Lot 38 D

“Figurale – Phyllis” belongs to the group known as the Fugal Pictures, which mark a new beginning in the artist’s oeuvre. Nay’s stay at Worpswede can be seen as the point of departure for all this: that is where he worked on a series of ten colour lithographs at the invitation of Bremen gallerist Michael Hertz. This printing technique required the artist to separate his compositions into individual forms and to group them by colour on multiple lithographic stones and then combine them back into a complete picture during the printing process. Nay also continued to process form in this manner in his painted works. Although the Fugal Pictures appear non-objective, they are based on images of people. Nay has almost entirely abstracted from his figurative model, translating it into narrow bands as well as triangular and arched shapes curving out to fill the picture – inspired by the repetitions and reversals of the musical fugues that gave this group of works its name. In this way he developed his own independent amalgamation between representationalism and abstraction.
Differences in brightness are used to establish stark contrasts between the elements of the “Figurale – Phyllis”, which are dominated by a strong, cool green paired with its complementary contrast, violet. Sharp angles and gentle curves balance one another out and combine into an exceptionally charged, but harmonious whole.