Abstract Form by Walter Hawley Yarwood

Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist
By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto

Working as a commercial artist early in his career, Walter Yarwood occasionally shared studio space with painters Oscar Cahén, Ronald York Wilson and Jack Bush. Yarwood became an important member of the influential group, Painters Eleven, participating in their inaugural exhibition at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in 1954. Building on the influence of the New York School artists, Yarwood created lyrical abstract works with vivid colours and gestural paint application.

After Painters Eleven disbanded in 1960, Yarwood worked predominantly in sculpture for the next twenty years. Employing a variety of materials, Yarwood created works using welded steel, cast aluminum or bronze, at times incorporating found objects into his process. Yarwood would gouge his materials with power tools or etch them with acid to produce expressionistic forms with a subtle variation of surface textures. “Abstract Form” possesses a dynamic quality of energy and movement, evoking associations of natural forms without resorting to a direct pictorial reference. The sculpture’s form eschews obvious marks of the artist’s hand, and instead conveys elemental and powerful forces of nature.