ROSALIE GASCOIGNE

Private collection; gift from the artist
Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne; purchased from the above in 2002

Work is in good, original condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The works in Rosalie Gascoigne's Tesserae series of circa 1989-91 are constructed from sawn slivers of wood cut from old soft-drink crates, arranged in horizontal and vertical groups to form a chequerboard of rough squares.

Their underlying structure reflects one of the artist's consistent formal interests; the abutment and intersection at right angles of parallel lines. This pattern can be seen, for example, in the early floor installation of thistle stalks, Piece to Walk Around (1981, private collection), or in Swell (1984, Art Gallery of South Australia), with its two perpendicular squares of corrugated galvanized iron.

As well as typifying Gascoigne's preoccupation with the grid and the stripe, the present work also captures her delight in letters, numbers and symbols. Residual fragments of text and trademarks form a strange, stuttering array, columns of teasingly illegible black, red and blue glyphs.