Kenneth Martin

Waddington Galleries, London
Annely Juda, London

London, Waddington Galleries, Kenneth Martin: Paintings, February – March 1974, unnumbered catalogue, illustrated in the catalogue, p.5;
London, Tate Gallery, Kenneth Martin, May – June 1975, no.110, illustrated in the catalogue, p.101 and on the catalogue cover;
Belgrade, Museum of Contemporary Art, Recent British Art, 1 September 1976 - 18 January 1979, no.16, with tour to Yugoslavia, Greece, Austria, Poland, Iran, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Portugal;
New Haven, Yale Center for British Art, Kenneth Martin, April – June 1979, no.64, illustrated in the catalogue, p.81.

The canvas is in good original condition. Stretcher marks are visible and are most pronounced along the upper and lower edges. There is a small area of craquelure in the upper right quadrant, and infrequent lines of craquelure which coincide with the stretcher marks. Otherwise the paint surface is in good overall condition. There is no sign of retouching under ultra-violet light. Held in a white painted wooden box frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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.
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This long and important series of works has its origin in a series of studies which Martin began in 1969. Using a square grid with equal numbers along each axis, the corresponding numbers were written on slips of paper and were then picked at random in pairs, giving the start and finish co-ordinates of each line, chance thus determining the length and orientation of each line. The paintings therefore become a combination of chance and the hand of the artist in the execution of that process, the visually pleasing results taking on a third, independent character. In Chance & Order 16 (black) 1973, this painterly sense is undisputedly evident, both in the finished forms, but also on closer inspection where it is possible to see the changes the artist has introduced in the evolution of the image, these 'ghosts' of previous forms beneath the white surface adding both a textural richness and a sense of considered construction.

The present painting belongs to the first group of works from the series and demonstrates the basic monochromatic form that these paintings took before the later multi-coloured versions. With a distinguished exhibition history, which includes its being chosen as the cover image for Martin's 1975 Tate retrospective, Chance & Order 16 (black) 1973 is now appearing at auction for the first time.