Footnotes

• Provenance:
  ICN Pharmaceuticals, Costa Mesa, California
  Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Costa Mesa, California
  Hyland Laboratories for the Investigation of Blood, Costa Mesa, California
  
  Literature:
  Louis Stern Fine Art, Los Angeles, California, Claire Falkenstein Structure and Flow: Works from 1950 - 1980, reference p. 120 (in Selected Major Public and Private Works, 1968-1972)
  
  Note:
  Claire Falkenstein, a sculptor of international note, worked first in San Francisco, then in Paris for over a decade, and finally settled in Venice, California until her death in 1997. A versatile artist working in a wide variety of media, her paintings, sculptures, jewelry and prints have been exhibited and collected by major museums throughout Europe and the United States. After returning to California, Falkenstein became particularly renowned for her monumental public sculptures including DNA Molecule.
  
  Of historical significance in her oeuvre, DNA Molecule is in every way characteristic of this period in the artist’s career, specifically the unique structural systems she had developed over two decades. These are often cited as her signature work. Using sections of copper tubing in sweeping arcs, welded and set with larges pieces of colored Murano glass from Venice, Italy, DNA Molecule is based on the formal vocabulary of her famous gates (e.g. the Guggenheim Gates in Venice, Italy), her highly original fountains (e.g. Long Beach Museum of Art), and the famous stained glass windows of St. Basil’s church in Los Angeles.
  
  Likening the work to jewelry, Falkenstein described her process as placing a colored gem in its metal setting but on a monumental scale.
  
  Maren Henderson, Ph.D.
  
  Collections (selected) Guggenheim (NYC), MoMA (NYC), LACMA, Smithsonian (Washington DC), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Tate (London), Long Beach Museum of Art, Oakland Museum of California, UCLA, and USC
  
  Please Note:
  This important sculpture is located offsite in Costa Mesa, California. The successful bidder is responsible for removal and shipping of this lot from its current location. For further information and a condition report, please contact the department.

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Category: Fine Art / Latin American Art

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