Paul Neagu Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Paul Neagu Art Value Price Guide

Aug. 13, 2024
▲ Paul Neagu (Romanian-British, 1938-2004)
Est: £400 - £600
▲ Paul Neagu (Romanian-British, 1938-2004) 'The Cake Man' signed 'NEAGU P', inscribed with title and dated '1970' u.r., a printed sheet attached verso is signed and inscribed ‘NEAGU P. 1970/to A.Yule for his Birthday/11 Feb 1989', pen and ink 28 x 21.5cm Condition Report: Framed: 53 x 43cm The work is executed on graph paper which is stuck down to a sheet of brown paper measuring 31 x 24cm. The graph paper has a small tear and piece missing to the upper right edge. There is a piece of tape over the text in the lower centre. Foxing and timestaining. Not viewed out of glazed frame.
Sworders
Apr. 30, 2024
§PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004)
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) HYPHEN IN DENIRATION - 1988 Signed with initials and dated 1988 lower right, bears artist's stamp verso and inscribed with title and message to current owner, ink and acrylic on paper 16.5cm x 24.5cm (6.5in x 9.5in), unframed Gifted by the artist to the present owner
Lyon & Turnbull
Apr. 30, 2024
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004)
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) A GROUP OF THREE WORKS: ‘TWO HYPHENS’; 'HAPPY DAYS’; ‘POSTCARD’ ‘Two Hyphens’, signed, inscribed “‘Two Hyphens’, Ljubliana, ‘Windows of Love’”, and dated 1988, mixed media on a photographic base pasted on ‘Visual Hermeneutics’ headed paper; ‘Happy Days (Christmas), 1985, ink on card; ’Postcard', 1980, inscribed ‘The race course - just ask for it!’, ink on postcard base (3) 21cm x 30cm (8.25in x 11.75in); 9cm x 14cm (3.5in x 5.5in); 10cm x 15cm (4in x 6in), all unframed
Lyon & Turnbull
Mar. 14, 2024
Paul Neagu (b. 1938 - d. 2004) - Human Hand - 45 Cells*
Est: €5,000 - €7,000
Executed in: 1972; Medium: mixed media on canvas; Size: 42 x 25 cm (52.5 x 35 cm with frame); Signed and dated on the front lower right in black "Neagu. 1972. ll."
Ans Azura
Jan. 10, 2024
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) FIST CITY - 1981
Est: £500 - £700
PAUL NEAGU FIST CITY - 1981 Screenprint with hand-colouring, A/P, signed, dated, titled, editioned and inscribed 'hand-coloured' in pencil to margin Collection of the Late Dr. Tom Scott, sold to benefit the National Trust for Scotland. the sheet 56cm x 38cm (22in x 15in)
Lyon & Turnbull
Jan. 10, 2024
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) STARHEAD C.1981
Est: £10,000 - £15,000
PAUL NEAGU STARHEAD C.1981 Stainless steel, surface textured by the artist 1938 Collection of the Late Dr. Tom Scott, sold to benefit the National Trust for Scotland. 280cm x 240xcm x 120cm (110in x 94.5in x 47.25in), including base
Lyon & Turnbull
Dec. 07, 2023
Paul Neagu (b. 1938 - d. 2004) - The Flying Horse of Kensu*
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Executed in: 1974; Medium: Lithograph on paper; edition 3/75; Size: 47 x 62 cm (60 x 74.5 cm with frame); Signed and dated on the front lower part in pencil "Neagu. P % GAG 1974; 3/75"
Ans Azura
Dec. 07, 2023
Paul Neagu (b. 1938 - d. 2004) - Fist City*
Est: €300 - €700
Executed in: 1981; Medium: Lithograph in colours on paper; Size: 41 x 32 cm (69 x 59.5 cm with frame); Signed, titled and dated on the front lower part in pencil "Fist City A/P, P. Neagu, 1981"
Ans Azura
Aug. 09, 2023
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) THE FLYING HORSE - 1974
Est: £600 - £800
