I realised that it is a few days since I put up a post relating to my past portfolio work and that I had hinted about this piece when I last did, so welcome to Red (Well) 2006. as I suggested previously this is a painting created to allow only one person to view it at a time; the diameter of the canvas is just 900mm allowing a person to just fit inside; but it stretches some 5000mm high. This gives the impression of standing at the bottom at a well, hence the name. The concept behind this whole series of paintings was intended to challenge the observers perception and experience of what a painting is and could be. Naturally enough paintings like these drew automatic comparisons to some of Anish Kapoor’s sculptural piece, but the point was that although there maybe some superficial similarities, that the starting, point heritage and intentions are very different.

 

In my discourse about these works I will often refer to their “heritage”, because for me it is a very important aspect of where this work is located in the art cannon. These are very much paintings, in my mind much more so than many other things which speak to be. All of these works are very deliberately built in the same way as any other traditional painting, they are oil paint on a primed canvas pulled taut over a bespoke wooden stretcher. Their intention is to do the same basic things as other paintings, but also to expand on that “experience” through new possibilities. The same ideas were also explored is the next few paintings which I will go on to introduce in future postings.

One final word about this piece and its history; it was a piece intended to go to exhibition in a group show of new painters called Half a Dozen of the Other; a show in which six new painters exhibited new and diverse approaches to painting. Unfortunately the health and safety gnomes got to this painting first and said it could not be exhibited, and so it remains a “studio piece” as shown in these photographs. So if anyone else has a 7000mm high gallery space at their disposal and the courage, it is still awaiting its first public exhibition 5 years on.