JOHN WESLEY | NIGHT SAIL: TURNING FOR HOME

Robert Elkon Gallery, New York

Christie's New York, 15 March 2005, Lot 125

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

John Wesley is recognized for his large-format depictions of bodies and cartoon characters, rendered with a signature flatness and limited color range. His work does not define easy categorization: while containing many of the emblems of Pop art, his style is akin to Minimalism. Indeed, his closest personal associations were with artists such as Dan Flavin and Donald Judd. Judd would later pen a laudatory essay on Wesley’s work and set aside a space for him at his complex in Marfa, Texas. Wesley himself considers his work to be aligned with Surrealism. In 2000, Wesley had a career retrospective at MoMA PS1, New York.