Ablade Glover (Ghanaian, born 1934)Town Aerial View Abstract
signed and dated 'Glo/ 94' (lower right)
oil on canvas
100.5 x 150.5cm (39 9/16 x 59 1/4in).
(framed)FootnotesProfessor Glover's paintings shift between abstraction and detailed realism depending on the viewer's precise distance from the canvas.
When viewed up close, the present work appears to be a constellation of random shapes. Take a step back however, and the inchoate array comes into focus. The abstract shapes transform into a townscape, captured under particular conditions of light and weather.
The birds-eye view utilises Western perspectival techniques; the repeated squares of colour that represent the roofs of these Accra dwellings gradually shrink in size towards a horizon positioned beyond the top frame edge.
The present lot demonstrates Glover's fascination with the restless dynamics of the urban environment and the opportunities it offers for human interaction and exchange. He locates the precise point where the random events of daily life are resolved into a harmonious order: each roof blends into the townscape and the flux of the present is revealed as an intense instance of eternity.
Bibliography
J.Castellone, Contemporary Nigerian Art in Lagos Private Collections, (Ibadan, 2012), pp.14 & 89.
Ablade Glover (Ghanaian, born 1934)Town Aerial View Abstract
signed and dated 'Glo/ 94' (lower right)
oil on canvas
100.5 x 150.5cm (39 9/16 x 59 1/4in).
(framed)FootnotesProfessor Glover's paintings shift between abstraction and detailed realism depending on the viewer's precise distance from the canvas.
When viewed up close, the present work appears to be a constellation of random shapes. Take a step back however, and the inchoate array comes into focus. The abstract shapes transform into a townscape, captured under particular conditions of light and weather.
The birds-eye view utilises Western perspectival techniques; the repeated squares of colour that represent the roofs of these Accra dwellings gradually shrink in size towards a horizon positioned beyond the top frame edge.
The present lot demonstrates Glover's fascination with the restless dynamics of the urban environment and the opportunities it offers for human interaction and exchange. He locates the precise point where the random events of daily life are resolved into a harmonious order: each roof blends into the townscape and the flux of the present is revealed as an intense instance of eternity.
Bibliography
J.Castellone, Contemporary Nigerian Art in Lagos Private Collections, (Ibadan, 2012), pp.14 & 89.
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
