Elim
1938
"Elim" by Francis Picabia, executed in pencil and gouache on cardboard, exemplifies the artist's mechanomorphic style characteristic of his work during the early twentieth century Dada movement. The composition features abstracted, machine like forms rendered in Picabia's distinctive approach that conflates mechanical and organic imagery to challenge conventional artistic representation. Created during a period of radical artistic experimentation, the work reflects Picabia's interest in the relationship between technology, humor, and the subversion of meaning through non representational visual language.
- Medium
- pencil and gouache on cardboard
- Location
- Sotheby's, New York, NY
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Sotheby'sView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
Modern & Contemporary Art
November 28, 2024
Estimate: $100,000 to $150,000
Lot 103
Spotted works by Francis Picabia
Artists in conversation
Marcel Duchamp
French · b. 1887
Duchamp similarly merged mechanical imagery with conceptual provocation in works like his Large Glass and readymades, sharing Picabia's Dada driven interest in conflating machine forms with artistic meaning and challenging conventional representation.
Fernand Léger
French · b. 1881
Léger's tubular, machine inspired figurative compositions share the same fascination with mechanomorphic forms and the aestheticization of industrial imagery that defines Picabia's abstracted mechanical visual language in this piece.
Man Ray
American · b. 1890
Man Ray worked within the same Dada and Surrealist circles as Picabia and produced similarly enigmatic works blending mechanical forms with organic subjects, using experimental mixed media techniques that echo the pencil and gouache approach seen in this composition.
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