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LOT 025

1923 - 2012
American

Phenomena Kanemitsu Kite
acrylic on canvas
signed and on verso signed, titled, dated 1969 and inscribed with the Martha Jackson inventory #12760
33 x 34 in, 83.8 x 86.3 cm

Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000 CAD

Sold for: $34,250

Preview at:

PROVENANCE
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, 1970
Gallery Moos Ltd., Toronto, 1979
By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto

EXHIBITED
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, Paul Jenkins: Recent Paintings 1969 - 1970, February 28 - March 21, 1970
Berenson Gallery, Miami, 1970 - 1972


Paul Jenkins held his first solo exhibition in New York at the Martha Jackson Gallery in 1956. Phenomena Kanemitsu Kite was part of his eighth solo show with the influential dealer. The title refers to Matsumi Kanemitsu, an American-Japanese artist and personal friend of Jenkins. The two artists shared much in common, having studied together at the influential Art Students League of New York, and they were both represented by Jackson.

Because Martha Jackson operated one of the most sophisticated and erudite art dealerships in Manhattan during this period, her younger artists gained access to the titans of American Abstract Expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock, Hans Hofmann and Willem de Kooning, who influenced the careers of Jenkins, Kanemitsu and Norman Bluhm. Jackson was a close friend and colleague of the well-regarded Canadian art dealer Walter Moos. The two developed an arrangement where several of her American artists were represented through Gallery Moos.

The 1960s represented a pivotal turning point in Jenkins’s artistic practice. He turned from the medium of oil to acrylic, applied with an ivory knife. This facilitated his “guided painting” technique, in which the knife allowed for maximum control of the flow of paint over the surface of the primed canvas. Here, almost seamlessly, ribbons of paint engage in a symphonic dance that yields a phenomenal and dazzling show of colour.


Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.