Cambi Auction House is preparing to close 2024 with one of its most important events on the calendar: the live auction dedicated to Modern and Contemporary Art. Scheduled for 18 December 2024 at 4pm, this event has always been a point of reference for the international public, presenting a selection of works that testify to the creativity and ingenuity of some of the greatest masters of the 20th century and beyond.

Ranging from the historical avant-garde to contemporary currents, the catalogue offers an outstanding overview, enhanced by the quality of the lots on sale. Paintings, sculptures and installations tell stories of vision, technique and passion.

Among the auction's top lots, ‘Zu oben durch blau’ (Upwards through the blue), painted in 1930 by Vasily Kandinsky, stands out as a treasure trove of abstract painting, embodying the profound linguistic innovation that made the Russian master one of the pillars of modern art. This work, created in oil on cardboard and measuring 49x35 cm, is both a compendium and an expression of Kandinsky's poetics, in which shapes, colours and lines dialogue harmoniously to evoke a sense of spiritual ascension. ‘Zu oben durch blau’ boasts an extraordinary provenance that includes some of the most renowned European collections, including that of Heinz Berggruen in Paris, as well as prestigious galleries such as Galleria Gissi in Turin and Brerarte in Milan. The work is enhanced by appearances in fundamental critical texts and reasoned catalogues, such as the famous Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil-Paintings by Roethel and Benjamin. With an estimate of between €350,000 and €450,000, ‘Zu oben durch blau’ was conceived at a crucial moment in Kandinsky's career and bears witness to the apex of an artistic quest that transformed the way art is perceived and created, laying the foundations for contemporary aesthetics.

Among the absolute stars of the auction, Emilio Isgrò's monumental work, ‘Which of the 116 circles will General Giap move from for the final offensive’ (1975), also stands out as a profound and uncompromising reflection on art, politics and language. Made with paint on wood and measuring an imposing 896x280 cm, this creation is both a visual manifesto and a conceptual enigma. Isgrò invites the viewer to confront the impossibility of choice: the 116 circles, all identical, become the symbol of a world suffocating in partiality and privilege, a world that, according to the artist, has to face the weight of inquisition and the fragility of univocal answers.

This work is rooted in the complexity of Western thought, challenging the audience to give up the certainty of the single sign in favour of multiplicity and indeterminacy. Isgrò's own words, taken from ‘Self-interview 1970-1975’, broaden the scope of this work: ‘There is room for the question, not for the answer. This is called inquisition.’ The artist here explores the boundary between representation and idea, offering a work that is articulated as a journey with no conclusion, an open and destabilising dialogue that reflects the political and cultural climate of the 1970s and remains surprisingly topical. Exhibited in such prestigious contexts as the Palazzo Reale in Milan and the Galleria Blu, ‘From which of the 116 circles will General Giap move’ is a work that has left an indelible mark on the history of contemporary Italian art.

There are several other masterpieces and artists featured in the catalogue, including:

Franz Kline, with his ‘Untitled’, a signed work on paper from the Grace Borgenicht Gallery in New York. This work, estimated between €25,000 and €35,000, represents the artist's vigorous abstract expressionist gesture. Piero Dorazio, master of colour, with an oil on canvas ‘Untitled’ (110x81 cm), estimated at between €50,000 and €60,000. The work, certified and documented, embodies the elegance of Italian abstract language. Alighiero Boetti, with ‘Attracting Attention’ (c. 1987), a delicate embroidery on fabric (22x22 cm) estimated at between €35,000 and €45,000. This work, registered at the Boetti Archive, testifies to the depth of the author's artistic thinking.