José Gurvich

JOSE GURVICH (Jieznas, Lithuania, 1927- New York, 1974).
"Cinzano," c. 1957.
Oil on cardboard and ink drawing on paper.
The work on paper is the study for the oil painting on cardboard, titled "Cinzano".
Exhibitions:
-Montevideo, Al Sur and Washington, D.C., Embassy of Uruguay, José Gurvich, August - October 2018, p. 38, illustrated in color.
-New York, Hutchinson Modern & Contemporary, José Gurvich: Sense of Place, September - November 2025, p. 31, illustrated in color.
Provenance: Collection of the artist, Acquired from the previous owner by the current owner
Ink is signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 41 x 52 cm; 53 x 63 cm (frame); 17 x 25 cm; 40 x 47 cm (frame).
This lot consists of two works, the oil on cardboard and the preparatory sketch of the painting. In both, the unstable balance between order and vitality, typical of José Gurivich's work, can be clearly seen. The composition is organized in superimposed planes where the scene, two figures in the foreground, apparently absorbed in an intimate conversation, is inserted in a fragmented urban environment, dominated by signs, electric cables and schematic architectures. The "Cinzano" sign, which refers to the well-known Italian vermouth brand, not only anchors the image in a recognizable modernity, but also introduces a cosmopolitan cultural dimension, evoking the global circulation of commercial signs in the post-war period.
Formally, the work maintains the constructive imprint inherited from Torres-García: a structuring in horizontal and vertical stripes, the geometric simplification of forms and a restrained palette. However, Gurvich distances himself from the master's orthodoxy by allowing the human figure to regain an emotional prominence. The faces, barely delineated but expressive, and the physical proximity of the characters generate an atmosphere of intimacy that contrasts with the rigidity of the urban framework. This crossover between the intimate and the structural is one of the most distinctive features of his production of the late 1950s.
The study on paper reveals the process of image construction: there, the lines are more schematic, almost cartographic, and the urban elements appear organized as signs within a system. The final painting, on the other hand, introduces a greater material and chromatic density, as well as a freer modulation of the stroke, suggesting a shift from rational planning to a more intuitive resolution.
Compared to Gurvich's better known works in institutional collections, such as Hombre con guitarra (Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, Montevideo) or Composición constructiva con figuras (Museo Gurvich), Cinzano shares the concern for integrating figure and structure, but is distinguished by its emphasis on the contemporary urban scene. While those pieces tend toward greater symbolic abstraction or the evocation of universal archetypes, Cinzano is anchored in a recognizable, almost anecdotal context. Likewise, in relation to the works of his New York period of the sixties and early seventies, where iconographic density and spatial fragmentation are intensified, Cinzano appears as an instance of transition. Here, the city is still legible and the figures retain a clear presence, before the artist's language becomes more complex and saturated.An essential figure of the Torres García Workshop and of twentieth-century Uruguayan art, José Gurvich was a painter, muralist and ceramist, and developed a language deeply rooted in the principles of Constructive Universalism. He was a member of the Asociación de Arte Constructivo from its beginnings and was one of its most active members until its dissolution, becoming the closest disciple of Joaquín Torres García, whose influence had a decisive influence on his work during that period. In 1966 he returned definitively to Montevideo, where he continued his intense work in ceramics and consolidated an increasingly personal style.