Painted in 1966, Summer Song belongs to a pivotal moment in Gershon Iskowitz’s career, when his mature abstract language was coming fully into focus. That year, Gallery Moos presented an important exhibition of his work, accompanied by a thoughtful catalogue text by Harry Malcolmson that affirmed Iskowitz’s growing stature within Canadian abstraction.

In Summer Song, radiant, orbed forms unfold across a luminous ground, their layered bands of colour radiating outward in a dynamic, musical rhythm. Suggestive of an aerial landscape, the composition reveals Iskowitz’s remarkable ability to transform memory and sensation into a structured yet lyrical abstraction.

This period marked a turning point in Iskowitz’s national recognition. He had recently exhibited in the Sixth Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting and was elected to the Canadian Society of Graphic Art. The present canvas was later included in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s survey of the Imperial Oil Collection, underscoring its early institutional recognition. Summer Song exemplifies Iskowitz’s transition towards his most celebrated style and stands as a defining statement within one of Canada’s most remarkable artistic journeys.

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