Canadian Contemporary Art Auction

September 23, 2014

LOT 52

Lot 52

MARIANNA GARTNER

MARIANNA GARTNER
Lot 52 Details
MARIANNA GARTNER

SANTA LUCIA

oil on canvas
signed with artist’s stamp on the stretcher and dated 1999 on gallery label
65 ins x 63 ins; 165.1 cms x 160 cms

Estimate $8,000-$10,000

Realised: $9,000
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
MARIANNA GARTNER
  • MARIANNA GARTNER
Provenance:

The Sable-Castelli Gallery Ltd., Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto

Note:

Rummaging through old photographs in flea markets and antique shops is the first step in a long process of imaginative creations by Winnipeg native Marianna Gartner. Born in 1963, this artist has matured a style so distinct and accomplished that she has exhibited at solo shows from Vancouver to London to Germany and many points in between. Old heirlooms of the past are given new life all over Canada and Europe with Gartner’s interventions.

Appropriating elements of late 19th and early 20th century cabinet cards, a style of photography used for portraiture which was most popular in the 1880s, Gartner mixes photographic history and records with her own imagined fantasies to create eerie representations of an other-worldly environment. Gartner says this is the process of recalling “fictional memories” of the viewer. Her subjects often hold a direct and confrontational stare resulting in them being haunting yet intriguing.

In Santa Lucia (1999), an angelic figure painted in grisaille style sits atop a pool of blackness, almost oil-like in quality, with expansive raven-like wings on his back. A sinister smile is lain on her face, as she places a flower below her, seemingly unaware of a pair of eyes gazing directly upwards at her. Balancing the ominous with the innocent, and the terrifying with the delightful is the ultimate success of Gartner.

Marianna Gartner currently lives and works both in Canada and Europe.

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 52
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.