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) THE FLYING HORSE - 1974 Hand-coloured lithograph, 44/75, signed, dated, numbered and inscribed in pencil to margin, with 'Generative Art Group' stamp (the sheet 51cm x 68.5cm (20in x 27in), unframed)
Lyon & Turnbull
Jun. 28, 2023
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) RAMP-HYPHEN-RAMP - 1979
Est: £500 - £700
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) RAMP-HYPHEN-RAMP - 1979 Signed, dated and titled lower right, with 'Generative Arts - Paul Neagu' stamp, mixed media on board (120.5cm x 170.5cm (47.25in x 67in)) Provenance: Private Collection, Vienna
Lyon & Turnbull
May. 25, 2023
Paul Neagu, Cathalytic House
Est: €500 - €900
colour offset, unique specimen, 29,5 × 41 cm, signed, dated and named bottom centred, in the offset field, "P. Neagu, 1991, Cathalytic House"; noted and signed right side, in black, "P. Neagu, Archigram"; stamped bottom right, in red, "Generative Art Trust"
A10 by Artmark
May. 25, 2023
Paul Neagu, Chora (City Plan)
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
acrylic, oil and glaze on wood, 39 × 50 cm, signed, dated and named on the reverse, in black, "Paul Neagu, Chora, 1976-1997"
A10 by Artmark
May. 25, 2023
Paul Neagu, Archigram
Est: €500 - €900
colour offset, unique specimen, 29,5 × 41,5 cm, signed and named bottom right, in black, "P. Neagu, Archigram"; dated upper right, in the offset field "12 ian. 1998"; stamped upper right, in red, "Generative Art Trust"
A10 by Artmark
May. 25, 2023
Paul Neagu, Project for G.A.T. House
Est: €500 - €900
colour offset, unique specimen, 29 × 42 cm, signed, dated and named bottom centred, in the offset field, "P. Neagu, 1996, Generative Art Trust (Building for Constr.), G.A.T House"; stamped bottom right, in red, "Generative Art Trust"
A10 by Artmark
May. 25, 2023
Paul Neagu, Archigram
Est: €500 - €900
colour offset, unique specimen, 25 × 40 cm, signed, dated and named bottom right, in black, "P. Neagu, Archigram, 1997 (2)"
A10 by Artmark
Apr. 05, 2023
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) S Hyphen - 1990 Technique mixte sur papier
Est: €1,200 - €1,800
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) S Hyphen - 1990 Technique mixte sur papier Signé, daté et titré en bas à droite "'S Hyphen', P. Neagu, 190", tampon de l'artiste dans la partie supérieure droite h: 69 w: 97,70 cm Provenance : Collection particulière, Vienne Commentaire : Un certificat du Paul Neagu Estate Romania sera remis à l'acquéreur. Mixed media on paper; signed, dated and titled lower right, artist's stamp in the upper right part Estimation 1 200 - 1 800 €
Artcurial
Apr. 05, 2023
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) Skull hyphen - 1988 Bois et gesso avec patine bronze
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) Skull hyphen - 1988 Bois et gesso avec patine bronze Signé des initiales sur le coté "P. N" h: 38 w: 68 d: 41 cm Provenance : Collection particulière, Vienne Commentaire : Un certificat du Paul Neagu Estate Romania sera remis à l'acquéreur. Wood and gesso with bronze patina; signed with the initials on the side Estimation 4 000 - 6 000 €
Artcurial
Apr. 04, 2023
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) 'RAMP-HYPHEN' - SERPENTINE GALLERY PERFORMANCE, LONDON, 1976, DEC. PAIL NEAGU & PENNY ROBINSON
Est: £300 - £500
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) 'RAMP-HYPHEN' - SERPENTINE GALLERY PERFORMANCE, LONDON, 1976, DEC. PAIL NEAGU & PENNY ROBINSON Silver gelatin print, with ink inscription (18.5cm x 23.5cm (7.25in x 9.25in)) Provenance: Private European collection Note: This work acts as documentation and record of a live performance by Paul Neagu. The photographer is unrecorded.
