signed and dated 1979 lower left; titled on two labels on the reverse
19 × 96 in (48.3 × 243.8 cm)
Auction Estimate:$6,000 - $8,000
Sale date:June 9, 2021
Price Realized
$8,400
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Marlborough-Godard Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Literature
Ken Carpenter, “Otto Rogers and a Life in Art,” Canadian Art Magazine Spring Issue [Online], 2014
A member of the Bahá’í faith, Otto Rogers explored the spiritual relationship between art and nature in his work. Ken Carpenter writes, “In 1963, Clement Greenberg singled him out in Canadian Art as the only ‘big attack’ painter in Saskatoon, one with a ‘fullness of inspiration’.” Rogers soon became a recognized national art figure and by the 1970s was exhibiting in Toronto, Montreal, Paris and Milan.
In “Summer Shower” there is a hint of a summer rainstorm. Rogers utilizes a cut piece of grey painted canvas running the length of the composition to create a horizon, which is further enhanced by the long canvas. He has created an abstract landscape with what appears to be an approaching storm, making subtle suggestions with his use of line, form and shape.
Otto Donald Rogers - Summer Shower | Cowley Abbott