| Title: |
The Good Life (Tennis Balls) |
| Artist: |
Klarwein, Abdul Mati 'Mati Klarwein' (Hamburg, Germany, 1932 - Majorca, Spain, 2002) |
| Date: |
1978 |
| Medium: |
Original Lithograph Printed in Colour with Additional Pastel Drawing by the Artist |
| Edition: |
Solo Press Impression II |
| Note: |
Abdul Mati Klarwein 'Mati Klarwein': One of the most remarkable Surrealist
artists of the twentieth century, Mati Klarwein never worked conventionally
with galleries, exhibitions or with arts societies. In fact, from 1960
to 1980, he was more or less shunned by the conventional art establishment.
This did not prevent Mati Klarwein from accepting commissions for paintings
from such noteworthy individuals as Brigitte Bardot, Leonard Bernstein,
Jackie Kennedy, Richard Gere and Michael Douglas, nor did it prevent fellow
artists such as Andy Warhol proclaiming that Klarwein "was his favourite
painter". |
| |
Born in Germany in 1932, Mati Klarwein fled the country (when
Hitler came to power) with his parents at age two. They settled in Palestine,
now Israel. Mati Klarwein stated, "I grew up in three different cultures, the
Jewish, Islamic and the Christian. These circumstances and my family's
stern resistance against being part of any kind of orthodoxy has made
me the outsider I am today and always have been. That is also why I took
the name Abdul. " * (C. Lindstrom and P. Holmlund, "The Manic Landscape:
Mati Klarwein", ) |
| |
In the early 1950's Mati Klarwein moved to Paris to study
art under Fernand Leger. Leger's style, however, made little impression
upon him and he began looking elsewhere for sources of inspiration, most
notably in the paintings of Flemish and Italian masters and in the contemporary
paintings and prints of Salvador Dali. During the following years, Klarwein
traveled and worked throughout the world, including visits to Tibet, India,
Bali, North Africa, Turkey, Cuba and the United States. |
| |
The year 1964 marked a pivotal point in Mati Klarwein's career.
In New York, he was at work on a series of paintings to adorn the walls
of the Aleph Sanctuary. One painting entitled Crucifixion caused
an immediate tempest of controversy. Combining Christ's Crucifixion with
a Bosch-like setting of 'earthly delights', Mati Klarwein faced charges of
blasphemy and was actually attacked by an axe wielding fundamentalist. |
| |
Yet others admired these paintings, including the musician,
Carlos Santana. In 1970, Santana used one of the paintings for the cover
art of the album, Abraxas. The vivid and intricate imagery found in Klarwein's
art also attracted Miles Davis, who commissioned the artist to design
the covers for such classic albums as Bitches Brew and Live-Evil.
Since that time, such musicians as Jerry Garcia, Eric Dolphy, Mark Egan
and Earth, Wind and Fire have also requested Klarwein's album art. |
| |
In recent years the art establishment has caught up with
the rest of the world and recognized the unique genius of Mati Klarwein's art.
In 1996 the Royal Museum of Stockholm hosted a large retrospective of
the artist's paintings and prints. |
| |
In the late 1970's, Mati Klarwein experimented with the
medium of fine art lithography. Like his paintings, the lithographs are
dominated by almost hallucinatory, dream-like images. About ten such lithographs
were created by him. Published in 1978, The Good Life originates from this period.
This original lithograph depicts a surreal view of tennis balls flying into the water.
It is inscribed "Solo Press Impression II" in pencil by Mati Klarwein. |
| |
Books by Mati Klarwein include, Milk n’ Honey: Words n’ Pictures, Harmony,
New York, 1973, God Jokes: The Art of Mati Klarwein, Harmony, New York, 1976, Inscapes: Real-Estate Paintings,
Harmony, New York, 1983 and Mati & the Music: 52 Record Covers 1955-2005, with text by Serge Bramly, RM Verlag SL,
2012 and others. Some good books dealing with the artist's work and psychedelic art include, Mati Klarwein is Dreaming Light
by Ricardo Cortes, 2012, Collected Works 1959-1975, Raymond Martin Press, Germany 1988, and Electrical Banana - Masters of Psychedelic
Art, with forward by Paul McCartney, text by Norman Hathaway and Dan Nadel, Damiani, 2012. |
| Size: |
23 X 22 7/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.) |
| |
Unmatted |
| Buy Now |
Price: $595.00 US |
| Condition: |
The Good Life is printed upon sturdy wove paper and with full margins as
published in New York in 1978. Signed, dated and inscribed "Solo Press
Impression II" in pencil by Klarwein along the lower left margin. There
is a very faint toning in a small area on the upper right outside corner
of the margin and a small restored tear about 1/2 inch of the lower margin which does not
intrude into the image. Otherwise, It is a fine impression and in excellent condition
throughout. Tennis Balls is an original example of the
art of Mati Klarwein, one of the most important surrealist artists of
modern times |
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