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The artwork by Robert Ryman titled General 52” x 52” will go under the hammer this week in Germany and is expected to fetch up to Rs 13 crore.
This ‘blank’ canvas is set to go up for auction in Germany this week. (Image: Ketterer Kunst)
As bizarre as it gets, a ‘blank’ canvas will be up for auction in Germany and the bid will start at Rs 9 crore. Yes, you read that right. Following the infamous banana duct-taped to a wall that fetched over Rs 52 crore, only to be consumed by its buyer, this artwork has stirred yet another round of debates in the art world.
While the banana artwork’s absurdity sparked debates about what art truly means, this white canvas pushes boundaries by questioning perception, purpose, and creativity. Is it a statement on emptiness, a reflection of peace, or simply the art world’s biggest joke?
What’s on the canvas?
As per the auction house Ketterer Kunst, the painting by Robert Ryman – which is titled General 52″ x 52″ – will go under the hammer this week and could fetch as much as Rs 13 crore. What’s more, this excludes the buyer’s premium, taxation, and resale right compensation.
At first glance, the canvas might appear blank. However, it is painted with white enamel, a medium that involves layering glass dust mixed with oil and pigments. Each layer is carefully sanded before the next is applied.
When Ryman was asked if he made white paintings, he replied, “I don’t think of myself as making white paintings. I make paintings; I’m a painter. White paint is my medium. There’s a lot of color involved. I don’t mean colour like red, green, and yellow; but, colour, in that sense.”
This painting by Ryman, who died in 2019, summarises the essence of his work: white, serial, squared, analytical, and based on a calculated concept. It was first exhibited at the Fischbach Gallery in 1971.
Take a look at the painting here:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the renowned thinker, once said that all colours exist in black and white – a sentiment that aligns with the conceptual depth of Ryman’s work.
15-part General series
The artwork that is up for auction is a part of a 15-work series titled “General”. Each artwork differs in size by 0.5 inches, with the smallest canvas being 48 x 48 inches to the largest at 55 x 55 inches. The artworks are titled “General”, followed by their dimensions.
Notably, two artworks from the series are part of the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, while two others are in public collections in the United States and Paris. One of these works was also showcased at the 1972 Documenta 5 exhibition in Kassel, Germany.
Reflecting on his work, Ryman once remarked, “A painting has to do with, well, with paint, basically (.) It’s never so important what you paint, it’s how you do it. And that’s really the whole problem, I mean, the essence of painting, or of anything, I guess.”