Lyon & Turnbull
Apr. 04, 2023
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) NEW HYPHEN - 1992
Est: £600 - £800
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) NEW HYPHEN - 1992 Signed and dated lower right, with 'Paul Neagu Generative Arts' stamp, extensively inscribed upper right, mixed media (49cm x 69cm (19.25in x 27.25in)) Provenance: Private Collection, Vienna.
Lyon & Turnbull
Apr. 04, 2023
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) RAMP-HYPHEN-RAMP - 1979
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) RAMP-HYPHEN-RAMP - 1979 Signed, dated and titled lower right, with 'Generative Arts - Paul Neagu' stamp, mixed media on board (120.5cm x 170.5cm (47.25in x 67in)) Provenance: Private Collection, Vienna.
Lyon & Turnbull
Apr. 04, 2023
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) SKULL HYPHEN
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) SKULL HYPHEN Signed with initials, bronze sculpture (67cm x 37cm x 40.5cm (26.25in x 14.5in x 16in)) Provenance: Private European collection Note: This work is believed to date to c.1988.
Lyon & Turnbull
Mar. 25, 2023
Neagu, Paul (1938 Bukarest - London 2004)
Est: €400 - €480
"The flying horse (of Kansu)", so re. o. in der Darstellung betitelt. Lithographie/festem Papier (Altersspuren, fleckig, Knicke und Ecken mit kl. Montagelöchern), re. u. mit Bleistift sign., dat. 1974, Künstlerstempel und li. u. num. 3/75. Plattenrand 45x 60,5 cm, Blattmaß 50,5x 69 cm.
Dannenberg
Feb. 21, 2023
Paul Neagu, Hyphen-energy
Est: €3,500 - €5,500
oil on canvas, 61 × 49,5 cm, signed, entitled and dated on the reverse, with blue, "Hyphen-energy, P. Neagu, 1990"
A10 by Artmark
Feb. 21, 2023
Paul Neagu, Balanced Hyphen
Est: €1,000 - €1,600
charcoal, gouache, pastel and pencil on paper , 33,5 × 47,5 cm, signed, dated and entitled bottom right, with pencil, "Balanced Hyphen, P. Neagu, 1994"
A10 by Artmark
Feb. 21, 2023
Paul Neagu, Fist City
Est: €800 - €1,500
hand coloured screen printing, 56,5 × 38 cm, signed and dated bottom right, with pencil, ''Fist City, P. Neagu, 1981''; entitled and numbered bottom left, with pencil ''Fist city 18/90 ''; dedicated bottom centred, with pencil, ''For Monica Hutchinson with sympathy, Paul Neagu''
A10 by Artmark
Jan. 11, 2023
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) RAMP-HYPHEN-RAMP - 1979
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) RAMP-HYPHEN-RAMP - 1979 Signed, dated and titled lower right, with 'Generative Arts - Paul Neagu' stamp, mixed media on board (120.5cm x 170.5cm (47.25in x 67in))
Lyon & Turnbull
Nov. 15, 2022
Paul Neagu, Hyphen
Est: €2,000 - €3,500
pencil, crayons and china-ink on paper, 115 × 76,5 cm, signed bottom right, with pencil, "Paul Neagu"; entitled, located and dated bottom left, with pencil, "Hyphen, New York, 1977"
A10 by Artmark
Nov. 15, 2022
Paul Neagu, Container Man
Est: €1,000 - €1,600
pencil and china-ink on paper, 32 × 40,5 cm, signed, dated, entitled and located bottom right, with pencil, "P. Neagu, Container Man, 1980, London"
A10 by Artmark
Oct. 25, 2022
Paul Neagu, New Hyphen
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
oil and beads on wood, 27 × 60 × 1 cm, signed and dated pe verso, with black, "P. Neagu, 1998"
A10 by Artmark
Oct. 12, 2022
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) Low hyphen - 1977 Aquarelle, fusain, crayon et pastel sur papier
Est: €1,500 - €2,500
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) Low hyphen - 1977 Aquarelle, fusain, crayon et pastel sur papier Signé, daté et titré en bas à droite "Low Hyphen, P. Neagu, 1977", porte le cachet du Generative Art Group. Rapport de condition / Condition report : L'oeuvre est encadrée (sans verre). Le papier est légèrement gondolé. Le papier est fixé au support par ses angles. Micros tâches de rousseur et salissures éparses. The work is framed (without glass). The paper is slightly wavy. The paper is fixed to the backing by its corners. Scattared tiny foxing spots and dirt marks. h: 71,80 w: 101,60 cm Provenance : Collection particulière, Vienne Commentaire : L'authenticité de cette oeuvre a été confirmée par Monsieur Anton Neagu. Watercolor, charcoal, pencil and pastel on paper; signed, dated and titled lower right, The Generative Art Group's stamp upper right Estimation 1 500 - 2 500 €
Artcurial
Aug. 10, 2022
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) HUMAN FOOT SHADOW, 1973
Est: £700 - £900
