Sunday 25 July 2021

Prunella Clough and Alan Reynolds


Alan Reynolds - Winter Image, 1958
 
 
 
"Prunella Clough and Alan Reynolds were largely influenced by the major developments in twentieth century art.  Both with roots in figuration - Reynolds in landscape and Clough in the urban environment - their work becomes increasingly concerned with the formal qualities of painting. Whilst Reynolds’ practice steers into complete abstraction, it could be said that Clough’s paintings retain elements of the ‘real’ world.  Both artists were, through their teaching, highly influential to an entire generation of artists that followed them and their impact continues to be felt today."  - Annely Juda.


 
Prunella Clough and Alan Reynolds installation view


As interesting as Prunella Clough's work is I specifically wanted to catch this exhibition as I was interested in learning more about Alan Reynolds' transformation from representational artist to abstract artist. I had witnessed a similar transformation in May at Marlborough gallery's Victor Pasmore show (here). That show was revelatory but gave no indications of Pasmore's path into total abstraction, as it strictly separated Pasmore's abstract and representational oeuvres. Here at Annely Juda, Reynolds' journey from the representational to that of pure abstraction is writ large chronologically across their gallery walls, and makes for fascinating viewing. Reynolds's earliest figurative, colour works, to the stark, all-white, minimalism of his last pieces where he plays with geometric shapes within the picture plane are well documented here. Reynolds (1926-2014), was active as a painter in a period of 20th C. art which has come to be of real interest to me since last year's pandemic lockdowns. I particularly admire the abstract works created by other artists as well as Reynolds in this time frame, and they have become very influential on my own works of late. With Reynolds I particularly like the period in which his works verge on the abstract, but still remain partly representational. There is a particular tension in these images, and the fact that they are in transition and haven't quite reached a resolution into a totally abstract conclusion really intrigues me. You can see the process of the artist's brain wrestling with the puzzles of the formal pictoral elements, and trying to solve the problems he has set himself, and then wondering how he can best resolve them, reconciling his art with his own personal concepts of abstraction. I really enjoyed the colours and shapes created in Reynolds's paintings. My favourite in this show was Winter Image, 1958, a glorious little concoction of harmonious, muted colours and close tonal variations, criss-crossed by a tissue of spidery web-like fine lines, reminiscent of some of Georgia O' Keeffe's finest flower paintings.
 
 
 
Alan Reynolds Installation view
 
Prunella Clough -
Factory Interior (Wool Carding Shop), 1954

Prunella Clough - Man With Printing Press, 1953
 
Prunella Clough - Waterweed 6, 1988
 
Prunella Clough - Waterweed 6, 1988 (detail)

Prunella Clough - White 1, 1970
 
Prunella Clough - White 1, 1970 (detail)
 
Prunella Clough - Garden, 1998
 
Prunella Clough - Mesh With Glove I, 1980
 
Prunella Clough - Gadget 1, 1997
 
Prunella Clough - Ears, c.1990

Prunella Clough - Left Over, 1991
 
Prunella Clough - Trinket 2, 1994
 
Prunella Clough - T-Shirt, 1994
 
 Prunella Clough - Red Gate, 1981
 
 
Alan Reynolds Installation view

Alan Reynolds - The Poet Goes Poaching, 1951
 
 
 Alan Reynolds - The Village Fair, 1952
 
 
  Alan Reynolds - Abstract: Green, Black and Grey, 1959
 
  Alan Reynolds - Yellow, Green and Black Forms, 1959
 
 
 Alan Reynolds - Forms Red, Green and Orange, 1960
 
Alan Reynolds - Winter Image, 1958
 

Alan Reynolds - Lyric Abstract, 1958-59

 Alan Reynolds - Structure - Ovoid Ground, 1962
 
Alan Reynolds - Study Rotation 28, 2005
Alan Reynolds - Ascending, 1970
 
Alan Reynolds - Cosmic (mini), 1972

Alan Reynolds - Poised forms (mini), 1972
 
 
 Alan Reynolds - Quartet, 1974
 
Alan Reynolds - Small Structure III, 1975

Alan Reynolds - Structures - Group II, 1981






Prunella Clough and Alan Reynolds
until 31st July
Annely Juda Fine Art
23 Dering Street
London 
W1S 1AW

Sunday 18 July 2021

Sheila Hicks: Music To My Eyes

Sheila Hicks - Lianes Colsa, (detail), 2020

 

Thread is the universal language. It could become a hammock, or a fishing net, or a hat, or a home… It’s the first thing you feel in the morning when you wake up in your bed sheets, then you step on a rug, you pick up a towel…’ - Sheila Hicks.


Another fabulous textile-focused exhibition at Alison Jacques Gallery so soon after the wonderful exhibition of the Gee's Bend Quiltmakers which I also saw here back in January. Sheila Hicks studied at Yale University under Josef Albers (1888–1976), and there learned a variety of weaving techniques which were taught to her personally by the renowned textile artist Anni Albers (1899–1994). Through Josef and Anni Albers, Hicks immersed herself in the ideas of the Bauhaus and Modernism. Hicks was previously inspired by Raoul d’Harcourt’s book Les textiles anciens du Pérou et leurs techniques, [Textiles of Ancient Peru and Their Techniques] (1934) to explore the subject of cultural appropriation and then turned from painting to textiles as a medium through which to express herself. A grant enabled her to spend time in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Mexico where she developed a close association to the architect Luis Barragán (1902–1988). Hicks sees her practice and textiles in general as an essential element of architecture. This attitude is influenced and expounded upon by the practice-oriented approach of architect and theoretician Gottfried Semper (1803–1879), who explored the context between nature, textile, architecture, and space. The majority of artworks in this exhibition were created during the pandemic lockdowns, and are focused on suspended bas-relief sculptures in various natural fibres – linen, cotton, silk – that encourage a certain manner of 'visual listening'. In this respect Hicks has a similar ideology to painters such as Whistler, Kandinsky and Harald Sohlberg (here), who tried to equate the power of musical harmonies through visual representations with their work in paint on canvas. ‘Usually, sound enters through your ears,’ Hicks says of these newly produced works, ‘but I invite participation and perception through your eyes. One can detect subtle harmonies, discover intricate structures, complex sequences, and enjoy an infinite range of colours, as when you listen to music.’ ‘Music to My Eyes’ amounts to a visual concert. Just as instruments are arranged in order to heighten their collective impact, so too have these sculptural objects and reliefs been orchestrated to elicit an instant sensory and emotional response. ‘To be here and now, seeking harmony’, Hicks says of her intentions with the exhibition. ‘To make immediate impact and, hopefully, leave lasting impressions.’ Mission accomplished I'd say, this exhibition was indeed music to my eyes.

 

Arc-en-ciel, 2021

Arc-en-ciel, (detail), 2021
 
Generosity, 2021
 
Generosity, 2021
 
Untitled, 2021
Ripe Rip, 2019
 
Ripe Rip, (detail), 2019
 
Lianes Colsa, 2020
 
Peace Barrier, 2018
 
Peace Barrier, (detail), 2018
 
Peace Barrier, 2018
 
Wave Wave Wave, 2021
 

Roch Nel, 2020
 
Phare de Stiff, 2020
 
Pen ar Rugel, 2020
 
Mean Melen, 2020
 
Lampaul, 2020
 
Treasured Moments Shared, 2021
 

Partner of Mercurial, 2021
 




Sheila Hicks: Music To My Eyes
until 31st July
Alison Jacques Gallery
16-18 Berners Street
London
W1T