Sunday, September 14, 2008

prunella clough

Prunella Clough
False Flower
1993

Oil on canvas


Speaking of Nozkowski, Prunella Clough (1919-1999) seemed the obvious choice for this post. Somewhere in cyber space I read of a similarity between these two and so knowing nothing about Clough I decided to investigate.

Then I bought a book of her work...and another.

Clough stands out as a painter of integrity and original vision. She chose to steer clear of the art world scene, instead dedicating time to her art as a 'practice' rather than to her art as a 'career'. In the 1950s she emerged as a social realist and then in the 60s she became more painterly and developed a personal abstract style that I never tire of looking at.

Two aspects of her working methods attract me. Her use of language to note colours and textures for future paintings are worth perusing and I think are just as intriguing as her final works. Then there are her reference photos of objects in situ, exploring colours and textures of random things - sort of like environmental still lives with an urban focus. Never used as direct references for paintings they do, however, inform us of her unique visual curiosity. Like a Nozkowski, a Clough is a sensory delight.

2 comments:

Paul Behnke said...

Wow, never thought I'd see Prunella Clough referenced in an American art blog!

undercover painter said...

ah ha, but is it American? I'm an art lover first and then, well, does nationality really matter? Prunella is so deserving of more discussion, don't you think? Thanks for looking Paul :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...