This is a whole new meaning to “drawing a blank.”
A barren white canvas, valued at more than $1.5 million, is up for auction in Germany.
The 1970 piece by minimalist American painter Robert Ryman — titled “General 52″ x 52″,” a nod to its dimensions — will be up for grabs by art enthusiasts at the Ketterer Kunst auction house in Berlin on Dec. 6 and 7.
The canvas, painted a stark white, is anticipated to fetch more than $1.5 million at auction this week.NX
The artwork appears to be blank but the all-white canvas with a slightly darker white frame actually was painted using white enamel and enamelac paints, typically used to paint metal.
The use of these paint types atop a cotton canvas resulted in a piece so delicate that it could not travel to be on view ahead of the sale.
“The material is very sensitive and the smallest traces in the flawless surface would immediately reduce the value of the work significantly,” Ketterer Kunst said in a statement, describing the painting as “in very good condition.”
“That’s why we are not sending it on a journey.”
Ryman, who died in 2019 at 88, was known for his experimental work, which was mostly void of color and stark white.
He had no formal art training, but rather, was a jazz pianist who took up painting as a hobby after becoming a security guard at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Robert Ryman’s work has been auctioned for millions in the past.NX
While his sterile works have drummed up debate within the art community, some of his pieces have sold for millions.
“White is not always white. The white color makes light, movement and the structure of the material visible,” explained Simone Wichmann, the auction house expert.
“The viewer is challenged and becomes the creator of the art.”
This isn’t the first piece of curious creativity that has sparked conversation in recent weeks.
Just last month, Maurizio Cattelan’s art piece of a banana duct taped to a wall, titled “Comedian,” sold for $6.2 million at auction — and was promptly eaten by the crypto entrepreneur that purchased it — inciting debate, especially because the fruit stand vendor only earned pennies for his contribution.
“Some people may consider this work Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’ of the 21st century,” art adviser Ralph DeLuca told The Post, referencing the urinal auctioned at Sotheby’s for $1.7 million in 1999.
“How can anyone really call it overrated?”
