Explorations in Paint

Interesting small exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at how artists experiment and explore with paint.

It takes as its starting point that that the first president of the Royal Academy, Joshua Reynolds, was a fascinated by the physical properties of paint and often experimented, often not successfully, with different mixtures and colours. The picture shown here isn’t a modern abstract but a canvas from his studio with over 160 colour samples with written notations.

This work was shown with works by current academicians which explore the material possibilities of paint. I liked Basil Beatie’s “Never Before” from 2001 of what looked like a pile of books in thick paint which dripped down. There was also a striking work as you came in by Fiona Rae and a work by Frank Bowling mixing acrylic, liquified ammonia, water and acrylic gel which were poured over the canvas.

Closes 31 December 2022. I think.

 

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