Lot 92
JACK HAMILTON BUSH, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.
Lot 92 Details
JACK HAMILTON BUSH, O.S.A., A.R.C.A.
SUITE OF FIVE WORKS FROM THE LOOP SERIES (1971): LOW SUN, YELLOW MARK, THREE & BLUE LOOP, GREEN LOOP AND RED M
colour silkscreens on paper, the first two framed
all signed with the stamped signature and inscribed “P.P” in pencil in the lower margin, edition size of 100
33.25 ins x 25 ins; 84.5 cms x 63.5 cms
Estimate $9,000-$12,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
GE Collection, U.S.A.
Private Collection, Toronto
Note:
In 1953 Jack Bush (1909-1977) and associates formed Painters 11 as a mechanism to promote exhibitions exclusively dedicated to abstract art. Throughout the late 1950s and into 1962 the art of Bush and the Painters 11 could be characterized as second generation Abstract Expressionism. Bush initially produced works in the spirit of international colour field painting. However, many would consider that his most unique personal work commenced in about 1970, roughly concurrent with the dates of this exemplary Loop series. This set from the edition is inscribed as the coveted P.P (Printer’s Proof).
These works re-introduce a dramatic figure/ground relationship that contrasts a floating central shape or gestural marks in strong hues set upon a backdrop of muted tertiary colours: tans, browns, and in this case, chromatic grays. The colour palette is vintage Bush. It was his practice to establish colour chords which initially seem close to the primary triad of red, yellow, blue. However, there is inevitably a twist in this expectation. In these prints he elects to orchestrate three ‘near’ primaries with an additional unexpected green counterpoint. The Loop series pays homage to School of Paris-type painters among them: Bonnard, Matisse, Miro and Calder.
Bush was a gracious supporter of other modernists post 1970, notably: David Bolduc, Paul Fournier, K.M. Graham, Alex Cameron and Joseph Drapell. His exhibition record is international in scope including: the Robert Elkon Gallery, NY, group exhibitions at The Tate Gallery, London, the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y. (1963), and the prestigious exhibition, Post-Painterly Abstraction at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which was also seen at The Art Gallery of Toronto.
His works have been avidly collected by some of the most astute, discerning international private collectors and corporations and are in every major Canadian public collection as well as the Tate Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, among others. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1976.