits and nightmare, standstill and hysterical body choreography: in his pictorial poems they merge into a great wholeness. In doing so, Brus often enters into an inner dialogue with artists from other decades or centuries. William Blake, Alfred Kubin, and Francisco de Goya are names to be mentioned in this context.

Renate Bertlmann, Tranquilizer, 2019. Estimate: € 14,000/18,000 Click here to see the lot

The pacifier – an object that, in a figurative sense, helps to sedate and tranquilize – appears from 1975 in Bertlmann’s work. This giant “Tranquilizer“ made of Murano glass refers to the installation "Rosemarie's Baby" from 1983 and was created on the occasion of the Biennale di Venezia 2019, the year in which Bertlmann displayed her knife roses in the Austrian pavilion.