Sérgio Camargo (1930-1990) Relief No. 173, 1967 Painted wood construction 12-1/2 x 15 x 2-1/2 inches (31.8 x 38.1 x 6.4 cm) PROVENANCE: Gimpel Fils Gallery, Ltd., London; Warren Tenney, Esq., New York, acquired from the above, 1968; Private collection. EXHIBITED: Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, "Camargo," March 2-April 3, 1968, no. 23; Gimpel Fils Gallery, Ltd., London, "Camargo," May 14-June 8, 1968, no. 23. NOTE: This lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Sérgio Camargo's estate signed by Raquel Arnaud. As a young artist from Buenos Aires, Camargo, a student of both Emilio Pettoruti and Lucio Fontana, transitioned into his mature style in Paris during the 1950s and 1960s. His initial artistic influences drew from Gaston Bachelard's teachings at the Sorbonne and his exposure to Constantin Brancusi's studio, where he encountered the sculptural forms that would serve as an early reference point. By 1963, Camargo began to apply Constructivist principles to create the conceptual monochromes that would become his hallmark. Camargo's renowned white reliefs, crafted from wood and marble, reflect an international lineage of late modernist practices. They engage with various facets of Neo-Concretism, such as the evolving geometries seen in the works of artists like Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica, as well as the optical dynamism found in Kineticism, exemplified by artists like Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesús Rafael Soto. Additionally, Camargo's work resonates with the iterative systems of Conceptualism, influenced by artists like Sol LeWitt and Robert Ryman. These reliefs, like Relief No. 173 serve as meditations on the nature and boundaries of order and chaos, stillness and repetition, motion, and plurality. Camargo invites the viewer to participate in the act of artistic creation, prompting them to discern order and coherence within the dynamic interplay of light and substance, both within the relief's intermingling of shadows and within the very essence of the wood itself. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

Presents well. A few scattered minor cracks to the wood panel elements. Some scattered chips and areas of flaking to the paint layer. Areas of yellowish accretion, most apparent on flat panels elements. Dirt and dust accumulation in the recesses. Upper (painted) element rotates on the dark wooden base as it should. Connection in this area appears secure.