Opalka painting breaks Polish auction record

Roman Opalka; photo - PAP

The artwork, sold by Warsaw auctioneers Desa Unicum, was part of Opalka’s “detail” series.

“The presented [image] ‘1965/1-∞, 2890944 - 2910059’ initially appears to the viewer as a monochrome expanse of oozing, vibrating tones of light grey. However, as you approach the canvas you see, in order from left to right, a series of numbers marked on the darker surface of the image with white paint. The seemingly abstract composition is the work of a contemplative, creative program defining contemporary memento mori’,” Desa Unicum wrote in its catalogue notes.

The French-based artist worked on the same series since 1965 and each canvas is the same size - 196 x 135 cm, or the size of the door of his Warsaw studio. He painted incremental numbers in white paint on a monochrome canvas. In 1972, he started gradually lightening the shade of grey on the background of his canvas.

While painting the numbers, Opalka would read the numbers aloud in his native Polish. At the end of the painting process, he would take a self portrait.

When exhibited at museums such as Paris’s Pompidou Centre, the self-portrait is shown alongside the paintings and the voice recording is played in the background. The resulting ethereal effect symbolises the passing of time.

Art critic Derek Bishton once wrote that Opalka’s work is “probably the most powerful and yet simple expression of mutability I have ever seen.”

The painting sold in Warsaw on Thursday has a rich provenance. It was owned by the John Weber Gallery in New York, and later was part of the Peter Stuyvesant Collection. Lately it was part of a private collection in the EU. (rg/jb)