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La Mer Study (1964) by Sorel Etrog

Artwork by Sorel Etrog, La Mer Study (1964)

Sorel Etrog
La Mer Study (1964)

bronze
stamped signature and numbered 8/10
9.25 x 4.75 x 4 ins ( 23.5 x 12.1 x 10.2 cms ) ( overall )

Auction Estimate: $15,000.00$10,000.00 - $15,000.00

Price Realized $11,210.00
Sale date: June 2nd 2020

Provenance:
Private Collection, Toronto
Literature:
Ihor Holubizky, “Sorel Etrog: Five Decades”, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 2013, page 100
Pierre Restany, “Sorel Etrog”, New York, 2001, page 14
Abstracted bodily forms figure prominently in Etrog's oeuvre of sculptural works. Curving lines, rounded forms and interlocking elements create a mythological quality in these modern pieces. While studying artifacts at the Brooklyn Museum in the 1950s, Etrog became fascinated with the simplicity of primitive artworks and artifacts. Simple but exaggerated forms both in decoration and figural representations influenced the artist's own practice and development as a sculptor. Votive figures, fertility goddesses, and functional decorated spatulas with elongated sinuous lines inspired Etrog's own use of these components. In regard to the primitive art Etrog admired, William J. Withrow remarks that, “all of life's mysteries appear to be distilled. These artist's many thousands of years ago captured the quintessence of life itself.”

After exploring the world’s earliest artworks and artifacts, Etrog became fascinated by the form of a woman when pregnant. During the summer of 1959, this theme pervaded Etrog's work. Withrow surmises that Etrog was “inspired by the African concept of the fertility goddess which directly resulted in three works: “Pregnant Woman I and II”, remarkable for their schematic approach to the body and the emphasis on the spherical protuberance of the belly.” The title of this work, “La Mer”, is a subtle play on the words, “La mere”, French for mother. The hourglass form with the fleshy curves of the bust and the hips, and the soft protruding belly is a subtle nod to the pregnant form, while the entwined bronze shape creates a gentle harmony as the viewer’s eye moves over the sculpture. In recognition of the artifacts that so inspired Etrog, “La Mer” seeks to capture that same distillation of human essence and mystery.


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Sorel Etrog
(1933 - 2014) RCA

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Based in Toronto for more than fifty years, Sorel Etrog was born in Iasi, Romania, in 1933. He is most well-known as a sculptor, but he also illustrated books, painted, and wrote poetry, plays, and films. His sculptures were influenced by his adolescence spent under Soviet rule and an interest in philosophical writings that questioned the nature of post-war society. He was also inspired by his grandfather who was a carpenter. Etrog, along with his parents and sister attempted to flee Romania in 1946 but were caught. His parents were then imprisoned for several weeks. Finally, Etrog and his family left Romania in 1950 and made it to the Sha’ar Aliyaa refugee camp near Haifa, Israel.

While serving mandatory time in the Israel Defense Forces’ medical corps in 1953 he began studying art at Tel Aviv’s Arts Institute for Painting and Sculpture. Inspired by Cubist collage and modernist music, he created three-dimensional paintings, mimicking constructivist reliefs. In 1958, he received a scholarship to attend school at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School.

Upon arrival in New York City, Etrog became drawn to African and Oceanic art due to their expressive shapes and began incorporating these elements into his work. While trying to find gallery representation in New York City, Samuel J. Zachs purchased one of Etrog’s paintings and invited Etrog to spend the summer of 1959 in Southampton on Lake Huron with him. While in Southampton, Etrog created his first wooden sculptures and gained gallery representation from Gallery Moos in Toronto. This encounter inspired the young artist to apply for Canadian citizenship and eventually move to Toronto in 1963.

In his mature sculptural works, Etrog explores spontaneous symbols, primal elements and the relationship between form and symbol. The artist described his art as "tension created by pulling together and pulling apart, with being stuck and being freed, a world of grabbing and holding on and losing hold...bringing shapes together but at the same time giving each an independence."

After immigrating to Canada, Etrog had his first traveling exhibition in 1965. The show began at Gallery Moos, then traveled to New York City, Los Angeles, and Montreal. In 1966, Etrog, alongside Yves Gaucher and Alex Colville, represented Canada at the Venice Biennale. He later received several important commissions, including those for Expo ’67, Montreal; SunLife Centre, Toronto; Windsor Sculpture Garden, Windsor, Ontario; Los Angeles County Museum, and Olympic Park in Seoul, Korea. Before his death in 2014, Etrog’s art was included in a retrospective at Buschlen Mowatt in Vancouver in 2003.

Literature Sources:
"A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977

Mikulinsky, Alma, “Sorel Etrog: Life and Work,” Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2018

We extend our thanks to Danie Klein, York University graduate student in art history, for writing and contributing this artist biography.