Lot 39 | Ron Martin | "Bright Red #14"

MARTIN, RON
1943 London/Kanada

Title: "Bright Red #14".
Date: 1972.
Technique: Acrylic on canvas.
Measurement: 213 x 182cm.
Notation: Signed, dated, inscribed and titled verso on stretcher: RON MARTIN JULY 1972 #14 BRIGHT RED. Provided with directional arrow above.
Frame/Pedestal: Framed.


Provenance:
- Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Ontario (label)
- Collection Kasper König, Berlin

Ron Martin is a Canadian artist characterised by his pioneering contributions to abstract painting. He has been exploring the formal and material opportunities of painting since the 1960s, experimenting with colour, texture and composition. His works are known for their dynamic, gestural brushwork, which evokes both contemplative and emotional resonance in the viewer. Martin's work reflects a profound exploration of the process of painting itself and continually questions the limits and possibilities of the medium.

Bright Red Paintings
In autumn 1972, Martin presented some of his 'Bright Red Paintings' to the public for the first time. The 'Bright Red' series of works represents a fundamental starting point in Martin's artistic work. In the monochrome series, Martin expresses his artistic feelings directly through the brushstrokes on the canvas, thus elevating colour itself to a medium. The momentum, form and colour application of the individual strokes convey Martin's emotions at the time the work was created, without resorting to grand theatrical gestures or motifs. His monochrome series can therefore be understood as individual snapshots of a coherent series. This serial way of working brings the artist's oeuvre close to Minimalism. However, although Martin deliberately utilises some of the characteristics of this art movement, he clearly distinguishes himself from it. While repetition is a characteristic element of Minimalism, Martin only works serially until he has exhausted the theme. As a result, he completed the series of 'Bright Red Paintings' in the 1970s after producing 24 paintings and turned his attention to the next body of work, the 'Black Paintings'.

Kasper König and Ron Martin
With this strong conceptual level, Martin set himself apart from the works of other abstract artists. König recognised Martin's artistic quality early on. He was already promoting the artist's work to museum directors and cultural politicians in the mid-1970s.