Sorel Etrog b. 1933

Dunkelman Gallery, Toronto

Private Collection, Toronto

Sorel Etrog has often spoken about the language of form that appears in his art.  His artistic career has been a search for an appropriate vehicle to express his personal vision.  Early in his career, he created intensely coloured geometric constructions.  These wooden relief works were inherently sculptural, and provided a basis for Etrog's transition into three-dimensionality.  His work as a sculptor consisted of a synthesis of organic and geometric forms, with strong roots in writing and calligraphy.

As a parallel to the sculptures he was creating, Etrog continued to draw and paint. Ideas for Sculpture attests strongly to this. Painted during the height of Etrog's "links" period, this large canvas submits ideas for potential sculptures, as if the audience has been invited to view an inspiration board in the artist's studio.  Etrog first discovered the Etruscan idea of links at an archaeological museum in Florence, and saw them as a strong organic device to connect or join sections of his works.

Ideas for Sculpture may be seen as a synthesis of Etrog's creative processes. While it is a painted work. Etrog gives it a three-dimensional quality by allowing his ideas to explore their space, often overlapping them with other images in the piece.  While many sculptures in this painting have not yet been realized, several have been cast and exist in private and public collections internationally.