#23 • Yaacav Agam: "PS Out of the Dark" Signed Agamograph 60/99- Framed Limited Edition, 1979

Part of Fine Art and Jewelry Extravaganza: Bid on Masterpieces by Vasarely, Erte, Picasso, Max, and More! (timed auction by Lux Auctions)

High bid $1,075.00

Status: No sale

Category: Art

This Agamograph is a 3-D kinetic work by Israeli artist Yaacov Agam (b. 1928). Created in 1979, the piece literally "moves" as one walks around and observes it from different angles. Head on and slightly off-center, one sees a group of colorful geometric shapes on a field of white. Moving further to the side, the art now displays symbols on a dark field. Signed by the artist and numbered 60/99. Framed in a luxurious gilt frame w/ exposed linen surround. Glass covers the art, outlined with a gilt fillet. Has a wire in back to hang. Very good condition. The art is vibrant and protected. There are several light scratches to the plexiglass/lucite covering. and two scuffs to the linen surround. There are a few light scuffs to the gilt frame and chips in the lower left corner. Please see our photos for additional details. Dimensions: Frame size - 33" w x 29" tall, Art opening - 22.5" w x 18.5" tall. This intriguing piece beautifully displays Yaacov Agam's unique perception of art and his revolutionary style, which relied upon the utilization of movement and the fourth dimension in order to gain a complete understanding of his compositions. Using Lenticular Lithography, Agam overlaps multiple graphic images by using a lenticular screen that reveals and conceals portions of each image. Through the use of this highly sensitive technique, a fluid metamorphosis occurs when the viewer moves in front of the work, just as the viewer defines the picture plain it shifts, creating a new design. Of his career Agam has stated, "My endeavor has been to create a kind of visual graphic art, existing not only in space, but in time; one in which the form develops and evolves, thus procuring an unforeseeable infinity of plastic situations flowing out of one another." With this piece, Agam has created multiple scenes of de-structured shapes, accented by sharp geometric patterns and highlighted with bursts of vibrant color. About the artist: The son of an Orthodox Rabbi, scholar and writer Yaacov Agam was born on May 11, 1928 in Rishon Letzion, Israel. As a child, he began to draw, despite religious proscription against visual expression. Agam's family recognized his artistic ability and, in 1946, he entered the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. Studying with Mordecai Ardon, a former student at the Weimar Bauhaus, he discovered the differences between other cultures which stress the afterlife and the Hebrew culture which emphasizes the present. Because Judaism believes life is dynamic and ever-changing, Agam determined that static paintings were inadequate to express the constantly occurring changes which surround us. In 1950, upon Ardon's recommendation, Agam went to Zurich to study with Johannes Itten at the Kunstgewerbeschule. There, he met Frank Lloyd Wright and Siegfried Giedion, whose ideas on the element of time in art and architecture impressed him. In 1951, Agam moved to Paris, where a number of world-famous Surrealist artists living in France were the first to discover and encourage him. His first one-man exhibition held at Galerie Craven, Paris in 1953, featured kinetic and transformable paintings which invited spectator participation. The show was a critical success and attracted considerable attention in art circles. He is still living in Paris and continues to produce works, currently holding the title of the highest-selling Israeli artist. Signed original prints created by this Op Art artist are affectionately called Yaacov Agam agamographs. ((masterworks fine art.com)