Lot 631 D

Lawrence Alloway analyses Piene's fire pictures as follows: “The physical process by with the painting is formed as a structure makes references to events or objects beyond its evident traces. Forms emerge from the process of flow and from the unification of fire […] The sudden arrest of burning results in pools, tongues, and crests with a morphological resemblance to other suddenly frozen processes. These […] forms, relating to both flow dynamics and rock formation, continue the solar, floral and aerial iconography of his earlier paintings.” (quoted from Udo Kultermann, Feuer im Werk von Otto Piene, das Elementare und die neue Sensibilität, in: Stephan van Wiese, Susanne Rennert, Otto Piene, Retrospektive 1952-1996, exhib.cat. Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf 1996, p. 27).
The large format fire picture 'Retinal sun' offered here illustrates these observations and simultaneously shows how these artistic associations found their way into the titles of the artist's work. The central burnt circle creates an oscillating silvery blue 'iris' surrounding an 'eye' with a multi-layered 'retina'. The clouds of smoke which are created in the production process have manifested themselves in illusionary, vibrant traces on the canvas giving the impression that the centre is continually smouldering.
The majority of Piene's fire pictures maintain their presence through the strong contrasts of the black burn marks and the white or intensely coloured backgrounds. However, with its markedly reduced colouring and subtle transitions of colour and veils of smoke, ''Retinal sun'' offers us an aesthetically cool pictorial language, and thereby holds an unusual position in the artist's oeuvre.