Euan Uglow - An Arc from the Eye

'Art is an artifice ... it's nothing to do with being true to life. You're trying to construct a new world so it can stand: nothing to do with illusionism'. Euan Uglow.

Euan Uglow - An Arc from the Eye

at the MK Gallery, Milton Keynes.

When I saw the brustrokes in the painting that featured in the poster for this exhibition, I just had to go and see it. And I was not disappointed. It is a wonderful exhibition and it's so exciting discovering a new artist.

Euan Uglow (1932-200) was known for his close observation and precise technique, often working on a single painting for several years whilst working on three or four paintings at a time. He would construct set-ups or arrangements of models and objects in order to experiment with different ways of depicting perspective, light and colour. Working in an almost mathematical way, Uglow left on the canvas the dashes or crosses that came upon measuring. In his still lifes especially, this also registered how the pasage of time changed his subjects.

Influencers:

The exhibition opens with works by five artists who taught or influenced him: Paul Cezanne, Alberto Giacometti and William Coldstream, Victor Pasmore and Claude Rogers.

Paul Cezanne, The Painter's Father, Louis-August Cezanne, 1865, (oil on plaster, later mounted on canvas)

Cezanne wrote that an artist should aim to give 'concrete expression to his sensations, his perceptions, by means of line and colour'. In his twenties, he made this painting of his father reading a neewspaper, directly onto a wall of their home.

Uglow said that Cezanne helped him dare to 'follow my most awkward, foolish, passions and obsessions'. Looking at Cezanne made him aware 'that the smallest shift in viewpoint would result in a quite different picture'.

Alberto Giacometti, Diego, 1950, (oil on canvas)

Uglow said that Giacometti 'gave you the courage to try and do what you could'. That Giacometti 'seemed to be trying to solve some of the problems that I was tryhing to solve as a painter: trying to make something work in space. And not with any formula but with distillation'.

William Coldstream, Two Female Nudes in the Studio, 1953-54, (oil on canvas)

Goldstream was one of Uglow's most influential tutors while studying at both Camberwell and Slade Schools of Art. Goldstream had developed a method of painting in which he stood in one spot, held his arm out to the subject with one eye shut and measured, taking in fixed vertical and horizontal lines. His goal was to see objectively and afresh.

Victor Pasmore, Rectangular Motif: Red and Mustard, 1950, (oil on canvas)

Passmore was Uglow's tutor. His influence can be seen in Uglow's use of colour and geometry, as well as the importance of process in his work.

Euan Uglow, Girl with Light Hair, 1949, (oil on canvas)

In Uglow's last year at Camberwell, he painted a series of cubist-inspired works, in which the subject is broken into geometric shapes.

Claude Rogers, Burning Field, 1959-60, (oil on canvas)

Uglow has repeatedly stated that Rogers was his most influential tutor.

Euan Uglow paintings:

In his painting, Uglow put aside ideas of how things should look and instead focused on close looking, measuring and slowly building an image. Each painting began with a conceptual premise: how to turn an idea related to a three-dimensional subject to a two-dimensional painting. The shape, dimensions and proportions of his canvases were carefully determined and many frames were specifically made to extent the diagonal line of the canvas.

The Musicians, 1953, (oil on canvas)

Looking closer - as I said earlier, fascinated by the brushstrokes

Miss Benge, 1961, oil on canvas)

The patches of pink, lilac, blue and cream paint on the face show Uglow's technique of painting colour observed by looking at individual areas on the model, sometimes through a tunnel made from his hand.

Brunelleschi's Dome, 1961, (oil on board)

Gloria Wearing a Necklace, 1959-60, (oil on canvas)

Pakefield Church, Lowestoft, 1961, (oil on board)

Snow on Lambeth, 1987, (oil on canvas)

Polygons, 1970, (oil on canvas on board)

Passionate Proportion, 1964, (oil on canvas)

Marigold, 1969, (oil on canvas)

Goodbye Greece

We are back in the UK. Had a great time in Greece. I particularly enjoyed the sunsets. 

These pictures were taken a few days before we left. We went to Edem, one of our favourite places, just after it had rained hard. We did not know whether there would be more rain, so everyone sat under shelter: awnings or umbrellas.

One of the pleasures of going to Edem is to have a table as near the sea is possible, on the sand, but it did not matter, because as you can see, all the front tables were empty, so we still had uninterrupted views.