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) HUMAN FOOT SHADOW, 1973 Signed, inscribed with title and dated '73 lower left, further inscribed 'Human Foot, 35 cells, GENERATIVE ART GROUP', mixed media on paper (39cm x 27cm (15.25in x 10.5in)) Provenance: Gifted by the artist to Silvia Radu and Vasile Gorduz, Romanian artists and close friends of Neagu (work bears inscription from Neagu to the pair verso); Gifted by Silvia Radu to the present owner Note: Paul Neagu’s legacy within the UK artworld is one of quiet but profound impact, with the generation of students he taught – Rachel Whiteread, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor (who authored his obituary), attesting to his influence on their own work. His artistic practice was underpinned by his personal philosophical theory of the world; a sophisticated if esoteric approach which, though valued by curators, institutions and centres of education here from the early stages of his career, was out of step with his contemporaries at the time. As a Romanian émigré, Neagu’s output inevitably had a cross-cultural outlook, and his sculpture, drawings and performances were underpinned by an exploration of the metaphysical, and can be described as straddling craft and conceptualism. Though these features distinguished him and set his work apart, it also meant he did not fit within the general trends in the British art world at this point, to the detriment of his standing amongst collectors of British sculpture today. Kapoor in his tribute remarks that, “…inevitably, he struggled against a British art world that preferred to see the artist as a maker of things rather than, as he saw it, art, and therefore the artist, as a generator of a philosophical world view.” Growing up in tough conditions behind the Iron Curtain, the young Neagu enrolled at the Bucharest Institute of Fine Art in 1963. Social Realism was the official visual language under the Communist regime, and so he was forced to make forays into abstraction in secret. These constraints ultimately led to the development of his core belief that art is an expression of 'desire in the face of the systems that attempt to inhibit it'. Throughout the 1960s he developed his ‘palpable objects’: construction-like box assemblages made out of humble materials and traditional Romanian woodworking techniques; a thread to his practise which he never abandoned and can be observed in the work offered here for sale, ‘Ongoing Hyphen’. His ticket to the West came in the form of an invitation from the now legendary art impresario Richard Demarco to exhibit at his gallery in 1969. A powerhouse behind the Edinburgh Art Festival, Demarco was extraordinarily outward looking for the time and made it his mission to discover and expose talent from Eastern Europe over in the West (other names he is responsible for championing include Marina Abramovich and Joseph Beuys). Neagu settled in the UK permanently in 1970, making London his home. Before long he became a well-respected teacher, most notably lecturing at the Hornsey, the Slade and the Chelsea School of Art, and in 1976 becoming Associate Professor at the Royal College of Art. His work encompassed aspects of performance as well as drawing and construction, and explored the relationship between ritualism and sculpture, as well as spirituality. Sculpture, as Neagu saw it, was to be experienced by all five senses and had the potential to have a profound, spiritual, and potentially healing impact on its audience. In order to convey these aims, he developed specific totemic symbols which he then continued to re-work over the course of his career. The first and most significant of these was the Hyphen form. As Kapoor describes, “…in 1975, Neagu made his first Hyphen - it started life as a three-legged workbench assembled somewhat in the folk tradition of Romanian furniture. Quickly Neagu understood the immense metaphysical potential of this tripod structure. From it he evolved a complete anthropocosmic view which, in parallel with Joseph Beuys in Germany and, previously, Yves Klein in France, suggested a spiritual remedy for the ills of contemporary man.” These reference points are notably European, again underpinning that Neagu’s process was something of an anomaly within the British art movements of the period. This though, as I alluded earlier, is to the advantage of discerning collectors with a more internationalistic outlook today, as his work remains accessibly priced. Lyon & Turnbull are pleased to offer for sale ‘On-going Hyphen’, from 1992. Crafted in some of Neagu’s traditional materials, wood and gesso, it represents a later iteration of the original hyphen form, which Neagu approached again with vigour in this year. We are also pleased to offer one of his ‘human cell’ drawings, ‘Human Foot Shadow’, from 1973 – a further aspect of his ‘Anthropocosmic’ concept which he developed in the early 1970s. In 2003 Tate Britain acquired Neagu’s 30-year archive and exhibited some of his work from the 1970s and 1980s, and his work can be found in public collections including, among others, the British Museum, London, le Fond départemental d'art contemporain, Seine Saint-Denis, Bobigny, France, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, the Musee Cantonal de Beaux Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland, the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, the Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia, USA, and the Tate Gallery, London.
