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LOT 008

CGP CSGA CSPWC P11
1926 - 2002
Canadian

Toronto 4 (Inner Structure)
oil on canvas
signed and on verso signed, titled and inscribed "Design for ceiling sclupture [sic], Terminal 1, Toronto International Airport" and indistinctly "1973"
24 x 31 in, 61 x 78.7 cm

Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD

Sold for: $55,250

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
Sold sale of Canadian Fine Art, Joyner / Waddington's, May 31, 2005, lot 282
Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Roald Nasgaard, Abstract Painting in Canada, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 2007, page 115


Kazuo Nakamura was a Japanese-Canadian painter who was a founding member of the Toronto-based Painters Eleven group in the 1950s. Nakamura’s works were more ordered than his fellow members’ very expressionist paintings – they are uncomplicated, often monochromatic, or produced in a small range of similar colours. Nakamura was fascinated with science, and this shows in the way he executed his paintings – he believed the patterns of science and art to be one and the same. In Toronto 4 (Inner Structure) he restricts himself to a palette of blues applied to a drawn grid. This title refers to the unseen universal patterns of scientific knowledge. For this series of works - done early in his career - Nakamura used razor blades and the edges of a piece of cardboard dipped in paint to create the structured lines. In this brilliant work viewers get a sense of his heritage from the way his painted lines resemble Japanese calligraphy.

As the inscription indicates, this painting was a study for works Nakamura produced for Toronto Pearson International Airport. His sculptures Galaxy Numbers 1 and 2 were installed suspended from the ceiling in the old Terminal 1, closed in 2004.


Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 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.