Lot 224: Charles Lutz

Double Denied - Double Brillo
Each signed "Charles Lutz" and stamped with a facsimile of the "DENIED" mark used by Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board on the reverse. This work is unique.

Overall dimensions: 30 1/2 x 17 1/8 x 14 in. (77.5 x 43.5 x 35.6 cm).

Silkscreen on painted wood (in two parts).

2008

Private Collection

Double Denied - Double Brillo is a seminal work of the artist's Denial and Acceptance series. Double Denied - Double Brillo Functions on multiple levels, it's highly conceptual, yet instantly engaging. The work creates problems within a system, and at the same time attempts to correct some of those very imbalances. Lutz has masterfully recreated two of Warhol's most recognisable works, Brillo boxes from Warhol's 1964 New York Stable Gallery exhibition. The boxes are identical to Warhol's in every way, except for the fact that Lutz's boxes have been stamped DENIED (using a facsimile of the Andy Warhol Authentication Board's DENIED stamp) and signed by the artist. By assigning these work "DENIED" Lutz quite literally stamps his mark on art history. Influenced by Duchamp as well as Baldessari, the artist further pushes the boundaries of Conceptual Art while questioning the parameters of Contemporary Art. By using a mark of devaluation, Lutz validates. In an act of devaluation the artist creates value. The work questions systems and the complexities inherent within the idea of the "art object as multiple" in Contemporary Art, as well as it's value structures.