Blast

Private Collection, Montreal

Heather A. Fraser, “Paterson Ewen: Critical Works: Works on Paper, 1949-92”, Art Gallery of Hamilton, 1992, unpaginated, no. 10, reproduced

Ewen completed this serigraph during a transitionary period of his artistic career, moving away from his beginnings in figurative and landscape works. This artwork was part of an experimental project at the Denyse Delrue Gallery where artists created editions of serigraphs or silkscreen prints in an attempt to democratize modern art for the public. Since the printing process was used similarly in everyday items such as fabrics and wallpapers for commercial use, the theory was that the medium and process of editioned prints would be accessible to a wider audience rather than the exclusive modern art community. Discovering his artistic vision in the 1950s, focus on abstraction and analytic cubism was paramount to the artist’s experimentation and development while he endeavoured to solve formal issues of painting in abstraction. Twisting planes within the rigid and static canvas and paper, Ewen rejected all references to representative forms or figures, opting instead for textural, intentionally placed shapes with balanced colour.