Lot 36: Raymond John Mead 1921 - 1998 Canadian oil on

Raymond John Mead 1921 - 1998 Canadian oil on canvas Untitled 50 x 45 inches 127 x 114.3 centimeters signed Literature:Joan Murray, Two Decades: Ray Mead, 1982, pages 4 and 6 Provenance:By descent to the present Private Collection, Montreal Influenced by artists such as Jack Bush, Guido Molinari and Yves Gaucher, Mead is one of Canada's great abstract painters. Mead's Door Series from the early to mid-1960s was a formative point in the artist's career. Untitled is a good example of this series - focusing on circles, lines and what Mead describes as "great fat areas" which govern the canvas. Mead was a master colourist, using colour tones as the main compositional element within his paintings. These paintings give the viewer the illusion of emerging into different spheres of space where similar tones of blue and black are usually complimented by a pop of red or orange. In 1982, Joan Murray held a survey exhibition of the artist's work at The McLaughlin Gallery. She noted that the artist "often lets a single colour - say red - stay pure and undiluted. It will rule the painting. He especially likes colours with some range to them - which extends to almost black." Mead's own description of his works offers an interesting insight into this painting. He stated, "These are not paintings for first look. The viewer has to look and live with them to discover a different sort of life. Then they reveal their secret - a new language of colour and form."