Lot 5
Charles Arnoldi (1946-)
Lot 5 Details
Charles Arnoldi (1946-), American
SANTA FE, 1988, XIX
Cast and assembled bronze with dry pigment and patina; signed in gold paint verso, titled and dated: “Santa Fe. May. 11. 1988 XIX” incised to the verso
Approximately 18.75" x 17" x 5" — 47.6 x 43.2 x 12.7 cm.
Estimate $1,200-$1,800
Additional Images
Provenance:
Prominent Private Collection
Note:
Charles Arnoldi is a well-known California sculptor, painter, and printmaker. This and the following lots by Arnoldi: lot 6; 6A and lot 7 represent his signature wall sculptures, made from assembled bronze.
In 1977, he cast his first metal sculpture from one of his small stick wood structures. He had collected some tree branches with a friend from a nearby area, brought them home and positioned them against the wall inside his studio. He observed the pieces and found that they resembled hand-drawn lines. He began to use branches and twigs to make up the lines within his paintings, "building" a painting with them. He collected scraps from the foundry, and appreciating their natural form assembled the pieces to make wall sculptures that resembled the effect of tree branches casting shadows when mounted on a wall.
In the 1980s, Arnoldi began to incorporate color to give even more definition to his three-dimensional sculptural wall sculptures.