Mayfair: Ah! Ahh! Ahhh! Avo's!!! 4.4 a $. 1993

Robert MacPherson made these black paintings with white lettering spelling out ‘Mayfair: Ah! Ahh! Ahhh! Avo's!!! 4.4 a $.’ I love how raw and immediate these paintings feel; you can almost smell the chalk dust. The white letters have a kind of awkward charm against the stark black ground. It's as if MacPherson is trying to work something out, right there on the surface. The texture gives them a homemade feel, like signs scribbled for a local market. Look closely, and you’ll see how the paint is thinly applied, revealing a bit of the surface beneath. It's so direct, so unpretentious. MacPherson reminds me a bit of Ed Ruscha in his play with words and deadpan humour, but with a more personal, rough-around-the-edges feel. It celebrates the beauty of everyday observations and the poetry of the unfinished thought. What does 'avo' even mean? It's open to interpretation, and that's what makes it so engaging.