Lyon & Turnbull
Jul. 07, 2022
Paul Neagu, Modern Energy Painting
Est: €3,500 - €5,500
60 × 49 cm, oil on plywood, signed, dated and entitled on the reverse, with orange, "P. NEAGU, 1990, Modern Energy Painting"
A10 by Artmark
Jul. 07, 2022
Paul Neagu, Hyphen
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
65 × 86 cm, ink, gouache and charcoal on paper pasted on plywood, signed, dated and entitled upper left side, "PN, Hyphen, (19)92"; dedicated right side, with red, "To Julien, Happy New Year, Paul": stamped bottom right, "Paul Neagu, Generative Arts"
A10 by Artmark
Jul. 07, 2022
Paul Neagu, Dialectic Man
Est: €1,000 - €1,800
74,5 × 55,5 cm, watercolour and crayons on screen printing, signed, dated and entitled bottom right, with pencil, "P. NEAGU, 1979, Dialectic Man"; numbered bottom left, with pencil, "24/ 45"
A10 by Artmark
Jul. 07, 2022
PAUL NEAGU (1938-2004) CONTAINER MAN, 1970
Est: €600 - €800
PAUL NEAGU (1938-2004) CONTAINER MAN, 1970 Aquarelle, encre et crayon sur papier Signé, titré et daté en bas à droite Watercolor, ink and pencil on paper; signed, titled and dated lower right 32 x 40,5 cm - 12 5/8 x 16 in.
Tajan
Jul. 07, 2022
PAUL NEAGU (1938-2004) BALANCED HYPHEN, 1994
Est: €800 - €1,000
PAUL NEAGU (1938-2004) BALANCED HYPHEN, 1994 Technique mixte sur papier Signé, titré et daté en bas à droite, tampon 'Paul Neagu Generative Arts' Mixed media on paper; signed, titled and dated lower right 34,5 x 48,5 cm - 13 5/8 x 19 1/8 in.
Tajan
Jun. 18, 2022
Neagu, Paul (1938 Bukarest - London 2004)
Est: €200 - €240
"Man Dial", so li. u. mit Bleistift betitelt, Ex. 9/45 und re. u. sign. bzw. dat. 1979. Handkolorierte Lithographie/festem Papier (gebräunt, fleckig, Knickspuren). Blattmaß 76x 56,5 cm.
Dannenberg
Jun. 18, 2022
Neagu, Paul (1938 Bukarest - London 2004)
Est: €400 - €480
"The flying horse (of Kansu)", so re. o. in der Darstellung betitelt. Lithographie/festem Papier (Altersspuren, fleckig, Knicke), re. u. mit Bleistift sign., dat. 1974, Künstlerstempel und li. u. num. A.P. (artist's proof). Plattenrand 45x 60,5 cm, Blattmaß 50,5x 69 cm.
