Page 50 - Studio International - July 1965

Renato Guttuso
Uomo Seduto
83¾ X 70 in.
McRoberts & Tunnard

the motives that are marshalled, arranged and composed a more versatile exploration of the picture plane than
with a virtuoso performance that is nothing less than distinguished his first successful one-man show less
dazzling. How far all these brilliant patterns in 'artificial' than two years ago. One sees in Procktor that trend
colours tie up with his statement of 1953: 'I dream of a evident in the works of Larry Rivers and Francis Bacon
social art. Art is the plastic aspect of the community' is in that the picture perspective is not inviolate. Fore­
open to speculation. Certainly our exterior life becomes ground and background converge and separate in
dominated to a growing extent with a lozenge sign­ apparently unpredictable fashion. As in Ease figures
traffic signals, price labels, identification tags, little become fluidly modelled symbols that swim or float on
pieces of paper, glass, plastic. proliferate. To make the surface which otherwise is painted to make patterns
artistic order from them seems the artist's logical way for their own sake or in some ambiguous natural
of mastering, even if symbolically, a distracting allusion. The seeming indifference of life to project
environment. itself in significant groupings is aptly conveyed in
New paintings and drawings by Patrick Procktor at Greece where on a deserted beach some figures stand
the Redfern Gallery show a loosening up of forms and or walk, two apparently seen as shirt top and head or
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