Sean Scully

Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art, New York
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is brighter and more vibrant in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Very close inspection reveals a few faint handling marks and a small number of isolated hairline scratches to the surface of the steel, with some minute surface irregularities elsewhere, all likely inherent to the artist's working process and choice of medium. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"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."

Majestic and sombre, Ulva, named after an island of the Inner Hebrides, embodies the successful reconciliation of abstraction and narrative that remain one of Scully’s greatest achievements. Scully describes his works as having “individual personalities and that’s why I sometimes give them the names of people or places. They anchor themselves to things outside of mere art. I’m not making mere paintings. I want them to be more than that” (the artist, cited in David Carrier, Sean Scully, 2004, p.107). In this case the title, ancient and evocative, informs our reading of the abstract shapes and lines, imbuing them with a sense of meaning and opening out a world of interpretive possibility.

Painted in 1993, Ulva sees Scully recalling his visit to the Hebridean islands off the coast of Scotland. Scully was fascinated not only by the wilderness of that remote region but by the human imprint on that wildest of landscapes. He wrote, “I was looking at and photographing ramshackle sheds, and old houses that were about to fall over. They were so beautiful, so expressive of the personalities who made them – that they were driving me crazy as we drove by them. I had to keep stopping the car and running out to look at them” (Ibid., p.27).

The shapes and colours of these buildings inform the geometry of the present work and the brilliantly dark, muted palette conjures the rough seas and nebulous beauty of the island. Scully has often spoken of his fascination with windows and the liminal position they occupy; allowing us a double experience. The canvas inset in Ulva is suggestive of a window, and yet in its material opposite to the surrounding steel, it also alludes to the inherent position of an island as an isolated, solitary world. The stark horizontals compete with the luxuriant, almost mesmeric black paint on the left of the composition, creating an energetic dynamic, one which the uniformity of Scully’s grey and black colouring seeks to reconcile.