We sat under an unbrella, and next to it there was a tree. This cat climbed the tree and then proceeded to sit on top of our umbrella.


 

Uzo Egonu - Painting in Darkness

Uzo Egonu, Nigerian Modernism exhibition, at Tate Modern.

The work of Uzo Egonu was part of the Nigerian Modernism exhibition. I loved the whole exhibition and discovered so many artists whose work I had not seen before. Egonu's work was one of my favourites, so I have decided to do a separate post on it. You can see the other four posts on this exhibition through the search facility on the right of the screen.

A Nigerian artist living in postwar Britain, Egony dedicated his work to themes of nationhood and belonging. Born in 1931, in Nigeria, Egonu began painting and drawing at a young age. He moved to the UK as a teenager and later enrolled at Camberwell College of Arts and Crafts in London.

The devastating loss of life during the Nigerian Civil War left a deep impression on Egonu as an Igbo artist. Although he only briefly returned to Nigeria once in 1977, he remaiend deeply invested in the struggles of the emerging independent nation.

In his work, he blended the figurative and the abstract, fusing the aesthetics of European modernism with traditional Igbo sculpture and Uli wall art. Egony became interested in etching, exploring what he described as 'the poetry of lines'. However, this process exposed him to toxic fumes and by 1979 he had lost much of his vision. During this period, which he described as 'painting in darkness', he created some of his most vibrant and expressive painting - Stateless People for instance. 

Poetess, 1980, (oil on canvas)

Stateless People, 1981, (oil on canvas)

Stateless People: an artist with Beret, 1981, (oil on canvas)

The Stateless People series draws on the bold, graphic qualities of Egonu's printmaking. Each painting centres on a creative activity: music, art and poetry. The figures serve as metaphors for the alienation and exile experienced by many artists forced to leave their homelands due to political or social intolerance. Post-war reconciliation in Nigeria had brought with it a vision of growth and progress, while the oil boom elevated the country's economic standing. Yet, alongside this optimism, the era was also marked by corruption. Egony noted that a country 'without a permanent foundation, foresight, common sense and ambition for the good of the country... is non-existent'. He felt that anyone who inahabits such a place is 'symbolically stateless'.

Will Knowledge Safeguard Freedom 2, 1985, (oil on canvas)

In this painting, Egonu reflects on the interdependence of power and knowledge. He explores how creative endeavours and technological advancement shape the destiny of humankind. For Egonu, the challenges of modern nation-building across Africa were a source of deep anxiety and sorrow.

His composition presents figures engaged in a range of activities. A ladder stands within reach yet remains unused, implying that advancement is available to humanity only through the pursuit of knowledge. While the overall colour palette is subdued, Egony introduces the image of a flower as an emblem of hope and optimism.

Woman in Grief, 1968, (oil on canvas)

Piccadilly Circus, 1969, (oil on canvas)

This painting expresses Egonu's anguish and despair during the period when the region of Nigeria that he once called home seceded to form the Republic of Biafra. Even though he embraced this new Biafran identity, he was very concerned about the fact that his ties to his homeland were strained by both conflict and distance.

Hair Plaiting, 1867, (oil on canvas)

Artist Painting Mother and Child, 1978, (oil on canvas)

Woman Reading, 1978, (oil on canvas)

Nigerian Modernism - 4

Nigerian Modernism - 4,

at Tate Modern.

This is the fourth post on this exhibition. As usual I am including the introduction which also appeared in the other three posts.

Nigerian modernism was not a single movement, but a variety of responses to the country's shifting cultural and political identity. Nigeria was established as a British colony in 1914. By this time, prosperous African kingdoms and societies had been profoundly altered by decades of military campaigns and colonial exploitation. Under British rule, artists continued to find innovative ways to express their ideas, histories and imaginations. They embraced and rebelled against the colonial education system. Some created their own art societies and curriculums, while others travelled abroad in search of professional opportunities.

Throughout Nigeria, artists were influenced by Pan-Africanism and European art forms. They also drew inspiration from local cultures. Artistic and religious traditions from the region's many ethnic groups - including Fulani-Hausa, Igno and Yoruba peopoe - met Christian and Islamic practices.

In 1960 Nigeria gained independence from Britain. New artistic and literary clubs were founded across the country, providing spaces to explore the intersections of art, poetry and performance. During this time Nigeria experienced an economic boom, but it also faced a devastating civil war. In the aftermath, artists established new visual languages in their search for a new postcolonial identity.

