As Snow ventured into sculpture in the mid-1950s, he continued to focus on tables and chairs as artistic subjects. This bronze-coloured sculpture consists of a metal table displaying a collection of found objects. Snow was inspired by the elongated forms of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti. While Giacometti’s sculptures explore the human condition, Snow was drawn to stretching out his forms as a method of abstraction. Here the thin legs of the table appear disproportionately long, imbuing the work with a sense of delicate elegance. The bronze colour of the found objects shows Snow’s interest in transforming everyday objects into works of beauty.
Early Snow: Michael Snow 1947-1962
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Michael Snow, The Table, 1955
Metal plate, metal wires and found objects covered with putty (epoxy?) and metallic paint (bronze powder?) on a painted wood base,
26 x 39.3 x 31 cm (with integral base), Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased 1986 (29333). Photo credit: National Gallery of Canada.