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Dimensions: 91.5 by 91.5cm.; 36 by 36in.
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Provenance: Waddington Galleries, London
Annely Juda, London
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Notes: This long and important series of works has its origin in a series of studies which Martin began in 1969. Using a square grid with equal numbers along each axis, the corresponding numbers were written on slips of paper and were then picked at random in pairs, giving the start and finish co-ordinates of each line, chance thus determining the length and orientation of each line. The paintings therefore become a combination of chance and the hand of the artist in the execution of that process, the visually pleasing results taking on a third, independent character. In Chance & Order 16 (black) 1973, this painterly sense is undisputedly evident, both in the finished forms, but also on closer inspection where it is possible to see the changes the artist has introduced in the evolution of the image, these 'ghosts' of previous forms beneath the white surface adding both a textural richness and a sense of considered construction. The present painting belongs to the first group of works from the series and demonstrates the basic monochromatic form that these paintings took before the later multi-coloured versions. With a distinguished exhibition history, which includes its being chosen as the cover image for Martin's 1975 Tate retrospective, Chance & Order 16 (black) 1973 is now appearing at auction for the first time.
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