Lot 39
  • 39

Kenneth Martin

Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 GBP
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Description

  • Kenneth Martin
  • Chance and Order 22 (Black)
  • oil on canvas
  • 122 by 122cm.; 48 by 48in.
  • Executed in 1977-78.

Provenance

Waddington & Tooth Galleries, London, where acquired by Alex Bernstein Esq.
Jonathan Clark & Co, London, where acquired by the present owner in November 2003

Exhibited

New Haven, Yale Centre for British Art, Kenneth Martin, 18th April - 17th June 1979, cat. no.70, illustrated p.87.

Condition

Original canvas. There are stretcher bar marks along the upper and lower edges. There are isolated areas of minor craquelure along the stretcher marks and in isolated places in all four quadrants. The surface has recently been cleaned. Under ultraviolet light there a few isolated fine flecks and fine lines of retouching to areas of craquelure. This work is unframed. 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.
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."

Catalogue Note

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 thus 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 22 (Black) this painterly sense is very evident, both in the finished forms, but also where on closer inspection it is possible to see the changes that 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.