BCSFA CGP CPE OC RCA
1919 - 2020
Canadian
Forest Night
acrylic and cedar on canvas
signed and on verso signed, titled and dated 1990
50 x 60 in, 127 x 152.4 cm
Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000 CAD
Preview at: Heffel Vancouver
PROVENANCE
Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver
By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver
Forest Night is a continuation of Gordon Smith’s late 1980s cycle of deep-hued abstracted forest paintings that resulted from his trips into the British Columbia wilderness to such locations as the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1987 and Carmanah Valley on Vancouver Island in 1989. Just outside his studio on the North Shore, the forest is also close at hand, and Douglas fir, hemlock and cedar form a dense screen and a constant source of imagery. Smith’s abstraction comes directly from the natural world, as seen in this abstracted wall of forest. Vertical strips of cedar attached to the surface are physical evidence of the nearby forest and suggest trunk edges, but also function to return the eye to the canvas surface. Forest Night’s dark and mysterious depths are illuminated by splashes and streaks of brilliant green, turquoise and blue, as well as warm-spectrum colours of red and orange. Streaks of more fluid paint add to the verticality of the work and the painterliness of its surface. With its expressionist brush-strokes, rich palette and strong presence, Forest Night is an outstanding work by this modernist West Coast master.
Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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