Dannenberg
May. 17, 2022
Paul Neagu, Human Hand
Est: €1,000 - €2,000
watercolour, charcoal and pencil on paper pasted on cardboard, 20,5 × 29,5 cm, signed and dated right side, with black, "PN, (19)73"; signed, dated and entitled bottom centred, with pencil, "Neagu P., 1973, Human Hand, Generative Art Group"
A10 by Artmark
May. 17, 2022
Paul Neagu, Iris
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
oil on canvas, 30 × 30 cm, signed, dated and noted on the reverse, with black, "P. NEAGU, 1973, E.L."
A10 by Artmark
Apr. 06, 2022
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) COLLECTOR CONTAINER : ASYMMETRIC - UNEQUAL - UNEVEN, 1970
Est: £600 - £800
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) COLLECTOR CONTAINER : ASYMMETRIC - UNEQUAL - UNEVEN, 1970 Signed and dated lower right and upper right, mixed media on paper (34cm x 26cm (13.5in x 10.25in))
Lyon & Turnbull
Apr. 06, 2022
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) NOW HYPHEN, 1989
Est: £800 - £1,200
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) NOW HYPHEN, 1989 Signed and inscirbed with title and dated lower right, mixed media on paper (55cm x 74cm (21.5in x 29in))
Lyon & Turnbull
Mar. 30, 2022
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) Hyphen New York - 1977 Aquarelle, fusain, crayon et pastel sur papier
Est: €1,500 - €2,000
Paul NEAGU (1938 - 2004) Hyphen New York - 1977 Aquarelle, fusain, crayon et pastel sur papier Signé et tampon de l'artiste en bas à droite "Paul Neagu, Generative Arts Paul Neagu", daté et titré en bas à gauche "Hyphen New York, 1977" h: 114 w: 76,70 cm Provenance : Collection particulière, Vienne Commentaire : Watercolour, charcoal, pencil and pastel on paper; signed and artist's stamp lower right, dated and titled lower left Estimation 1 500 - 2 000 €
Artcurial
Mar. 26, 2022
Neagu, Paul (1938 Bukarest - London 2004)
Est: €1,400 - €1,680
"Impulses & Vectors", so re. u. im Werk betitelt. Federzeichnung/Mischtechnik/Tuch (wohl beabsichtigte Altersspuren), li. u. sign. und dat. 1972, das Werk ist im Ausstellungskatalog "Paul Neagu Sculpture, ICA London 1979" abgebildet. PP.-Ausschnitt 23x 17 cm. PP., R.
Dannenberg
Feb. 22, 2022
Paul Neagu, Human Hand
Est: €1,000 - €2,000
watercolour, pencil and charcoal highlights on paper, 21 × 29 cm, signed, dated and entitled bottom right, with pencil, "Human Hand, 43 cells, NEAGU P., 1972"
A10 by Artmark
Feb. 22, 2022
Paul Neagu, Human Hands
Est: €1,200 - €1,800
watercolour, pencil and ink on paper, 28,5 × 29,5 cm, signed, dated and entitled bottom centred, with pen and ink, "P. Neagu, (19)73, Human Hands"
A10 by Artmark
Feb. 01, 2022
Paul Neagu, Unnamed
Est: €700 - €1,200
watercolour on paper pasted on cardboard, 32 × 25 cm, signed upper right, with pencil, "P.N., 1988"; dated upper left, with pencil, "17 dec 1988"; entitled bottom centred, with pencil, "Unnamed"; stamped bottom right, with red, "Generative Arts, Paul Neagu"
A10 by Artmark
Jan. 19, 2022
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) HUMAN FOOT SHADOW, 1973
Est: £700 - £900
§ PAUL NEAGU (ROMANIAN/BRITISH 1938-2004) HUMAN FOOT SHADOW, 1973 Signed, inscribed with title and dated '73 lower left, further inscribed 'Human Foot, 35 cells, GENERATIVE ART GROUP', mixed media on paper (39cm x 27cm (15.25in x 10.5in)) Provenance: Gifted by the artist to Silvia Radu and Vasile Gorduz, Romanian artists and close friends of Neagu (work bears inscription from Neagu to the pair verso); Gifted by Silvia Radu to the present owner Footnote: Note: Paul Neagu’s legacy within the UK artworld is one of quiet but profound impact, with the generation of students he taught – Rachel Whiteread, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor (who authored his obituary), attesting to his influence on their own work. His artistic practice was underpinned by his personal philosophical theory of the world; a sophisticated if esoteric approach which, though valued by curators, institutions and centres of education here from the early stages of his career, was out of step with his contemporaries at the time. As a Romanian émigré, Neagu’s output inevitably had a cross-cultural outlook, and his sculpture, drawings and performances were underpinned by an exploration of the metaphysical, and can be described as straddling craft and