Translation: Serra, 2019
Maple Leith Art
Acrylic on Paper
Original Artwork, 10.16 x 15.24 cm
Unique Edition, 1 of 1
Maple Leith
About Maple Leith Art
I’m an artist, an athlete, an outdoorsman, an animal lover, a loyalist, a Canadian.
I’ve been called a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal by multiple woman. I’m a gentleman.
I have a degree in Fine Arts from The University of Western Ontario.
I’m from Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
I have lived in four of Canada’s 10 provinces. I currently live in Fernie, British Columbia.
Home is U.W.O.. Home is Toronto. Home is Shambhala. Home is Alberta. Home is British Columbia. Home is Canada.
I’m genuine.
I admire Diego Velazquez, Andy Warhol and the Great Vincent van Gogh. I respect Velazquez. I love and hate Andy. I have a kinship with Vincent. I look up to Rembrandt, Michael Snow, Yves Klein, Franz Kline, Claude Monet, Mark Rothko, Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson, Emily Carr, Laurie Anderson, the Group of 7, Ai Wei Wei and Banksy.
All of the animals and landscapes depicted in my work I have seen and photographed myself.
My personality is colourful. I love the colours of nature and how they enhance the quality of life. I make art in respect to what I have deep passion for. I create paintings and 3-D mixed media artworks of Canadian animals in addition to landscapes, as well as the abstract exploration of colour. I make art about Canada and the beauty of colour.
Leith, B.F.A.About the Product
This work is inspired by Richard Serra's installation of Torqued Ellipses I, II, IV, V, VI, Double Torqued Ellipses I, II, III and Snake. I had the pleasure to walk inside and between these massive weathering steel sculptures when I visited the Guggenheim in Bilbiao, Spain in 2011. These works are encompassing, physically imposing and impressive.
This small painting is a preliminary sketch for a larger abstract painting, which will again translate Serra's work.
I use the phrase 'translation" because that is how the Great Vincent van Gogh referred to his copying of the work of his masters. When an artist executes a work of art, including copying another's work, the artist puts their own interpretation into the new artwork. Therefore, a 'translation' of the original artwork is a fair description of the resulting piece.
Of note, there is an early Serra outdoor work titled Shift, just north of Toronto, in a field in King City, Ontario, Canada.
Small abstract work on paper comes framed and ready to hang.
Small paper work that can be hung in whatever orientation that you choose. Image will appear differently depending on which way that you hang it. Consider the image as I display it, then rotate 90 degrees and look at it again. Find the orientation that speaks to you. This is part of the joy of abstract painting.
My signature appears on the front of the work and my Certificate of Authenticity is included.