William Nelson Copley
Trust Lust
1989
Acrylic on canvas. 163 x 138 cm. Framed. Signed and dated 'Cply '89'. - Traces of studio and minor traces of age.
"Style however is most important to an artist when it is used as a vehicle capable of carrying thoughts and feelings into the outer world. In Copley´s hands it has become well suited to his needs, since it allows him to convey in painting ideas which are otherwise impossible to express. The painter, thanks to long tradition, is a licensed voyeur and, claiming this privilege, Copley has exploited it with humor and cynicism. 'This mischievous kobold, full of sagacity', writes Patrick Waldberg 'unites in his person the double role of the actor laughing at his own game and the spectator who comes up on the stage as the magician´s accomplice.' It is in this double role that he is most disconcerting. He leads us to laugh at the preposterous absurdities of a world in which even love becomes sinful and the wonders of human invention run wild so dangerously that they threaten us with complete destruction." (Roland Penrose, William Nelson Copley, in: Carl Haenlein (Hg.), William N. Copley, Bilder, Paintings 1951-1995, exhib.cat. Kestner-Gesellschaft Hannover, Hannover 1995, p..201)
Certificate
The present artwork is registered at Estate of William N. Copley, New York.
Provenance
Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York; private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia
Exhibitions
New York 1991 (Phyllis Kind Gallery), Chicago (Phyllis Kind Gallery), Trust Lust cply Heed Greed, exhib.cat. unpag. with colour illus.(here erroneously dated 1990)