Lot 291
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Denham Clements (b. 1944, American). "Travels with Tsuku" acrylic on canvas, 1998. Signed by the artist over the image of a crumbled piece of tinfoil in the composition. A remarkable, large-scale painting by Denham Clements that demonstrates Clements' impressive photorealistic technique and serves as a wonderful homage to the Hopi kachina known as Tsuku. Here is a description of the painting in the artist's words, "A hand-painted montage utilizing vastly disparate elements pinned or taped in juxtaposition on a neutral surface, they include a postcard image of the illusive New Mexican Jackalope, a curious wildflower, and a graphic wineglass arrangement. Tsuku, a Hopi Indian kachina best known as a practical joker, pokes fun at an angry, turbaned native, prodding the image with an Alfred E. Neumanesque 'smile-on-a-stick'
while a somewhat out of place piece of tinfoil provides balance to this odd assortment. Perhaps Tsuku holds the secret to the paintings true meaning." Size: 40" L x 50" W (101.6 cm x 127 cm) Size: 45" L x 35" W (114.3 cm x 88.9 cm)
Denham Clements is best known for his photorealistic paintings of the indigenous peoples of the American Southwest. Clements spent over 10 years in Taos, New Mexico where he created a series of portraits of the "viejos" (the old ones) and later relocated to Albuquerque. Clements' artwork has been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis; the Albuquerque Museum; US Ambassador's Residence, Lima, Peru; the Tucson Museum of Art; the National Museum of the Marine Corps; as well as collections throughout the US and abroad. In his words, "These good people, the old cowpoke, the Pueblo Indian, the local Hispanic icon, the wily backwoodsman, were nonetheless just ordinary people; but when rendered with such unflinching realism, their personalities, their lifes experiences seemed stamped on each face as if time had stopped for an instant, frozen. Their personal histories became subtly transparent and prompted a dialogue with the viewer, an uncharacteristic trait known to classic photorealism." Clements has honored his subjects in both black and white as well as color palettes - primarily on a large scale as we see in this example.
Provenance: private Denham Clements Collection, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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#169828
- Condition: Excellent overall save minor stains and wear to edges of the canvas that do not impact the imagery on the front of the canvas. The painting is hand signed by the artist over the image of a crumbled piece of tinfoil in the composition, wired for suspension, and ready to display.
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