is it time for a major critical revival of the painters eleven, and if so, some questions:
a) does their lack of reception outside of limited canadian spheres connect to a general dislike or distrust of hard edged abstraction
b) should it have come out of the wave made by nasgaard's book?
c) are they better liked in Edmonton, with its complicated history of modernism and montreal with its two nationalisms
d) what are the implications that major nationalist collectors (i.e. Thompson) never really purchased it large qauntities, but corporations (TD Bank, Great West Insurance Co., HBC, etc did?)
e) Bush is the one that has the most fame from the 11, is that because he is the best of the painters, the one with the most identifable, easily reproducable style, or something else?
f) Is Bush like Noland (and perhaps Truitt) in the sense that he is caught b/w the gestural abstraction and minimalism, with no safe space b/w them
g) IS Bush like Morris or Frankenthaler in his use of blank canvas or empty space as a compositonal element, and if that is the case is that small formal element enough to seperate them?
h) Morris is making a bit of a comeback, but his place is always ambigious
i) does any of this have to do with the sheer swooning colour drunk pleasure of much of this work, and if that is the case, then
j) IS there trans-national energy here or am i being to spec.