$380.00

SOLD IMMEDIATELY in 2020 for AU $380.

The EXTRA LARGE Owls are RARE and is $380 AUSTRALIAN (approx. US$270). (Postage Australia-wide would be about $19 which INCLUDES full insurance & $3 for professional packing using recycled packing materials.) We regularly pick up clean packing material from a major electrical retailer BEFORE it ends up as landfill!

 

Out of stock

SOLD IMMEDIATELY in 2020 for AU $380.

This listing price is for the EXTRA LARGE OWL only and is in AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS. ($380 AUD is significantly less in American $. Any other pieces shown are included to get a relative feel for the size / colour of this piece and are available separately.

Background Info and Provenance

A stunning Perspex owl by the famous Brazilian inventor and artist, Abraham Palatnik. The EXTRA LARGE Owls are particularly RARE. In the last 20 years, I’ve only ever come across two of these extra large ones for sale in Australia (and one of those is this!). This design came in 4 sizes that I’m aware of- the EXTRA LARGE size is the rarest of them all. The smallest is much easier to find and measures only 8cm in height- this one is 25.5cm tall!

The other thing that makes this one special is that the design is different on each side. This one is called the Day / Night Owl (the reverse side is predominantly black). To my knowledge this is the only Palatnik pieces that employs this idea.

Palatnik invented this concept in the early-1960’s and over three decades he has created a swarm of celebrated designs. Known as kinechromatic art, this stunning acrylic (Perspex) owl is created by infusing two pieces of acrylic together. On one, the patterning of the piece is screen-printed and the other is infused on top; therefore the decoration is contained within the Perspex (as opposed to being painted on the surface). This technique helps make Palatnik’s pieces highly collectable because the decoration can’t be damaged and therefore, with normal handling, the piece will look as it does today for decades (probably centuries) to come.

Palatnik’s figures became highly collectable after high-profile interior designers in the USA (such as Jonathan Adler) started showcasing his sculptures in various interiors. This popularity is set to continue or even increase in future years because Palatnik creatures have only become harder to get in recent years. Palatnik recently died (of COVID). He destroyed all the moulds and stencils he created to make these pieces before he passed. This means there’s a finite number Palatnik pieces out there- available pieces will only decrease in coming years as his work gets lost or broken. Watch the value of these pieces climb in value in the future!

In Australia these figures have never been retailed and are almost impossible to find. Apart from the pieces I’ve had (which I got from America) I’ve seen only a handful of other Palatnik sculptures in the flesh after 19 years in this business. After most modern home décor has ended up in landfill this 1960’s piece will still be passing, hands, telling stories and inspiring generations to come.

2108 and 2106 extras