Per Kirkeby (Danish, 1938 – 2018) Kopf und Gegenstand - 1985 Bronze 62 x 40 x 60 cm Initialed and numbered with foundry mark on the back, lower edge Per Kirkeby turns to sculpture in the mid-eighties when the artist finds himself in a period of artistic crisis in his painting. He is very much impressed by the work of Rodin, and Kirkeby’s sculptures from this period are mainly centered on the study of body parts: an arm, a torso, a head, a leg. In line with his paintings, these sculptures show a similar roughness in the surface, similar to the distinctive rough brushstrokes from his paintings. Over the years, the rendition of these body parts shifts toward greater abstraction, resulting in volumes which remind us – just like his abstract paintings – of nature: a rock, a tree trunk… Provenance Galerie Beaumont, Luxemburg (Cologne Art Fair, 1991) Literature Ulrich Wilmes, Per Kirkeby. The Bronzes. Catalogue raisonné, Lenbachhaus München, Verlag Walther König, Cologne, KP 37 (ill.) Exhibited (not necessarily this cast) Per Kirkeby. Werke 1983-1988, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, 9/4-28/5/1989, cat.62, ill. p.45 Per Kirkeby, Gemälde, Arbeiten auf Papier, Skulptures 1977-1990, Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 7/6-19/8/1990 Per Kirkeby, Paintings and Sculptures, National Gallery of Prague, Palais Sternberk, Prague, 1994 In an edition of 6 +0, this sculpture bears number 1/6 Foundry Schmäke, Düsseldorf