Daniel Solomon Surface Mixer Acrylic on Canvas

Updated September 5, 2026

Artist: Daniel Solomon (Canadian, b. 1945) Title: Surface Mixer Date: 1971 Medium: Acrylic on canvas Sight Size: 31.5 x 43.5 in. Verso: Titled, dated, and inscribed "Surface Mixer – 1971 – Toronto" on the reverse. An important early abstract painting by acclaimed Canadian artist Daniel Solomon, executed in 1971 during the formative years of his career. Titled Surface Mixer, this acrylic on canvas exemplifies Solomon's early exploration of colour, texture, and pictorial space through organically layered forms and geometric colour fields. Rich impasto passages contrast with luminous areas of violet, blue, ochre, and crimson, creating a dynamic composition that reflects the emergence of Toronto's modern abstract movement in the early 1970s. Painted shortly after Solomon began teaching at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University), this work belongs to the artist's highly regarded early period and is comparable to paintings that have appeared through major Canadian auction houses. Artist Biography: Daniel Solomon (born 1945) is an American-born Canadian abstract painter, sculptor, stage designer, and longtime professor at OCAD University in Toronto. After studying architecture and fine art at the University of Oregon, he moved to Toronto in 1967 and quickly became an important figure in the city's thriving abstract art scene. Solomon developed a distinctive visual language characterized by vibrant colour, expressive gesture, and complex spatial relationships, influenced by artists such as Jack Bush while forging a unique artistic voice of his own. Throughout his career, Solomon has exhibited extensively across Canada and internationally. His work is represented in numerous public collections, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, and the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, among others. Art historians consider Solomon, alongside David Bolduc, a pivotal bridge between the second and third generations of Toronto abstract painters.

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