Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Boris Gratry, Rusted Values No. 12, CH

Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Boris Gratry’s abstract compositions share as unique a kinship to artists like Richard Serra or John Chamberlain, as they do with raku-ware, a traditional pottery used in Japanese tea ceremonies. Strongly influenced by conceptual art, specifically the radical Italian art movement Arte Povera, Gratry has devised a primary aesthetic embodied in the fight against consumerism. In transforming auto parts, one of consumerism’s most ubiquitous products, his works are largely improvisational; the outcome of a number of insurgent factors. Gratry hosts large happenings during which car parts, like hoods and doors, are set on fire and then violently cooled with water. This process of temperature shocking produces a number of reactions, from changing the object’s initial shape to altering its materiality, as well as making it susceptible to rust. Variations in temperature dictate the metal’s initial coloration, which is then allowed to rust before being embellished with gold leaf appliqué. Essential in Gratry’s work is the appreciation for the imperfection and evolution of each piece. The works could be described as beautifully tortured, but the most substantial artistic decisions are dictated by natural elements, the chemical and physical reaction to the fire, the eventual patina, which are merely coaxed along by the artist. Gratry’s axiom closely follows the Japanese perspective of “wabi-sabi” which is centered around the acceptance of evanescence and imperfection. The alteration of time is perceived as a benefit where the beauty of the patina will add value and charisma to the work of art as well as a unique authenticity. Furthermore, Gratry’s use of gold leaf to ornament his works, references “kintsugi” the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, thereby preserving and highlighting the breakage as an essential part of the object’s history. The golden scar is an emphasis for the passage of time, a rebirth as well as the beginning of a new cycle. Throughout Gratry’s work, an underlying idea of opposing forces challenges our notions of desirability. In using destructive force, an icon of mass-production is made unique; the banal, rendered exciting, simple, and beautiful.
  • Creator:
    Todd Merrill (Workshop/Studio)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 51 in (129.54 cm)Width: 55 in (139.7 cm)Depth: 8 in (20.32 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    2014
  • Production Type:
    New & Custom(One of a Kind)
  • Estimated Production Time:
    Available Now
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU905316630532

More From This Seller

View All
Boris Gratry, Infinity, CH
By Todd Merrill
Located in New York, NY
Boris Gratry’s abstract compositions share as unique a kinship to artists like Richard Serra or John Chamberlain, as they do with raku-ware, a traditional pottery used in Japanese te...
Category

2010s Swiss Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Metal, Gold Leaf

Boris Gratry, Infinity, CH
Price Upon Request
Boris Gratry, Neptune, CH
By Todd Merrill
Located in New York, NY
Boris Gratry’s abstract compositions share as unique a kinship to artists like Richard Serra or John Chamberlain, as they do with raku-ware, a traditional pottery used in Japanese te...
Category

2010s Swiss Decorative Art

Materials

Metal, Gold Leaf

Boris Gratry, Neptune, CH
Price Upon Request
Boris Gratry, Nightsky, CH
By Todd Merrill
Located in New York, NY
Boris Gratry’s abstract compositions share as unique a kinship to artists like Richard Serra or John Chamberlain, as they do with raku-ware, a traditional pottery used in Japanese te...
Category

2010s Swiss Decorative Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Boris Gratry, Nightsky, CH
Price Upon Request
Tresor II, FR
By Alice Riehl
Located in New York, NY
By combining French decorative arts motifs, organic imagery, and contemporary motivations into visual poetry, French artist Alice Riehl’s porcelain wall murals exist in a liminal spa...
Category

2010s French Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Tresor II, FR
Price Upon Request
Stefan Rurak, SC Panel #1, USA
By Stefan Rurak
Located in New York, NY
Brooklyn based Stefan Rurak’s unique vision and process stems from a diverse range of media, ranging from things as conventional as drawing and painting to performance art. “The work...
Category

2010s American Contemporary Art

Materials

Concrete, Cement, Steel, Gold Leaf

Tresor I, FR
By Alice Riehl
Located in New York, NY
By combining French decorative arts motifs, organic imagery, and contemporary motivations into visual poetry, French artist Alice Riehl’s porcelain wall murals exist in a liminal spa...
Category

2010s French Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Tresor I, FR
Price Upon Request

You May Also Like

Tony Rosenthal Large Wall Metal Sculpture
By Tony Rosenthal
Located in Miami, FL
A large black wall sculpture by Tony Rosenthal. Bolted aluminum with a hand applied enamel finish on the front and white on verso. Comes with authenti...
Category

1990s American Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Aluminum

Brutalist and Modern Metal Wall Sculpture
By Curtis Jeré
Located in North Miami, FL
A wonderfully creative group of folded metal straps with 50+ years of patina, giving a lovely variation of texture and color.
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Vintage French Patinated Metal Wall Decoration
Located in High Point, NC
This wall mounted metal circle holds a pose resembling a clock face, its striking patina proving that it has certainly presided over the passage of time. Made in France circa 1900, t...
Category

Antique Early 1900s French Rustic Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Abstract Metal Artwork in Wooden Frame
Located in High Point, NC
Bold and enigmatic, this large scale abstract artwork combines the hand of man and the hand of nature. The form has a Minimalist simplicity: a broad sheet of metal is set within a wo...
Category

2010s European Industrial Wall-mounted Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Form 2, Artwork by José Zanine Caldas
By José Zanine Caldas
Located in Sao Paulo, SP
One of a kind, this is the mold used by José Zanine Caldas for the production of his famous Tronco furniture line. The piece presents the working process of the artist during the cre...
Category

Mid-20th Century Brazilian Contemporary Art

Contemporary Fragment Wallpieces with patinated leather by Jumandie Seys
Located in 1204, CH
Jumandie Seys is a Belgian artist and interior designer whose work straddles the boundary between art and design. In his quest for pure expression of for...
Category

2010s Belgian Contemporary Art

Materials

Stainless Steel