Lot 739 D

39 basaltic stones, diameter 98 cm.

With accompanying signed certificate from the artist, dated 1999.

Provenance: Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf; Private Collection, Germany

Richard Long in an interview with Jean-Hubert Martin on the meaning of his Stone Circle as a means of communication:
JHM: “Your art is more or less a personal language. Are you perhaps trying to establish a connection with other cultures with your simple shapes, such as this circle? Is there such a thing as universality for you? And if so, how would you define it within our material culture?
RL: “Yes, of course, this is precisely one of the reasons why I used this circle. It belongs to no one and yet to everyone. It is a Platonic truth or shape, charged with many meanings from different times and cultures. This is the power of the circle. My 'personal language' consists of universal shapes which I use in my own original way, hoping that this is no contradiction. I believe that, at a certain level, my work is simple and open, so that it can be appreciated everywhere and by everyone. I like the idea that I can leave behind a universal sign which is merely the sign of one person, yet not necessarily the characteristic or personal sign of an individual.” (Ein Pfad ist ein gemeinsamer Weg, Ein Fax-Interview zwischen Jean-Hubert Martin und Richard Long über Menschen in der Landschaft, in: Hervé Perdriolle (ed.), Dialog, Richard Long, Jivya S. Mashe, Düsseldorf 2003, p.18)