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Lot Essay
‘The shapes and colours I paint and the significance I attach to them I cannot explain in any coherent way. The exploration of colour, mass, shape, is, I believe, a self-exploration constantly varied and changing in nature: a reality made tangible on the painted surface.'
-John Hoyland
15.3.66, painted during what is considered the most pivotal period of John Hoyland’s career, demonstrates the artist’s exploration into form and expanses of vivid colour. In 1956, Hoyland visited the Modern Art in the United States exhibition at the Tate Gallery, where, for the first time, he encountered American abstract art. In the 50s and 60s, post-war Britain was enthralled by the ground-breaking work of artists such as De Kooning, Pollock and Rothko. In this atmosphere of Abstract Expressionist experimentation, Hoyland searched for his own individual artistic style.
The mid 1960s, when the present work was conceived, proved to be an extremely important time for Hoyland. In 1964, he made his first visit to New York, following an invitation from Helen Frankenthaler. There, he met the critic Clement Greenberg and was, in turn, exposed to the work of Hans Hoffman whose translations of form, colour and space had a seminal impact on Hoyland’s artistic method. Similarly, the artist’s discovery of acrylic paint, new to the market in 1963, facilitated elements of speed and versatility within Hoyland’s work. Having grown tired of the long drying time of oils, Hoyland was now able to implement a more instinctive use of colour. In 15.3.66, the viewer is confronted with Hoyland’s intuitive and dynamic handling of the acrylic paint. The striking shades of red and green offset one another in a brilliantly assertive interplay between colour and shape. 15.3.66 is unique in its domestic scale. Hoyland's paintings from this year are typically over three metres long, with the present work being the only known example rendered on a more intimate scale.
-John Hoyland
15.3.66, painted during what is considered the most pivotal period of John Hoyland’s career, demonstrates the artist’s exploration into form and expanses of vivid colour. In 1956, Hoyland visited the Modern Art in the United States exhibition at the Tate Gallery, where, for the first time, he encountered American abstract art. In the 50s and 60s, post-war Britain was enthralled by the ground-breaking work of artists such as De Kooning, Pollock and Rothko. In this atmosphere of Abstract Expressionist experimentation, Hoyland searched for his own individual artistic style.
The mid 1960s, when the present work was conceived, proved to be an extremely important time for Hoyland. In 1964, he made his first visit to New York, following an invitation from Helen Frankenthaler. There, he met the critic Clement Greenberg and was, in turn, exposed to the work of Hans Hoffman whose translations of form, colour and space had a seminal impact on Hoyland’s artistic method. Similarly, the artist’s discovery of acrylic paint, new to the market in 1963, facilitated elements of speed and versatility within Hoyland’s work. Having grown tired of the long drying time of oils, Hoyland was now able to implement a more instinctive use of colour. In 15.3.66, the viewer is confronted with Hoyland’s intuitive and dynamic handling of the acrylic paint. The striking shades of red and green offset one another in a brilliantly assertive interplay between colour and shape. 15.3.66 is unique in its domestic scale. Hoyland's paintings from this year are typically over three metres long, with the present work being the only known example rendered on a more intimate scale.