214. ENDRE NEMES. “Set on its tip”.

Acrylic, tempera and oil on canvas, 211 x 136 cm. Signed and dated endre nemes 1967-75 and verso endre nemes 1967-1973.

PROVENANCE
Stockholms Auktionsverk, 8 Sep. 1999, cat. no. I'm 65.
Bukowskis, 24 Apr. 2004, cat. no. 204

EXHIBITED
Hallands Museum, Halmstad, 2-16 Apr. 1967, Cat No. He's 94.
Munich, Frankfurt, Duisburg, Mannheim u Kiel, “Schwedische kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts”, May - Nov 1967, cat. no. ! 111.
Konsthallen Göteborg, “Paintings and collages 1964-1968" 10 Feb. - 3 Mar. 1968, cat. no. I'm 56.
Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, 15 Feb. - 9 Mar. 1969, cat. no. I'm 49.
Liljevalchs konsthall, Stockholm, “Endre Nemes,” 2 Oct. - Dec 3. 1972, cat. no. 503.
Borås Museum Kulturhuset, 23 Nov. 1975 - Jan 18 1976, cat. no. I'm 71.
Konsthallen, Gamla Gillet, Uppsala, 14 Mar. - 4 Apr. 1976, cat. no. I'm 71.
Göteborgs Konstmuseum, 17 March - 20 May 1979, cat. no. 237. Illustrated on p. 119 of the catalog.

LITERATURE
Ragnar von Holten et al. Endre Nemes retrospective exhibition 1926-1972, illustrated on full page.
Eje Högestätt et al., Endre Nemes, Konstakademie's exhibition catalogue, 1979, listed in the catalogue of works, no. I'm 188.
Jan-Gunnar Sjölin: Endre Nemes, part 2, Arcana, Lund 1996, no. 728.

Endre Nemes's art is like no one else's. In his peculiar pictorial structure there is a unique coexistence between the real and the unreal, between clarity and enigmness. In his role as a pioneering artist and art professor, he became a central figure in Swedish modernism, and through his unique and visionary works he came to influence the Nordic art landscape for a long time to come. Nemes combined a surrealist sensibility with a profound intellectual exploration of the inner world of man and the changing society of his time. His artistic language is filled with symbolism and often imbued with mystical and dreamlike elements. In his paintings, people, architecture and technology often meet in a futuristic and sometimes dystopian fusion, dissolving the boundaries of time and space. The soaring figures and mechanical landscapes capture the viewer in a sense of both wonder and uncertainty.

Born in Pécsvárad, Hungary, Endre Nemes held his debut exhibition in Prague in the mid-1930s. The precarious political situation meant that in 1938 he was forced to leave Prague, a city that, with its magical charm at the time, was boiling with intellectual and artistic life. Eventually, after many travels and goals in Europe, in the early summer of 1940 Nemes came to Sweden, where he found a safe haven in his artistic expression. Here he developed a distinctive design language in which humanity and technology are often pitted against each other in inscrutable scenes.

Although Neme's painting was perceived by many as unSwedish and that the artist himself was sometimes referred to as an alien bird in Swedish cultural life, through his pedagogical work as a professor at Valand Academy of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, he inspired a new generation of artists to think boldly and explore their own boundaries. Alongside painting, he participated in debates and discussions with great verbal and analytical ability, with sharp intellect and deep formation. But while he gave art life something new and inspiring, he was also nourished by this, his new environment.

Stockholms Auktionsverk has been entrusted with the sale of two magnificent paintings by Nemes from the 1960s and 70s; “Stätt på sin spets” and “Epitaph of the Fältherrens” respectively. Together, the two artworks are excellent representations of his later paintings and have been exhibited both in Sweden and abroad.

Endre Nemes's art can be likened to a labyrinth of thoughts and visions. Every detail is carefully thought out and gives room for imagination to flow freely. This distinctive artistry has left behind a universe where history, present and future collide — where the viewer can get lost and at the same time find himself anew.