Lot 38
DAVID SORENSEN, R.C.A. (1937-2011)
Additional Images
Provenance:
Bau-Xi Gallery Ltd., Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Note:
Given the construction of Sorensen's “Snows of Lachi,” it's not surprising to learn he studied architecture (with Arthur Erickson in the mid-1950s) and initially pursued sculpture – he didn't begin painting until the 1980s. Sorensen drew inspiration from late 1960s and early 1970s geometric abstraction, and his work often features pastel-coloured pigments lightly applied; an attempt, perhaps, to replicate the light of the West Coast, where he grew up. Commentators often compared the horizontal geometric divisions of Sorensen's canvases to Peter Diebenkorn – the American's Ocean Park series, specifically – and Sean Scully, sensing in Sorensen's work a similarly powerful emotional expressiveness.
We thank Bill Clarke for contributing this essay. Bill Clarke is a Toronto-based writer, editor, art collector and occasional curator.