Alfred LENICA (1899 - 1977), Untitled

gouache, paper; 41 x 57 cm w św. p-p;
signed l. d.: lenica
signed on back: lenica
on the reverse:
- markings: Fr. 700.- Lenica / No. 32 [in square] / LC.G.No.62 [crossed out] / 64 [crossed out] - / 41 [in circle] / 41 x 59 cm
- stamp with inscription in rim: GALERIE FERRERO - TABLEAUX MODERNES, GENÉVE 9, Hôtel-de-Ville with number 15/10 [in pen].
- sticker: ab221-1133

Provenance:
private collection, Poland

Against a dark background, the artist builds an arrangement of fluid, organic forms with an almost sculptural character. Illuminated parts of turquoise and red contrast with the black of the background, creating an effect of interesting illumination. The composition evokes associations with the microscopic world of organisms, underwater structures or fantastic biological forms - motifs often present in the artist's work in the 1960s.

Works on paper played an important role in Lenica's work - not just sketches for oil paintings, but fully finished, painterly realizations. In many of them the artist developed original formal solutions, also present later in large compositions. Characteristic of the work on offer is the subtle play of transparent gouache layers and soft light transitions brought out from the dark background.

The surviving set of markings on the back of the work remains particularly interesting. The stamp of Geneva's Galerie Ferrero, where Alfred Lenica had a solo exhibition in 1960, indicates that the object functioned in the Western European gallery circuit. Analogous markings also appear on other works by the artist. Galerie Ferrero was one of the active modern art galleries and presented avant-garde artists associated with European modernism.