ROBERT HOULE, R.C.A. (1947-) NAHKAWININIWAK (SAULTEAUX / PLAINS OJIBWAY)

graphite on paper, 20 x 26 in (50.8 x 66 cm), framed
signed and dated, "R. Houle 81";
titled to The Pollock Gallery Ltd. label.

LOT 37
ESTIMATE: $500 — $800
Stylistically, Cryptogram No. 2 is somewhat reminiscent of the method of complex systems of crosshatched marks developed by the American artist, Jasper Johns. It also recalls the pierced canvases of Lucio Fontana's Tagli, or 'Cuts.' However, as its title suggests, Cryptogram No. 2 is meant to challenge the view to look closely in search of meaning.

In his illusionistic rendering of texture and richness, a swath of grisaille skin dominates the work. Methodically rendered folds of supple seeming grey appear with lines that are evocative of stitched seams dance across the composition. The visual allusion to stitched skin in the present work is, perhaps, a reference to a parfleche, a motif that intrigued Houle and informed some of his most important work at this time.

In 1978, Houle held his first solo show at The Pollock Gallery in Toronto. It was shortly after this point, in the spring of 1980, that Houle resigned from the National Museum of Man (Now the Canadian Museum of History). In an 1988 interview with Clara Hargittay, Houle explained his departure from the institution. Houle explained that on the day he handed in his resignation, he spent some time sketching the objects on display in the Victoria Memorial Building. Houle explained,
"...when I was standing in that gallery surrounded by all those objects, presented in a context that isolated them from life and reality, all I could think of was that I wanted to liberate them. How do I do that? I am leaving. What can I do to breathe life into them, to show that they still matter? In desperation I sketched these lifeless objects, and decided that this would be my project for the next little while. Up until last year I concentrated on making parfleches and warrior staffs, trying to rehabilitate those objects I left behind [1]."

1. Clara Hargittay, The Struggle Against Cultural Apartheid, "Muse", Autumn 1988, p. 58