Page 47 - Studio International - October 1965

-
2
3
that extent to be a relationship between my forms and
natural forms·. At the same time there is an intuitive
consciousness of the man-made world we inhabit. a
world of constructed environment. of machines. of
shapes determined by speed and movement. by the
conquest of space. by the functional-aesthetic of con­
temporary life. 'Art must have a parallel with the facture
of your particular epoch. If you don't succeed in
reflecting this facture a vital element is missing'.
Gilbert's work differs fundamentally from the small
group of British constructivists - Pasmore. Ernst.
Anthony Hill, Mary Martin-precisely in his dissatis­
faction with the limitations of cubism or a formal
relationship to man-made urban shapes. Whilst one
can accept his rejection of any direct inspiration from
nature. his swinging. winged, rhythmic movement. and
the lyrical grace of his forms. are poles away from the
fixed rigidity which limits the poetic. spiritual and
decorative values in most of his colleagues.
He works from ideas. not sketches which themselves
limit forms to single aspects. He thinks three-dimen­
sionally. ·1 work it out as I go along. creating rhythm
in space, valid from every angle. True abstraction is
abstraction from an idea·. He agreed that the predilec­
tion for certain shapes in art. derived from a kind of
Proustian memory-time factor. a pyschological selec-

165