Born in San Francisco in 1939, Richard Serra is certainly one of the most highly rated contemporary artists of his generation. His work is kept in the largest private and public collections in the world, from the Pinault collection to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Mainly known for his monumental steel sculptures that play with the perception of space, Richard Serra has also been interested since the 1970s in drawing and engraving. Always produced in deep black, his graphic works are a perfect two-dimensional illustration of his research and have a similar force to his sculptures. These are not sketches but genuine works, conceived as such by the artist.

After exploring the resources of lithography and then screen printing in the 1970s and 1980s, he has concentrated for thirty years on engravings in small, medium and above all very large format. His workshop works in particular on the depth of black tones for an exceptional rendering. The two works that we propose, although very different, are both very representative of his work on the medium.

The sale presents 183rd & Webster Avenue (lot), a lithograph produced very early (in 1972) by Richard Serra, and published by Gemini G.E.L. Los Angeles. We see in this print, a copy of which is kept at MoMA in New York, all that is the strength of Serra's work: a formal language reduced to its simplest expression to create a new architectural space. Rue Ligner (lot), produced later in 1989 in 22 copies, is of exceptional strength. In a monumental format, it is like the sculptures of Richard Serra. Enhanced with black wax for an exceptional finish, this engraved work redefines the space in which it is exhibited. A similar copy is also kept in the collections of the Center Pompidou in Paris.

Two works on paper that allow us to understand and grasp the quintessence of this exceptional artist whose sales results have only increased in recent years.

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