Sean Scully

Juda Rowan Gallery, London

Catalogue colour comparison: The colours are slightly darker than the illustration suggests. Structure: The sheet is sound with deckled edges. There are pinholes in the upper corners and some minor handling marks otherwise in good original condition. Held in a simple wood box frame under glass; unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The genesis for Scully's ongoing fascination with the stripe was a trip to Morocco in 1969 when he caught sight of colourful strips of cloth drying in the sun.  Since then, the stripe has become the most recognisable leitmotif of his bold abstract style. Following an interest in minimalism during the 1970s, he developed the theme through the formalism of his oeuvre during that decade to the vibrant forms of the present work where the individual components of the composition enigmatically merge in and out of the background setting up a dynamic interaction within the picture plane.

Scully has also maintained an ongoing interest in the actual medium of each work and the differing qualities achieved when working in oil, watercolour or pastel. As such, his works on paper are an integral part of his working process and stand as powerful works in their own right. Where the oils are perhaps more intense, both physically and metaphorically, his watercolours achieve a lucid fluidity.  With regard to the unique texture of his pastels, 'it's almost as if you could blow them away. It's like dust in the desert. They are very interesting to make - that you're pressing down powder'. The resultant effect achieves a certain ephemerality; 'I think the pastels have that quality - they hover between being there and not being there...' (Scully, interview with Hans-Michael Herzog, 'The beauty of the real', Sean Scully, Milan, 1996, pp. 97-99).