BOCHNER, Mel. On Certainty
View Similar Items
Mel BochnerBOCHNER, Mel. On Certainty1991
1991
About the Item
- Creator:Mel Bochner (1940, American)
- Creation Year:1991
- Dimensions:Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:An immaculate copy.
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 1646741stDibs: LU43831853923
Mel Bochner
Mel Bochner experimented with a range of styles before finding his eventual success as a pioneer in Conceptual art. An audacious 1966 show at School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan that he presented, “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art,” remains a seminal touchstone for Conceptualism.
Bochner was born to a Pittsburgh sign painter in 1940. While attending the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon) in the late 1950s, he studied color theory and modernist movements as well as classical drawing, a balance that was formative in his career. After graduation, he moved to San Francisco, creating paintings influenced by Clyfford Still and Jean Dubuffet.
It wasn’t until Bochner “found his way out of the labyrinth of late Abstract Expressionism,” as he put it to The Brooklyn Rail, that he began to create his most meaningful work. Following a stint auditing philosophy classes after a friend introduced him to the work of Heidegger, Bochner relocated to New York, finding work as a guard at the Jewish Museum. In Manhattan, he ran in the same circles as Dan Flavin, Brice Marden and Donald Judd.
“One of the conversations going on in New York in the late ’60s was about the relationship of the object to the art experience,” Bochner said. “...Younger artists like myself were talking about what it would mean to eliminate the object altogether.” This idea would become the foundation of the Conceptual movement, in which Bochner was instrumental. The artist is probably best known for his text-focused paintings, including a series that plays with the phrase “Blah Blah Blah.” He produces work that regards art as an experience, rather than an object, centering on the process of creation and viewership as opposed to the finished product.
Bochner’s “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art” featured drawings, notes and outlines from the likes of Milton Glaser, Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt and others as well as pages from Scientific American. Bochner, then an art history professor at SVA, photocopied the assemblage of works, added them to binders and positioned them on pedestals for the exhibition because the show’s organizers lacked the funds to frame the pieces.
Bochner’s works can be found in the collections of many major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Find original Mel Bochner prints and other art on 1stDibs.
- ERNST, Max. Rêve d'une Petite Fille qui voulut entrer au Carmel.By Max ErnstLocated in New York, NYERNST, Max. Rêve d'une Petite Fille qui voulut entrer au Carmel. 176 pp. Illustrated with reproductions of 79 collages by Max Ernst. 8vo., 265 x 200 mm, bound in original illustrated wrappers, slightly faded in a new light blue cloth folding box, gilt black leather spine label. Paris: Éditions du Carrefour, 1930. Ernst's rare second collage novel about an adolescent girl who loses her virginity on the day of her first communion and so commits herself to a religious vocation as a Carmelite nun. Ernst includes a line of ironically pretentious text with each image. This is number 232 of the edition of 1000 copies on Velin, inscribed by Paul...Category
1920s Surrealist Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper
- SALLE, David. Light Sleeper. By Paul SchraderBy David SalleLocated in New York, NYSALLE, David. Light Sleeper. By Paul Schrader. Illustrated with 12 lithographs by David Salle. Folio, bound in linen with an inset photograph in orginal ...Category
1990s Abstract Mixed Media
- Design 102 Fabric Sample ColorwaysBy Frank Lloyd WrightLocated in New York, NYOriginal page from the folio sized salesman samplebook, "Schumacher's Taliesin Line of Decorative Fabrics and Wallpapers Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright." New York, F. Schumacher & Co...Category
1950s Modern Mixed Media
MaterialsLinen, Paper
- International DADA Exhibition 1916-1923.By Marcel DuchampLocated in New York, NYDUCHAMP, Marcel. International DADA Exhibition 1916-1923. Large Poster printed in black and orange, designed by Duchamp. Single sheet, 965 x 635 mm, (38" x 25"). New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1953. Folded. A fine copy of this extremely rare Duchamp poster...Category
1950s Dada Prints and Multiples
MaterialsPaper
- DUCHAMP. Five Original Duchamp Screen-Print Posters: Self Portrait in ProfileBy Marcel DuchampLocated in New York, NYDUCHAMP, Marcel. Five Original Duchamp Screen-Print Posters: Self Portrait in Profile. Original serigraphs printed in blue or red on black Montgolf...Category
1950s Dada Portrait Prints
MaterialsPaper
$115,000 Sale Price23% Off - Winter Landscape WatercolorBy Maurice EsnaultLocated in New York, NYGouache painting of a winter landscape by French artist Maurice Esnault (1854-1940). Signed and dated 1919 lower right of painting with "Hiver" (Winter) below. Unframed.Category
1910s Landscape Paintings
MaterialsWatercolor, Paper, Gouache
- AWH 315 - Original Abstract Expressionist Blue Colorfield Oil PaintingBy Bernhard ZimmerLocated in Los Angeles, CABernhard Zimmer produces deeply layered, subtly textured abstract paintings that contain diametrically opposed elements—order and chaos, abstraction and representation, boldness and ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Minimalist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Mixed Media, Oil
- AWH 312 - Original Abstract Expressionist Blue & Yellow Colorfield Oil PaintingBy Bernhard ZimmerLocated in Los Angeles, CABernhard Zimmer produces deeply layered, subtly textured abstract paintings that contain diametrically opposed elements—order and chaos, abstraction and representation, boldness and ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Minimalist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Mixed Media, Oil
- We Go On Gently - Minimalist Abstract Painting on Natural CanvasLocated in Los Angeles, CALos Angeles artist Taylour Martin creates captivating abstract compositions in acrylic on canvas, showcasing a dynamic interplay of emotions and colors. Martin's art is a reflection ...Category
2010s Minimalist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Pencil
- The orange hat by Gilbert Pauli - Acrylic on canvas 65x92 cmBy Gilbert PauliLocated in Geneva, CHMixed media on canvasCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Minimalist Mixed Media
MaterialsPlaster, Acrylic
- Minimalist Abstract Paper Artwork, "Distortion 002"By Melissa WalterLocated in San Diego, CAThis is a one of a kind original abstract paper work by San Diego artist, Melissa Walter. Its dimensions are 19"x25". It is framed. A certificate of authenticity will follow delivery...Category
2010s Minimalist Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper
- RABBIT, RUNNINGBy HacerLocated in New York, NYCelebrated for his bold, origami-inspired, metal sculptures that explore psychologically complex themes, Gerardo Hacer will take over the Broadway Mall on September 14th from 36th to 39th Streets in New York City, greeting pedestrians who will walk through the colorful exhibit of two dark turquoise coyotes, two medium turquoise rabbits, a magenta elephant, a yellow dog...Category
2010s Minimalist Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsSteel, Metal
Price Upon Request
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Conceptual Artist Mel Bochner Explores His Connections to 20th-Century Italian Art
The American artist organized an exhibition of his works together with those of postwar Italian talents Alighiero Boetti and Lucio Fontana at the Hudson Valley’s Magazzino Italian Art space.
Tauba Auerbach’s Geometric Pop-Up Book Is Mighty Rare, Thanks to a Hurricane
This sculptural art book has an epic backstory of its own.