Lot 189
RONALD ALBERT MARTIN
Note:
London, Ontario, developed as an important artistic centre in the 1960s. Ron Martin, then in his twenties, was inspired by fellow Londoner Greg Curnoe’s attraction to Dada collages. Martin began producing his own collages; the early works combined fragments of images and text often from local “ready-mades” such as stamps and newspapers. His first solo exhibition entitled Pop Collages, was held at the Pollock Gallery in Toronto in 1966. That same year, Martin painted Primer #2 (Dick, Jane, Spot and Puff). The artwork’s decorative fields of colour, bold, stenciled text and crisp, geometric forms indicate the artist’s affiliation with contemporary international art trends such as Pop Art.
The exhibition Heart of London in 1968 brought together this group of remarkable London, Ontario-based artists including Ron Martin, Greg Curnoe and Jack Chambers. The artistic activity taking place in London was given national acknowledgement through this seminal exhibition.