Mathias Goeritz Wood and Gold Leaf Sculpture Pair, Mid to Late 20th Century

Item Details

Werner Mathias Goeritz Brunner (German/Mexican, 1915 – 1990)
Untitled (two spheres), mid to late 20th century
Two wood sculptures in near-spherical form with distressed gold leaf finish
One of the two pieces is incised with monogram “MG”

Mathias Goeritz was born in Danzig, German Empire (now Gdańsk, Poland), in 1915, and he studied philosophy and art history at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität (now the Humboldt University of Berlin). He graduated in 1940 with a doctorate in art history with a dissertation on the nineteenth-century German painter Ferdinand von Rayski. During his time at university, Goeritz also attended the Berlin-Charlottenberg applied arts vocational school, where he studied under Max Kaus and Hans Orlowski. He began work at Berlin’s National Gallery, but left Germany in the midst of World War II, eventually settling in Spain by the war’s end, and his first solo exhibition was shown in 1946 in Madrid. In 1949, he emigrated to Mexico with his wife, photographer Marianne Gast, after being offered a position to teach art history at the Escuela de Arquitectura in Guadalajara, Mexico. By 1953, he had settled in Mexico City and was working on architectural designs for the Museo Experimental El Eco and collaborating with engineer Luis Barragán on monumental, abstract sculptures in reinforced concrete.

Mathias Goeritz’s work is centered in his philosophy of the social and spiritual values of art, and he wrote manifestos promoting his ideas and celebrating the “visual modernity” of geometric abstraction. He served as a catalyst for modern art in Mexico, and inspired many young Mexican artists, including Helen Escobedo and Pedro Friedeberg.

Condition

- surface scratches, marks, and abrasions throughout surface in addition to initial distressing.

Dimensions

- measures one of two spheres.

Item #

ITMG533944