From the Collection: Jack Bush

Today we are highlighting a print which is housed in the AGP’s permanent collection, made by internationally recognized Canadian artist Jack Bush.

Jack Bush started his career painting representational landscapes, heavily inspired by the works of the Group of Seven. Later in his career, Bush moved away from landscape painting, into avant-garde abstraction after he was diagnosed with anxiety and was encouraged by a doctor to experiment with self-expression. He used abstraction in his artistic practice to express feelings and mood which influenced the Toronto art scene in the 1960s and 1970s and bought him international recognition.

Bush is associated with the Colour Field movement, which can be described as works placing less emphasis on gesture and brush strokes, containing large fields of flat, solid colour.

Jack Bush’s “Untitled” print was made as part of the Toronto 20 Portfolio, made in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario and the University of Toronto Press in 1965. This silk screen print contains three large sections of vibrant colour stacked on top of each other. The design is simple, and its shapes contain soft, subdued edges. The combination of the colours used and the subtle tapered edges of the top and bottom commands the viewer’s attention to the centre of the work.

What feelings does it evoke for you?