ON THE WALLshaped canvases, wall reliefs, string paintings and more, from the 1960s, 70s & 80s

John TOWNSEND (American, born 1929)

"Rain Fall"

Painted wood relief, 1965, signed, dated and titled in ink on the reverse; in very good condition40 3/4 x 40 3/4 x 2 inches

$7,500

John Townsend's wood reliefs were made from scores of identical lengths of shaped wood, each positioned slightly differently to create a sense of movement and optical play. These works were exhibited at Byron Gallery, Amel Gallery and Martha Jackson Gallery, New York in the 1960s.

John TOWNSEND (American, born 1929)

Untitled

Plexiglass relief, circa 1968, signed in ink on the reverse; in very good condition36 1/4 x 36 x 1 5/8 inches

$7,500

In the late-1960s Townsend began to use plexiglass strips instead of wood to create his reliefs, but maintained the same theme of subtly shifting optical movement.

Aubrey PENNY (American, 1917-2000)

"Mind-Line Series 5-238"

Acrylic on canvas over plywood, 1967, signed, dated and titled on the reverse; some slight surface dirt but otherwise in very good condition41 x 40 inches approx.

$3,500

Los Angeles-based Aubrey Penny's "Mind-Line" painting, part of a larger series of works of his in differing styles of abstraction, highlights the new-found idea of the period that a painting does not have to be a traditional rectangle or square, and that the design within the work can relate in unusual ways to the shape of the work itself.

Stephen EDLICH (American, 1944-89)

Untitled Aluminum Relief

Metal wall relief, 1968, with the artist's original label on the reverse, from an edition of only seven, the two metal sheets are brushed aluminum and sit above a third sheet of matte aluminum, all contained in a metal frame painted black on the inside; some light surface scratching around the edges of the brushed aluminum but otherwise in very good condition23 3/4 x 23 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches

$2,200

Stephen Edlich's works evolved from his interest in modernist art of the early twentieth century, and in particular collage. In the case of this work he changed the more traditional collage element of a sheet of paper to the distinctly contemporary element of a sheet of metal.

Robert SLUTZKY (American, 1929-2005)

Tipped Painting - Red

Acrylic on canvas, circa 1969, unsigned, from the estate of the artist60 1/4 x 66 inches (square)

$12,000

Slutzky created a small number of "tipped" paintings in the late-1960s and early-70s. These works, with their dominant central color and subtle, irregularly positioned vertical lines, extend the form and color painted on the canvas well beyond the edges of the painting in a way that a right-angled canvas is unable to do.

David ROTH (American, born 1942)

Green, blue and white, with blue, purple and white border

Acrylic on cotton string, late-1970s/early-1980s, unsigned (the authenticity and date of this work have been confirmed by the artist), in two parts, this work consists of 78 gatherings of painted string suspended from two wooden rods, each gathering being made up of 36 lengths of string; in excellent condition72 x 68 inches

$11,000

David Roth's "string paintings" of the 1970s and 80s create a physically impressive work from thousands of individual painted strings (over 2,000 in the piece shown here); the individually painted strings viewed up-close coalesce into a full color field "painting" when seen from a distance.

Ernest POSEY (American, 1937-2007)

Untitled

Four acrylics on canvas, 1970, each signed and dated on the reverse, the four panels can be moved and rotated to produce numerous different configurations; in excellent conditioneach panel 24 x 24 inchestotal dimension approx. 48 x 48 inches

$3,500

The work of the West Coast artist Ernest Posey in the 1970s and 80s was most often involved with simple geometric shapes, frequently concentric circles painted in a limited palette of colors. In this case, that larger design has been subdivided into four separate paintings which can be moved and rearranged to create circles, eclipses and hour-glass shapes.

Coletta MARTIN (American, born 1923)

"Black Power"

Sewn cotton fabric collage on canvas, 1980, signed, dated and titled on the reverse; some toning to the far right area of the canvas but otherwise in very good condition, in a thin wood frame34 x 60 inches

$1,800

Coletta Martin began creating fabric collages in the 1970s, utilizing a wide range of materials to produce her bold biomorphic abstractions. In this work, black fabric is sewn onto unpainted canvas, and the edges are left rough, not attempting to disguise the combination of materials.

Coletta MARTIN (American, born 1923)

Untitled

Sewn felt stretched over a wood stretcher, 1985, signed and dated on the reverse; one pin-head size hole upper center and one very slight lifted area but otherwise in excellent condition20 x 20 inches

$1,100

Martin's choice of felt in this piece has created a work with a smooth, soft finish - inviting to the touch and unmatchable in paint - that is an ideal complement to the simple, organic design.

Gabriele ROOS (American, born 1932)

Untitled [tondo]

Acrylic on canvas, late-1970s, signed on the stretcher; in excellent condition48 inches diameter

$4,000

The staccato swatches of color that pulse across this canvas provide an interesting counterpoint to the tondo shape, a long-accepted artistic tradition but a form only recently revisited in the 1970s.

Margaret WENSTRUP (American, 1930-2008)

"Two Blues"

Acrylic on canvas strips laid down over raised wood board, 1981, signed in ink, dated and titled on the reverse, the 'torn' edges of the overlaid canvas strips providing the impression of radiating lengths of string; a few very minor surface marks but otherwise in very good condition, in the original thin wood strip frame34 1/2 x 34 1/2 inches (square)

$2,500

Margaret Wenstrup created a small group of paintings in the early-1980s that reference the earlier string works of Naum Gabo and Sue Fuller, but do this only by using the rough, unpainted edges of canvas to simulate the appearance of string. Built up over raised wood panels, the converging "string" lines, just overlaid strips of canvas, create a strong three-dimensional effect.