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"Abracadabra" Abstract Lithograph

$650
£485.45
€563.29
CA$900.25
A$1,009.18
CHF 526.26
MX$12,370.06
NOK 6,668.64
SEK 6,340.09
DKK 4,202.87
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About the Item

In the perpetual dialogue between the artist who creates and the one who receives, some works reveal themselves as visual enigmas whose decryption challenges the intellect and sensitivity. Among these creations is this singular piece named "Abracadabra," a lithograph imbued with Dada and surrealist references. It plays with our perceptions just as the artist plays with the elements composing it. Vertical dynamism, engaging a bidirectional reading. The four mustaches presented recall those of men from the post-Victorian period. This mustache was called the Handlebar mustache because its shape resembled bicycle handlebars. When scrutinizing the typographic aspect of the work, the word ABRACADABRA appears in capital letters in a military font, associated with rigor and authority. This element gradually fades as the gaze moves upward until it becomes nothing more than a visual whisper, highlighting the interaction and the ephemeral process inherent in any impermanent manifestation. A relief effect appears on the mustaches as if to question the dissolution of these magical letters. The background is dotted with almost automatic writing made of black lines, forming hearts as if traced without the pen ever being lifted. At the top left, a white circle might evoke a magician's monocle or a magnifying glass that the artist added to gently mock us, a tool to help us find the vanished word. Abracadabra is a multifaceted term: it serves as a magic formula, a performative rite, an incantation, and a mystical word. Modern magicians use this expression when they purport to summon paranormal or supernatural forces to enhance their illusions. The sleight of hand plays on the word ‘abracadabra’ itself, which the artist has chosen to make disappear. His magic trick is his concept. With this work, ‘Abracadabra,’ it becomes evident that contemporary art, far from being merely disruptive aesthetics, engages both dialogue and silence, the visible and the invisible, the ephemeral and the everlasting. It is at the crossroads of these opposites that the artist, whose signature is difficult to decipher, invites us, with humor, to a deeper reflection on the unsuspected meanings hidden behind visual artifices.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1983
  • Condition:
    New framing.
  • Seller Location:
    Pasadena, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU825839947892

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