Canadian Fine Art

November 18, 2019

LOT 64

Lot 64

GERALD FERGUSON

GERALD FERGUSON
Lot 64 Details
GERALD FERGUSON

500 METRES, 2000

enamel on canvas
titled, and dated to gallery label on the reverse
48 ins x 48 ins; 121.9 cms x 121.9 cms

Estimate $15,000-$20,000

Realised: $19,200
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
GERALD FERGUSON
  • GERALD FERGUSON
Provenance:

Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario

Note:

Gerald Ferguson was a conceptual artist and a highly respected teacher at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) from 1968 until 2006. There, he contributed to establishing the college as a foremost centre of conceptual art in far-flung Halifax in the 1970s. The conceptual art movement sought to dematerialize and decommodify the art object, at best, removing any trace of the artist’s hand in the making of the work. While painting as an art form was duly relegated to the past, Ferguson and several others redefined painting to bring it in line with conceptualist art practice. He used ordinary materials—stencils, spray paint and enamel, for example—applied to the support using mechanical methods to suppress the agency of the artist.

In 1999, Ferguson began using the frottage technique which involved rolling black enamel paint over a length of canvas which had been stapled over such ordinary materials as rope or a garden hose. 500 Metres consists of a dense agglomeration of vertical lines that registers the process of rolling paint onto a canvas under which metre-long lengths of rods had been arranged.

As Roald Nasgaard has observed, the materials—whose original identity was all but lost—were laid out so that the resulting paintings ironically mimic classical modernist abstraction.

We thank Christine Boyanoski for contributing the above essay.

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 64
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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.