33 Marcelle Ferron AANFM AUTO CAS QMG RCA SAAVQ SAPQ 1924 – 2001
Orbite arbitraire oil on canvas, on verso signed, titled and dated 1958 19 x 19 3/4 in, 48.3 x 50.2 cm Prov e n a n c e
Private Collection, Toronto Marcelle Ferron was an important member of the Quebec-based group the Automatists, who became known during the late 1940s by way of the manifesto Refus global (lot 65 in this sale) and the international status of their leader, Paul-Émile Borduas. Although she spent most of her life in Quebec, Ferron also lived in Paris, from 1953 to 1966. 50
This lively work is from that fruitful time in her career, when her canvas size increased and her palette knife strokes grew broader and more confident. Ferron’s Parisian period is also known for its use of blue and white pigments, and Orbite arbitraire’s colour palette is a stunning example of the different shades she was able to achieve with these two base colours. Dark, inky tones draw us straight into the centre of the work, while the teal and navy strokes underneath gradually dissipate into whites highlighted with sapphire. The gestural strokes lead us up and around the canvas, and then back into the blue-black heart of the work, almost as if we are in a spiraling orbit. Est imat e : $25,000 – 35,000