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Lot Essay
“In Gordon’s oeuvre, our visual memories are informed by both real and fictional events, by the interwoven texture of imagined and recollected plots, and by what we remember contrasted with what actually happened.” (L. Biesenbach, Douglas Gordon: Timeline, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2006)
Douglas Gordon’s work is concerned with the way that memories, and the world around us, are perceived. It takes the form of a group of images of the world, imagery that reflects both a personal and a collective historical image. Ultimately Gordon’s practice looks to create a physical framework expressive of time, and of a life lived.
Painting no. 67: Richard Serra/Documenta VI belongs to one of Gordon’s early series of paintings, in which the works reference the title and date of a work by the artist in question. In the case of the present example, Gordon reflects on Richard Serra’s 1974 work, Abstract Slavery, which takes the form of a large black rectangular drawing.
Serra named his work in reference to the process of covering pieces of linen with small paint sticks, effectively commenting on the continued folly of the process of making. Purposefully a-symmetrical, the lines of Serra’s work are askew. The viewer’s awareness of the surrounding architecture is subsequently distorted, responding to the impact of the object’s irregular relationship to the space. By invoking the experiential notions imbued in Serra’s work, Gordon engages the themes of perception, memory and meaning that continue to define his practice.
Douglas Gordon’s work is concerned with the way that memories, and the world around us, are perceived. It takes the form of a group of images of the world, imagery that reflects both a personal and a collective historical image. Ultimately Gordon’s practice looks to create a physical framework expressive of time, and of a life lived.
Painting no. 67: Richard Serra/Documenta VI belongs to one of Gordon’s early series of paintings, in which the works reference the title and date of a work by the artist in question. In the case of the present example, Gordon reflects on Richard Serra’s 1974 work, Abstract Slavery, which takes the form of a large black rectangular drawing.
Serra named his work in reference to the process of covering pieces of linen with small paint sticks, effectively commenting on the continued folly of the process of making. Purposefully a-symmetrical, the lines of Serra’s work are askew. The viewer’s awareness of the surrounding architecture is subsequently distorted, responding to the impact of the object’s irregular relationship to the space. By invoking the experiential notions imbued in Serra’s work, Gordon engages the themes of perception, memory and meaning that continue to define his practice.