Leitmotiv
168 cms x 206.8 cms (66 ins x 81.5 ins)
Signed, titled and dated "1986" on the reverse
made in 1986
Lot offered for sale by Sothebys, Toronto at the auction event "Important Canadian Art" held on Mon, Nov 28, 2011.
Lot 29
Lot 29
Estimate: CAD $15,000 - $25,000
Realised: CAD $19,200
Realised: CAD $19,200
Lot description - from the online catalogue*
Provenance:
Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Notes:
Tod's large, and often enigmatic, paintings from the 1980s were among the most compelling and masterful expressions of their time. The ambition she showed was matched by the technical virtuosity she was able to muster for canvases of this scale and complexity, but most of all by the uncanny ability she had to imagine images that many people found both stimulating and unnerving.
Like other comparable works of hers, this one poses a number of questions or conundrums that are both provocative and unanswerable. Like any strong art, however, these unsettling images (in this case so cleverly juxtaposed and connected with a shaft of light as if from the angel of the annunciation), make us ask ourselves about race, religion and art. Who are these people? What are they doing? What are they thinking about? How are they connected? What has the museum to do with a modest church? What is the artist trying to tell us?
According to the artist:
"The subject of this diptych is the transcendental nature of the spiritual." Leitmotiv "refers to a recurring theme, in this case a formal visual device - a transparent beam of light - that appears in both panels of the diptych."
Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Notes:
Tod's large, and often enigmatic, paintings from the 1980s were among the most compelling and masterful expressions of their time. The ambition she showed was matched by the technical virtuosity she was able to muster for canvases of this scale and complexity, but most of all by the uncanny ability she had to imagine images that many people found both stimulating and unnerving.
Like other comparable works of hers, this one poses a number of questions or conundrums that are both provocative and unanswerable. Like any strong art, however, these unsettling images (in this case so cleverly juxtaposed and connected with a shaft of light as if from the angel of the annunciation), make us ask ourselves about race, religion and art. Who are these people? What are they doing? What are they thinking about? How are they connected? What has the museum to do with a modest church? What is the artist trying to tell us?
According to the artist:
"The subject of this diptych is the transcendental nature of the spiritual." Leitmotiv "refers to a recurring theme, in this case a formal visual device - a transparent beam of light - that appears in both panels of the diptych."
Most realised prices include the Buyer's Premium of 18-25%, but not the HST/GST Tax.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Sothebys auction house for permission to use.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Sothebys auction house for permission to use.