After several emails to Ritchies to clarify, and texts flying back and forth between my husband and I, we decided to buy them both for their respective reserve prices (+20% +13%). I never expected to get both. Thank god I didn't bid on more! Ebay has conditioned me for disappointment...but there was no competition. If I had to take a guess, I'd say pretty much any one who bid took home the art they wanted! In fact, there are several items still available for sale.
Today, I took the bus-subway-streetcar down to the junction to pick them up. I fell in love again! They are better than I expected! Beautiful textures and colours...and framed!
I hung them in the living room. I didn't need to fill this space, but we really don't have empty walls and I wanted them to be on the main floor.
The top piece is by Tymoshenko, Frederic (Canadian), called GREEN CURTAIN. It is labeled mixed media. There is a blurb pasted to the back of the frame describing his work*. Ritchies indicated that the work came to them directly from the artist.
The bottom is by Hayano, Kei (Keiichi) (Canadian/Japanese), called PASSAGE I. It is labeled pressed paper print; Edition 4/8. Hayano's obituary states that he taught fine arts at York University. The work came from a consignor who gave Ritchies a large collection of works to sell.
*From the back of the frame, since I haven't found this information elsewhere on the internet:
"Tymoshenko's work is drawn from the land, transcending the subject matter by colour and form. He seeks new ways of depicting in a contemporary manner the relationship of spirit, mind and nature without entirely losing the sense of representational tradition. His technique and imagination set him apart.
Tymoshenko has had over fifteen one man exhibitions and numerous group showings in Toronto, Ottawa, London, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Washington and New York. Public showings include the Art Galleries of Ontario, Hamilton, Stratford, Windsor, and Kitchener-Waterloo. Private showings include Eaton's Gallery, London, England. His works are in many public corporate and private collections including the Universities of Calgary and Guelph, Toronto Dominion bank, Gulf Oil Canada Limited and Shell Canada Limited."
ps. One large, one small photograph coming up next...the Sean Galbraith and Peter Andrew...then art should die down around here for a while.
Ooooh - amazing! These are beautiful, well worth the stress (although holy stressful!!( I love the research you did, I agree knowing as much as I can about an artist makes the work even more meaningful...
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to comment on the female image you have mounted on your bookshelf in that room. What is her story? I love art hung on book shelves! Wonder why...? It's akin to books piled on the floor -- a là Paris apartment style, which I also love.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the height of your ceilings in this room?
The print on the shelves is from "...of Things Past"...she had been there for a while so it was SIGNIFICANTLY reduced...I wrote about her here:
ReplyDeletehttp://8footsix.com/2013/04/art-from-of-things-past.html
It's a woodblock proof by Sharon Merkur... I found a link to a OCAD Fall 2004 newsletter with a small blurb on Sharon...
"PRINTMAKING SCHOLARSHIP WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
From an early age, Sharon Merkur (’73) loved drawing and painting but pursued an art education only after starting her family. She enrolled at the College in 1960, studied for three years and, after a break, returned to the College in 1972 to finish her final year and graduate in 1973. A passionate printmaker, Merkur created a complex reductive woodcut technique. Sharon ran her own gallery from
1975 to 1978, promoting printmakers and painters.
Wendy Cain, Chair of OCAD’s Printmaking program, recalls working with Merkur as students in the 1970s. “I can still remember how she made her prints sing. Her use of colour and overlays created some of the most luminous prints I
have ever seen.” On learning in 2002 that she had cancer, Merkur told her family and friends that she wanted to leave a
legacy that would help someone else to pursue a career as an artist. Over the last two years, her family and friends endowed a fund to support the Sharon Merkur Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded to a third-year student for mixed-media printmaking techniques that include woodcut.
Sharon Merkur died in September 2002. This past June, her wish to make a difference in a young artist’s life came true when the scholarship in her memory was awarded for the first time to
Nigel Nolan.
I just saw another of Sharon's works on Kijiji...I might try and scoop it up tomorrow!
Oh and the ceilings are about 8'6...I'm pretty sure...that's why we aimed for 8'6 ceilings in the basement...if i remember correctly...too lazy to measure..
ReplyDelete