Description:

Lance Letscher (American/Texas, b. 1962), "Water", 2001, mixed media collage on masonite mounted to board, signed and titled on reverse of mount, "D. Berman Gallery, Austin, TX" label with artist, title and date on backing board, 10 1/2 in. x 13 1/4 in., framed, overall 19 1/2 in. x 22 1/4 in. x 3 in. Provenance: D. Berman Gallery, Austin, TX. Note: As a child Lance Letscher would clean out empty rental properties for his grandparents, creating stories around the items the previous tenants had left behind. This childhood activity would eventually become part of his creative process in rummaging for old magazines, books, notebooks and record covers - the “traces of other people” - that end up in his collages. Originally starting his artistic life as a sculptor, the process of collage interested him greatly and led to a shift in the focus of his work. The nature of the medium involves taking the work of other people and disassociating it from the original intent, creating questions of what something was before, who made it and how does it relate now. Letscher claims he does no sketches and has no idea of the finished product when he sits down to create: “I am all about working in a way that takes as much of the control from my conscious mind as possible.” This method results in a balance between the ambiguity of abstraction and a loose narrative that forms from the natural associations he makes with the objects. His background in sculpture is also clearly present with many of his works being constructed in multiple layers, as seen in the two fascinating lots on offer here. Often Letscher mounts his collages on wood and then cuts the wood and rearranges the pieces creating “a three-dimensional illusion.” The artist refers to his works as “unfinished thoughts…they are dysfunctional models that have a feeling of precarious equilibrium that I really identify with.” Ref.: Perlaky, Daniel. “Traces of Other People’s Lives Manifested from a Profound and Excruciating Sense of Boredom.” 2011. Bleach. www.bleachonline.com. Accessed Jan. 10, 2023.

  • Condition: If Condition is NOT stated in the description of the lot, the absence of a condition report does not indicate the lot is free of damage or condition issues. Available Condition Reports will appear as an additional image. Condition Reports and photographs may be requested on items until the Wednesday prior to the auction. Bid accordingly. All sales are final, no returns are accepted on the basis of condition.

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February 3, 2023 11:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

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$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $5,000
$50,000 $99,999 $10,000
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