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Steven Wolfe
"Untitled (Bookends)" Steven Wolfe, Illusionistic Book Sculpture, Trompe-l'oeil

1990

$40,000
£31,003.02
€35,102.81
CA$57,256.68
A$62,433.06
CHF 32,449.50
MX$747,407.04
NOK 411,590.40
SEK 385,531.44
DKK 262,172.64

About the Item

Steven Wolfe Untitled (Bookends), 1990 Stamped: SW 1990 2/3 Painted Bronze 6 1/4 x 7 x 4 inches Edition 2/3 Steven Wolfe crafted sculptures and drawings of remarkable skill and visual impact. Wolfe reimagined aged books and utilized records, mainly from the 1960s and 1970s, that shaped his own artistic and personal sensibilities. Adhering to the trompe l’oeil tradition, Wolfe produced works that genuinely “deceive the eye” at first glance. Employing an array of materials and techniques, such as oil, acrylic, screen printing, lithography, modeling paste, canvas, wood, and aluminum, Wolfe sculpted and painted meticulously accurate three-dimensional replicas of books and records imbued with personal meaning. Noteworthy titles include Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dostoyevsky’s Notes From Underground, Alfred Barr’s Cubism and Abstract Art, and The Beatles’ Revolver. These worn books and aged LPs serve as concrete representations of a vibrant period in American intellectual history. Wolfe’s dedicated recreations spark an intriguing balance between modest self-derision and culture’s profound ability to influence one’s life. Steve Wolfe's creations have been acquired by various esteemed public and private collections, such as The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, NY; The Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY; The Menil Collection in Houston, TX; The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL; The Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX; and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, CA. In 2009, he was featured in a solo exhibition that began at the Whitney Museum of American Art and subsequently toured to the Menil Collection and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In the Fall of 2024, Luhring Augustine showcased Steve Wolfe: The Brutality of Fact.
  • Creator:
    Steven Wolfe (1955 - 2016, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1990
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 6.25 in (15.88 cm)Width: 7 in (17.78 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1841216515872

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