“Weißer Doppelhaken” (White double hook)

Details

An eponymous screenprint on polystyrene was created in 1971 using this design (cf. Walter Vitt, Werkverzeichnis der Druckgraphik von 1915-1971, Cologne 1971, no. 72). Wöbkemeier 464. With an expertise by Dr. Ruth Wöbkemeier, Bremen, dated 9.9.2013. Literature: Hofmann, Werner, Der Maler Walter Dexel, Starnberg 1972, col. Ill. no. 71;Vitt, Walter, Das Spätwerk Walter Dexels, in: Wöbkemeier, Ruth (ed.), Walter Dexel (1890-1973). Werkverzeichnis, Heidelberg 1995, p. 85, black and white ill. 55. Exhibitions: Walter Dexel, Kunstverein, Braunschweig 1970, cat. no.38; Walter Dexel, Galerie Charles Lienhard, Basel 1970, cat. no.26, with ill. Walter Dexel, Galerie Circulus, Bonn 1973, cat. no.83, with col. illus. (title page);Walter Dexel, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover 1974, cat. no.153, not ill. Walter Dexel. Bilder, Aquarelle, Collagen, Leuchtreklame, Typografie, Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster 1979, cat. no.91, not ill.; Walter Dexel. Bilder, Aquarelle, Collagen, Fritz-Winter-Haus, Ahlen 1980, cat. no.34, with label on the back of the frame;Walter Dexel zum 10. Todestag, Kunstamt Wedding, Berlin/Pfalzgalerie, Kaiserslautern 1983/84, cat. no.79, not ill. Provenance: The artist’s estate;Ketterer, Munich 5.12.2007, lot 227;private collection, Paris.

Description

• An important oil painting from the artist’s late period
• The diagonal motif originated from Dexel’s works of the 1920s and was rarely used during this time
• Dynamically charged composition with a perfect balance of various forms and contrasting colours

“Both in terms of form and content, this oil painting occupies an exceptional place in the artist’s late work, as it renders the diagonal line motif like few other paintings of those years. In this respect, the ‘White Double Hook’ corresponds more to the dynamically charged compositions of the second half of the 1920s. In addition, the work also contains a balance between weight and lightness that is literally taken to the extreme in the lower area of the picture, where a small triangular shape meets the large formation of the “white double hook”. This constantly balanced tension is also evident in the choice of colours, the interplay between an intense black/white contrast and tightly packed coloured stripes. The special status of this work was documented by the fact that an image of the ‘White Double Hook’ was chosen as the cover page for the catalogue of the exhibition in Bonn that was published shortly before Dexel’s death in 1973: Before and after this, the picture was shown at various solo exhibitions, including in Braunschweig , Basel, Hanover, Munich and Berlin. Werner Hofmann also presented it as a colour illustration in his Dexel monograph in 1972. (…)” (cf. W. Vitt, Werkverzeichnis der Druckgrafik, Cologne 1998, No. 72).” (From the expertise by Dr. Ruth Wöbkemeier).