16/10/2001
by Francesca Brambilla

The Palazzo Forti in Verona is currently hosting an exhibition of the artist Giulio Paolini, which runs until the 6^th of January 2002. Winner of the international Koinè lifetime art prize, this eclectic Italian artist was born in Genoa in 1940, and by the age of twenty-four had already opened his first one-man show at the Galleria La Salita in Rome. By 1967 he had exhibited with the "Arte Povera" group, and emerged as a leading conceptual artist. After a famous series of collages and paintings of the nude, produced during the early 1960’s, Paolini introduced photography into his production, though his work is perhaps best known for his sculpture. His work deals with a wide range of topics, such as the relationship between the artist and artistic production, space and time, and the reflected image and visual representation.

Looking back on Paolini’s career, his collages from the 1960’s are much sought after on the market. Proof of this came earlier this year at a sale held at Christie’s, Milan on the 29^th of May, when Untitled (1965), a collage on canvas applied to board (44 x 32 cm) and estimated between $ 4,000 and $ 6,000 dollars (€ 4,650-6,700), fetched $ 9,800 (€ 10,850); followed by Colours (1969), a collage on paper (34 x 34 cm), which sold for $ 8,850 (€ 9,800). His more recent collages, often made bigger in size, include Untitled dating from 1984, which sold at Sotheby’s, London in March 1997 for $ 3,200 (€ 3,500), while Cosmology, a collage and mixed media work on cardboard (70 x 50 cm), sold in November 2000 at Christie’s, Milan for $ 3,530 (€ 3,870).

In the 1970’s, Paolini began to analyse the theme of the double with a series of works entitled Mimesis. Two chalk moulds inspired by antique sculpture were placed together, forcing the viewer to make decisions between authenticity and reproduction. To date, only two works from this important series have been auctioned. The first, a one-off piece dating from 1975 (resin, marble and wood base, 162.5 cm high) was sold in autumn 1991 at Sotheby’s, New York for $ 50,000 (€ 54,870), while the second (produced from a multiple edition of 20, chalk, ed. 16/20) was sold in 1995 at Sotheby’s, London for $ 8,690 (€ 9,530).

The production of the Mimesis series includes a body of works entitled Other Figure. A 1983 Other Figure, consisting of a pair of sculptural moulds plus fragments on a painted wood base (chalk, ed. 1/6) measuring 46 x 23 x 29 cm, sold at Sotheby’s, London in 1997 for $ 17,430 (€ 19,250). Three years later a 1984 Other Figure (chalk, ed. 1/6), measuring 63 x 42 x 31 cm, sold for $ 58,000 (€ 64,000) at the same location. The two works were nearly identical, yet the marked difference in the two hammer prices bears witness to the increase in interest shown for the more typical works by Paolini. In galleries, chalk moulds from this series cost between $ 20,000-30,000 (€ 22,070-33,110).

More difficult to sell, however are Paolini’s installations, including Apotheosis of Homer (1970), a collection of 32 photographs of actors, literary and historical figures, all arranged on musical stands. One of these arrangements was recently featured in the "Zero to Infinity" (Arte Povera) show at the Tate Modern in London earlier this year. Accompanied by two speakers that call out the names of the figures, Apotheosis of Homer is both a work of art and a theatrical event. Made in an edition of 10, a version of this installation appeared at auction in November 1994 at Sotheby’s, London, where it sold for $ 43,400 (€ 47,900).

The compilation of Giulio Paolini’s catalogue raisonée by the Museum of Contemporary Art at Castello di Rivoli (Turin) will undoubtedly lend support to the Paolini market. From being a pioneer of conceptual art in the 1960’s, Paolini has now taken his place as an established name on the art auction circuit, as well being a highly influential figure for the current generation of contemporary artists.