Obiora Udechuksu, Refugees, 1977, (oil on board)

Obiora Udechukwu, Musician, 1975-76, (oil on board)

Obiora Udechukwu, The Moon Has Ascended Between Us, 1976, (oil on hardboard)

Obiora Udechukwu, 1946, 1993, (ink and acrylic on stretched canvas) - 4 panels

A bold yellow spiral unravels across the canvas symbolising the sacred python, a divine guide in Igbo cosmology. To create layered designs, Udechukwu used sgraffito, a technique in which a sharp implement is pulled through wet acrylic paint. Shadowy figures embedded in the yellow band evoke wartime displacement and national crisis. Udechukwu references the Nigerian Civil War and perhaps the political unrest which followed Nigeria's 1993 election.

El Anatsui, Solemn Crowds at Dawn, 1965, (tropical hardwoods, tempera and house paint)

El Anatsui, Leopard's Paw-Prints and Other Stories, 1991, (tropical hardwood)

El Anatsui, Earth-Moon Connexions, 1993, (wood, paint)

El Anatsui incised Uli, Nsibidi and other indigenous graphic languages into the surfaces of his wooden sculptures.

Using chisels, a chain saw and fire, he cut and burnt designs into the wood's surface. For Anatsui, the chainsaw is a metaphor for the violence of slavery. his works explore the destruction and reconstitution of African cultures before and after colonialism.

Tayo Adenaike, Alhaji Takes the Floor, 1980, (pen, ink and watercolour on paper)

Adebisi Fabunmi, Masquerade, 1965, (lino print on cloth)

Nigerian Modernism - 3

Nigerian Modernism - 3

at Tate Modern.

Nigerian modernism was not a single movement, but a variety of responses to the country's shifting cultural and political identity. Nigeria was established as a British colony in 1914. By this time, prosperous African kingdoms and societies had been profoundly altered by decades of military campaigns and colonial exploitation. Under British rule, artists continued to find innovative ways to express their ideas, histories and imaginations. They embraced and rebelled against the colonial education system. Some created their own art societies and curriculums, while others travelled abroad in search of professional opportunities.

Throughout Nigeria, artists were influenced by Pan-Africanism and European art forms. They also drew inspiration from local cultures. Artistic and religious traditions from the region's many ethnic groups - including Fulani-Hausa, Igno and Yoruba people - met Christian and Islamic practices.

In 1960 Nigeria gained independence from Britain. New artistic and literary clubs were founded across the country, providing spaces to explore the intersections of art, poetry and performance. During this time Nigeria experienced an economic boom, but it also faced a devastating civil war. In the aftermath, artists established new visual languages in their search for a new postcolonial identity.

Georgina Beier, Gelede, 1966, (woodcut)

Georgina Beier, Untitled, 1988, (oil on hardboard)

A fantastical world of humanoids, birds and reptiles in an expressionistic style.

Jacob Afolabi, Untitled, 1984, (oil on board)

Rufus Ogundele, Sacrifice to Ogyn, God of Thunder, 1965, (oil on board)

Rufus Ogundele, Iyo Sango at the Shrine, 1965, (oil on canvas)

Ogundele once remarked: 'Some call me the 'Picasso of Nigeria'... What sense is there in saying that I, an African, produced work which resembles the man who has copied African art? That's nonsense, Rufus is Rufus'.

Twins Seven-Seven, Condemning Witchcraft - Red Skulls, 1968, (oil on board)

Jimoh Buraimoh, Figural Abstract, 1973, (beadwork on panel)

Buraimoh's bead paintings recall the intricate surfaces of traditional Yoruba beaded cloaks, staffs, crowns and stools. In Yorubaland, beads are sacred, inbued with ase (spiritual energy) and worn during ceremonies and worship of the Yoruba deities.

Nike Davies-Okundaye, Osyn, 1972, (embroidery)

Nike Davies-Okyndaye, Animal World, 1968, (embroidery)

Nike Davies-Okyndaye, Osun, the Goddess of the River, 1987,  (batik with natural dyes)

Muraina Oyelarni, Birds in the garden, 1971, (oil on paper)

Muraina Oyelami, Untitled (Noble Man), 1965, (oil on canvas)

Muraina Oyelami, Shrine, (oil on canvas)