Lot 65: JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., COMPAGNON DE SILENCE #1, 1973, oil on canvas, 72 ins x 72 ins; 182.9 cms x 182.9 cms

JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.
COMPAGNON DE SILENCE #1, 1973

oil on canvas
signed, titled, and dated to the flap
72 ins x 72 ins; 182.9 cms x 182.9 cms


Provenance:
Marlborough-Godard, Toronto/Montreal
The Helen and Walter Zwig Foundation Collection, Toronto

Compagnon de Silence #1 was produced the same year that Jean McEwen began to dedicate himself solely to painting, and is a potent demonstration of his expressive mastery of the medium. Using glossy, translucent layers of thick paint, McEwen creates a subtle and absorbing play of colour and emotion. The central space is dominated by warm, roiling browns that emerge from painted layers of steamy white fogs. Green bars at the edges of the canvas radiate with the vivid patina of weathered copper, bounding and structuring the piece with a burnished glow. Half-buried furrows of verdigris emerge from the deep-hued expanse. The larger-than-life field seems to flex and push outwards against the squared-off canvas, resisting a neat geometric structure. The overall effect is a visual encounter that is both dynamic and contemplative, perhaps even meditative.

Estimate: $70,000–90,000

72 ins x 72 ins; 182.9 cms x 182.9 cms

oil on canvas

Marlborough-Godard, Toronto/Montreal The Helen and Walter Zwig Foundation Collection, Toronto

Compagnon de Silence #1 was produced the same year that Jean McEwen began to dedicate himself solely to painting, and is a potent demonstration of his expressive mastery of the medium. Using glossy, translucent layers of thick paint, McEwen creates a subtle and absorbing play of colour and emotion. The central space is dominated by warm, roiling browns that emerge from painted layers of steamy white fogs. Green bars at the edges of the canvas radiate with the vivid patina of weathered copper, bounding and structuring the piece with a burnished glow. Half-buried furrows of verdigris emerge from the deep-hued expanse. The larger-than-life field seems to flex and push outwards against the squared-off canvas, resisting a neat geometric structure. The overall effect is a visual encounter that is both dynamic and contemplative, perhaps even meditative.