conceptualism. Though these features distinguished him and set his work apart, it also meant he did not fit within the general trends in the British art world at this point, to the detriment of his standing amongst collectors of British sculpture today. Kapoor in his tribute remarks that, “…inevitably, he struggled against a British art world that preferred to see the artist as a maker of things rather than, as he saw it, art, and therefore the artist, as a generator of a philosophical world view.” Growing up in tough conditions behind the Iron Curtain, the young Neagu enrolled at the Bucharest Institute of Fine Art in 1963. Social Realism was the official visual language under the Communist regime, and so he was forced to make forays into abstraction in secret. These constraints ultimately led to the development of his core belief that art is an expression of 'desire in the face of the systems that attempt to inhibit it'. Throughout the 1960s he developed his ‘palpable objects’: construction-like box assemblages made out of humble materials and traditional Romanian woodworking techniques; a thread to his practise which he never abandoned and can be observed in the work offered here for sale, ‘Ongoing Hyphen’. His ticket to the West came in the form of an invitation from the now legendary art impresario Richard Demarco to exhibit at his gallery in 1969. A powerhouse behind the Edinburgh Art Festival, Demarco was extraordinarily outward looking for the time and made it his mission to discover and expose talent from Eastern Europe over in the West (other names he is responsible for championing include Marina Abramovich and Joseph Beuys). Neagu settled in the UK permanently in 1970, making London his home. Before long he became a well-respected teacher, most notably lecturing at the Hornsey, the Slade and the Chelsea School of Art, and in 1976 becoming Associate Professor at the Royal College of Art. His work encompassed aspects of performance as well as drawing and construction, and explored the relationship between ritualism and sculpture, as well as spirituality. Sculpture, as Neagu saw it, was to be experienced by all five senses and had the potential to have a profound, spiritual, and potentially healing impact on its audience. In order to convey these aims, he developed specific totemic symbols which he then continued to re-work over the course of his career. The first and most significant of these was the Hyphen form. As Kapoor describes, “…in 1975, Neagu made his first Hyphen - it started life as a three-legged workbench assembled somewhat in the folk tradition of Romanian furniture. Quickly Neagu understood the immense metaphysical potential of this tripod structure. From it he evolved a complete anthropocosmic view which, in parallel with Joseph Beuys in Germany and, previously, Yves Klein in France, suggested a spiritual remedy for the ills of contemporary man.” These reference points are notably European, again underpinning that Neagu’s process was something of an anomaly within the British art movements of the period. This though, as I alluded earlier, is to the advantage of discerning collectors with a more internationalistic outlook today, as his work remains accessibly priced. Lyon & Turnbull are pleased to offer for sale ‘On-going Hyphen’, from 1992. Crafted in some of Neagu’s traditional materials, wood and gesso, it represents a later iteration of the original hyphen form, which Neagu approached again with vigour in this year. We are also pleased to offer one of his ‘human cell’ drawings, ‘Human Foot Shadow’, from 1973 – a further aspect of his ‘Anthropocosmic’ concept which he developed in the early 1970s. In 2003 Tate Britain acquired Neagu’s 30-year archive and exhibited some of his work from the 1970s and 1980s, and his work can be found in public collections including, among others, the British Museum, London, le Fond départemental d'art contemporain, Seine Saint-Denis, Bobigny, France, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, the Musee Cantonal de Beaux Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland, the National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest, the Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia, USA, and the Tate Gallery, London.
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