Division Leap

bis das Ei hart gekocht ist [Exhibition Announcement]

Spoerri, Daniel

Köln: Galerie Zwirner, 1963. Scroll, approximately 4 x 36", printed with a single line of text on both recto and verso.

The exhibition announcement for an infamous and early Spoerri exhibition in Cologne, which lasted for the length of time that it takes to hard boil an egg; about the same amount of time it takes to read this exhibition announcement, in which Spoerri describes driving in a car with bad brakes to take possession of some of his paintings after the liquidation of the inventory of the Dumont Gallery. Spoerri notes he chose to visit his friend Andre Thomkins, whom he hadn't seen in a while, leading to a timing issue in which he decides to sell the paintings on September 12, 1963 at Galerie Zwirner in an exhibition that will last only as long as it takes to boil an egg.

As Rudolf Zwirner remembers in Kunstforum International 104, “It lasted just as long as it took to hard-boil an egg, four minutes. The audience stood interested in the empty gallery and stared at the empty walls. Then a door opened, and the pictures were brought in, the delivery team hung them up. Now Spoerri placed the egg in the boiling water and set the clock. After four minutes, the egg was done, and the deliverymen took down the art and returned it to the vehicle. We sold six paintings in just four minutes! One collector who wasn’t able to get a good enough look ran out and had one picture unpacked again. To keep the people from leaving after just four minutes, there was a meal, for which Spoerri had organized all sorts of things that aren’t usually available here: flies, worms, snakes, and bugs preserved in oil in small cans from China. He mixed everything together and made omelets. Then we all drank an Underberg.”

Some faint creasing, with a single stronger fold line near the center, which doesn't crease the surface of the paper, els near fine. Rare, especially in this condition. Item #30811

Price: $300.00