We would like to thank the artist for kindly providing additional information.
Throughout his career, the renowned Berlin curator Frank Wagner – from whose estate this work by Marlene Dumas originates – focused on critically engaging with socially relevant issues, contributing to an expanded discourse in the art world. He was an early advocate for then lesser-known, young international artists, helping them gain visibility on an international scale. Wagner supported their exhibition projects with great dedication, introducing numerous new artistic positions to the German art context for the first time. Throughout his career, he developed many close friendships with artists, including the South African artist, Marlene Dumas. As a gesture of her appreciation, Dumas gifted Wagner the work “Portrait of Frank Wagner (from the Reject series)”, which is now being offered on the art market for the first time.
This work on paper, created in 1996, has a close conceptual connection with an exhibition series in which Wagner was involved and which was shown in Salzburg, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. Dumas' series “Models” and “Rejects” were central to this exhibition project. The works of these series focus on the representation of the individual in portraiture. More broadly, Dumas examines questions of identity, physicality and the human condition. In doing so, the artist critically examines social expectations, stereotypical representations and the fragility of individuals. “Models” explores these themes in the form of a closed series of 100 works on paper. In contrast, “Rejects” is not bound to a fixed form. These works exhibit a distinct expressive power, stemming from a strong emotional intensity and formal imperfection, which is why they did not conform with the structure of other series. The work “Portrait of Frank Wagner (from the Reject series)” expresses these qualities of individuality and autonomy in the distinctive aesthetic characteristic of Marlene Dumas. (ch)
”Portrait of Frank Wagner (from the Rejects series)”. 1996
Inkwash on paper. 61,6 × 49,9 cm
(24 ¼ × 19 ⅝ in.). Signed on the accompanying certificate. Catalogue raisonné: With an artist certificate, Amsterdam, 23. September 2024. [3167]
We would like to thank the artist for kindly providing additional information.
Throughout his career, the renowned Berlin curator Frank Wagner – from whose estate this work by Marlene Dumas originates – focused on critically engaging with socially relevant issues, contributing to an expanded discourse in the art world. He was an early advocate for then lesser-known, young international artists, helping them gain visibility on an international scale. Wagner supported their exhibition projects with great dedication, introducing numerous new artistic positions to the German art context for the first time. Throughout his career, he developed many close friendships with artists, including the South African artist, Marlene Dumas. As a gesture of her appreciation, Dumas gifted Wagner the work “Portrait of Frank Wagner (from the Reject series)”, which is now being offered on the art market for the first time.
This work on paper, created in 1996, has a close conceptual connection with an exhibition series in which Wagner was involved and which was shown in Salzburg, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. Dumas' series “Models” and “Rejects” were central to this exhibition project. The works of these series focus on the representation of the individual in portraiture. More broadly, Dumas examines questions of identity, physicality and the human condition. In doing so, the artist critically examines social expectations, stereotypical representations and the fragility of individuals. “Models” explores these themes in the form of a closed series of 100 works on paper. In contrast, “Rejects” is not bound to a fixed form. These works exhibit a distinct expressive power, stemming from a strong emotional intensity and formal imperfection, which is why they did not conform with the structure of other series. The work “Portrait of Frank Wagner (from the Reject series)” expresses these qualities of individuality and autonomy in the distinctive aesthetic characteristic of Marlene Dumas. (ch)
