Ohne Titel. 1969.
Collage and mixed media on light cardboard.
Lower left signed and dated. 95.5 x 68 cm (37.5 x 26.7 in), size of sheet. [JS].

• Luminous, very dynamic work from the heyday of German Informalism.
• Fascinating balance of calculation and chance through the splashing of paint and the tearing and collaging of the image carrier.
• Thieler's "Action Painting" shows clear parallels to Jackson Pollock's working method, whereby Thieler expands the pictorial space into the third dimension by combining different painting surfaces and collages.

PROVENANCE: Private collection Baden-Württemberg (since 2011, Grisebach, November 25, 2011, lot 454).

LITERATURE: Grisebach, Berlin, auction 191, November 25, 2011, lot 454 (illu.).

"It is quite obvious that Thieler's pictorial world is in many respects closer to Pollock than to Wols. There is the often huge format alone, then the splashing, flowing, pouring painting manner and finally the action-packed process of production that is directly visible in the picture. In addition, both artists [..] carry out a fundamental intervention, which today hardly retains any of the revolutionary aspect [..] that this act still had at the beginning of the 1950s: taking the canvas off the easel and laying it on the floor. The painting is approached from all sides by walking around it, is literally the painter's field of action."

Jörg Merkert, Kreative Umwege oder Die Kunst von Fred Thieler von außen betrachtet, in: Fred Thiler, Monographie und Werkverzeichnis, Cologne 1995, p. 19.

In good condition. Slight traces from the making, glue traces, creasing and rubbing owing to production and technique. Backing board partially slightly bumped or compressed at the edges. Partially minimally browned or soiled and with a few, probably later tears in the collaged areas.