Sold for: $58,250

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the Artist by the present Private Collection, Montreal, circa 1970

LITERATURE
Post-War & Contemporary Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, Spring 2019, essay by Lisa Bouraly, page 25

Painted in 1966, Judith is a pristine example of Jacques Hurtubise’s work from the mid-1960s. During this period, his interest in flat surfaces and sharp edges signaled a clear departure from the Automatist preoccupation with texture and a radically different approach to gesture. According to curator Lisa Bouraly, “With masking tape and an exacto knife, Hurtubise sought to control free gestures and to compose with splashes. He engaged in a constant search for a reconciliation between hard-edge and gestural approaches to painting.” Judith mesmerizes the viewer with hard-edge black zigzagging shapes over a crisp white background. However, beneath the painting’s disarming simplicity lies a complex and effective composition. Arranged in a radiating fashion, the black and white sections create a spectacularly undulating grid. The repeated motif ripples across the surface of the canvas, which is taut with energy, and makes our eye move from its centre to its edges. Also noteworthy is the work’s title. Hurtubise gave many of his works women’s first names: famous heroines, mythological characters, or women he knew. Judith is not only a painting of high calibre, but due to its title, it seems to have a personality of its own.

Please note: each side measures 36 inches.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars