Two
101.6 cms x 127 cms (40 ins x 50 ins)
On verso signed, titled, dated september 1960 and inscribed "42 dell park"
made in 1960
Lot offered for sale by Heffel, Vancouver at the auction event "Spring 2009 Live auction" held on Wed, Jun 17, 2009.
Lot 017
Lot 017
Estimate: CAD $15,000 - $20,000
Realised: CAD $15,210
Realised: CAD $15,210
Lot description - from the online catalogue*
Provenance:
The Isaacs Gallery Ltd., Toronto
Mr. & Mrs. J.R. Colombo, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Exhibitions:
The Isaacs Gallery Ltd., Toronto, Michael Snow Solo Exhibition, 1960
The Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto Collects, 1961
Art Gallery of Ontario and The Power Plant, Toronto, The Michael Snow Project: Exploring Plane and Contour, May 11 - June 5, 1994, catalogue #81
Literature:
Dennis Reid, Philip Monk and Louise Dompierre, The Michael Snow Project, Art Gallery of Ontario and The Power Plant, 1994, reproduced page 207
Catsou Roberts, editor, Michael Snow Almost Cover to Cover, 2001, essay by Catsou Roberts, page 8
Conversation between Michael Snow and Hri Neil, Toronto, Heffel Gallery Inc., April 1, 2009
Notes:
Michael Snow's work is internationally recognized and celebrated. A master of media, Snow works in film, video, photography, sound, installation, painting and sculpture, and informing each mode with understanding gained from his exploration of the others. He comments, "...my paintings are done by a filmmaker, sculpture by a musician, films by a painter...". With a sly sense of humour, Snow makes art that probes perception, consciously engaging the viewer in his questioning of the act of viewing itself. When asked about how the work Two fits within his oeuvre, Snow connects this early painting to other works from the early 1960s, such as Theory of Love, in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Pared down to binaries of positive/negative, foreground/background and push/pull, the piece becomes purely about surface - as the artist states, it ".becomes an object, becomes sculpture." With Two, Snow used a stencil to create the rectangular opening into the central dark red mass, a technique that was to figure prominently in his further explorations of the foreground/background binary in his iconic Walking Woman series. The reds that dominate the surface are broken by a tracery of subtle craquelure, exposing a dark blue ground. As the painting has aged, Snow's intentional craquelure has evolved, and in his view the result is either a success or failure, based on the viewer's perspective. However, Snow's humorous delivery of his comments on the work made it clear that he considers it a success.
The Isaacs Gallery Ltd., Toronto
Mr. & Mrs. J.R. Colombo, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Exhibitions:
The Isaacs Gallery Ltd., Toronto, Michael Snow Solo Exhibition, 1960
The Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto Collects, 1961
Art Gallery of Ontario and The Power Plant, Toronto, The Michael Snow Project: Exploring Plane and Contour, May 11 - June 5, 1994, catalogue #81
Literature:
Dennis Reid, Philip Monk and Louise Dompierre, The Michael Snow Project, Art Gallery of Ontario and The Power Plant, 1994, reproduced page 207
Catsou Roberts, editor, Michael Snow Almost Cover to Cover, 2001, essay by Catsou Roberts, page 8
Conversation between Michael Snow and Hri Neil, Toronto, Heffel Gallery Inc., April 1, 2009
Notes:
Michael Snow's work is internationally recognized and celebrated. A master of media, Snow works in film, video, photography, sound, installation, painting and sculpture, and informing each mode with understanding gained from his exploration of the others. He comments, "...my paintings are done by a filmmaker, sculpture by a musician, films by a painter...". With a sly sense of humour, Snow makes art that probes perception, consciously engaging the viewer in his questioning of the act of viewing itself. When asked about how the work Two fits within his oeuvre, Snow connects this early painting to other works from the early 1960s, such as Theory of Love, in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Pared down to binaries of positive/negative, foreground/background and push/pull, the piece becomes purely about surface - as the artist states, it ".becomes an object, becomes sculpture." With Two, Snow used a stencil to create the rectangular opening into the central dark red mass, a technique that was to figure prominently in his further explorations of the foreground/background binary in his iconic Walking Woman series. The reds that dominate the surface are broken by a tracery of subtle craquelure, exposing a dark blue ground. As the painting has aged, Snow's intentional craquelure has evolved, and in his view the result is either a success or failure, based on the viewer's perspective. However, Snow's humorous delivery of his comments on the work made it clear that he considers it a success.
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 Heffel auction house for permission to use.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Heffel auction house for permission to use.