On the occasion of the 2006 exhibition held at the Metropole Galleries, Folkestone, Christopher Penn raises an interesting question in John Blackburn: A personal appreciation when he says; 'It is, without doubt, a remarkable body of work. But what is its artistic value?' For an artist such as John Blackburn (b.1932), relatively unknown since the 1960’s, how should we ‘place’ him in the chronology of art history? Any lover of abstract paintings of the Modern British period cannot fail to observe the stylistic parallels between Blackburn’s work and that of prominent contemporaries such as William Scott and Roger Hilton. However as we investigate Blackburn further, in particular his work from the 1970s to the present day, we see he occupies a more complex place within the lineage of British twentieth century, and indeed contemporary painting.
For some years the gallery has been building on its specialism in Modern British art and its reputation as an advocate of artists of the post-war period, not only collecting and exhibiting the work of celebrated artists such as Peter Lanyon, William Scott, Terry Frost and Roger Hilton but also re-establishing artists such as Peter Kinley, exhibited in May 2006. John Blackburn also came to the attention of the gallery in 2006 due to the important, innovative and prolific nature of his painting. This will be his first major London exhibition since 1961.
The present exhibition opens in the front gallery, with paintings from the early 1960’s (Blue Painting and Blue/Black, 1962). In these early abstract works, we see the physical form of the painting unite the softer elements and shapes which move across the structural foundation. He paints informally, with an essential necessity to paint what is demanded from his inner self. At the centre of his work is a profound dedication to form: ‘Form is the most important element in painting for me, and I make a strong commitment to it when I work. Shape, structure and texture are less difficult to deal with. The Spanish work is anchored to the earth in a certain sense. The soft forms that drape themselves over the main body of the pictures are of a transitory nature, but I hope serve partly to emphasise the permanence of the whole.’ Through this tangible materiality he achieves a landscape quality, not in the literal sense, but in being ‘of’ the earth.
In his later works of the 1970s, the Hostage Series is of the greatest significance. In the third gallery of this exhibition a selection from this series is on display. These works provide an insight into the complex and philosophical mind of the artist. Of the Hostage Series Blackburn says: ‘I hope and think that they are something of what I know about being alive, and even perhaps something of which one can never know.’
His works are distilled sensory experiences of the painter’s perceptions on life. The evolution in his work does not reflect any change in humanity but more an enlightenment in his philosophical exploration of it. His paintings pose questions, but do not try to provide answers to them because there can be no answer to the problems of society, as Blackburn sees it, without fundamental social change. One of the most recent works in this exhibition is Tin Bath, 2005. In the calmness of the canvas exists a voice of energy - the balance between the dark and the light, the dark grey and the cream, the splash of expression, an unleashing of something almost suggestive of violence, a rawness which spills out of the tranquil cleanness of the cream canvas. It echoes themes which have been present in much of his work over the years.
Lucy Tyler
January 2007 |
