Page 49 - Studio International - February 1967

platonic nor geometric. I'd like to be able to make closer concern for structural emphasis. Kuwayama's ences to such subject-matter as movie stars, cos-
one saturated field of colour, so that you wouldn't works may appear similar to Kelly's 'Red- metic paraphernalia, etc., have always been
feel you were short of all the others.'3 The 'cool' Yellow-Blue' (three separately-hung single-colour blurred. He achieved an ambivalent response, at
has never been a concern of Turnbull. He has been canvases to be read as one) but are in fact three once towards his interest in painterliness and
and is concerned with the subjective, but inductive separate works each divided with stainless steel structure and towards the subject-matter of his
not reductive. Turnbull's intention is to set up a strip diagonally, or horizontally and vertically; environmental interest. Smith has never been hard-
subliminary, complimentary response, so that Kuwayama's colour has an equivalence with the core pop. The introduction further states 'Al Held,
experience is induced through the means. Tangi- stainless steel structure which stands slightly also concerned with letters, is less "clean", more
bility of experience, that is subjective experience, is proud of the painting's surface. In Kelly's work on pathetic (sic) and expressionistic'. Held is not
apparent in Polk Smith's paintings, even though the other hand the colour is predominant. My primarily concerned with the use of letters and
in the 1961 painting in this exhibition there is own paintings are as removed in intention from may or may not arrive at a letter-structure
strong evidence of the formal play of figure-field Kelly and Kuwayama as they are from Pfahler, through an improvisatory process. The two paint-
ambiguity; inductive intention is very apparent since I am primarily concerned with liberating ings in the show illustrate the diversity of Held's
here also. colour as an emotional factor. isolations: 'White Goddess', a curvilinear organic
The curious grouping of artists in the catalogue's Pfahler manipulates geometric elements pictori- structure, and 'The One', which has a rather
introduction, as though there were some stylistic ally towards a stylistic, i.e. hard-edge, conclusion. ambiguous reference to a letter-form; but the
similarity and implied logical development from I use the term pictorially advisedly, as his elements formal and colour elements again are inductive
one group to another, is too categorical. Also, are drawn from art rather than from a personal and stage an arena for the spectator's experience.
`colourfield-painting' as an umbrella term to need in terms of experience. The American Held has in common with most of
group artists together implies the existence of a The ease with which the introduction 'pigeon- the British contribution an historic development
common aesthetic. For instance . . . Kelly, Kuwayama, holes' with terms such as 'emblematic', 'symbolic', starting in abstract expressionism; Turnbull,
Plumb and Pfahler. Their colourfields are large, etc., betrays a response on a stylistic level and not Denny, Smith, Vaux, Jaray and myself were at
monotonous (sic), monochromatic—sometimes with an attempt to evaluate each painter's contribution one time (the late fifties) concerned also with
two or three tone variations, sometimes with as an individual. Also, there is no concern to look abstract expressionism. This brings me to an
colourfields that are distinctly individual.' The closely at each painter's historic development, and omission from the catalogue, not only in the intro-
evidence is plain enough in the exhibition itself this causes the strangest alignment of names, e.g. duction but also in all but one of the biographical
that there is no real relationship. Although Kelly ...Boshier and Smith found their way to the notes of the British artists; the absence of reference
shows work which superficially runs parallel in abstract through pop-art'. Smith was in fact an to the 'Situation' exhibition at the LONDON RBA
aesthetic with Kuwayama, and has some object abstract expressionist before he became interested GALLERIES in 1960, in which five of the nine
reality, examination of Kuwayama's work reveals a in the mass media as a starting point. His refer- British artists in this show participated and by
which at least three of the remaining four have
been influenced. 'Situation' as a survey of British
painting in 1960 contained work which would
more easily fit into the context of this Stedelijk
exhibition than the works included from some of
the continental European artists.
The main point about this Stedelijk exhibition is
that it covers three current areas of contribution
on the international scene. The Americans and the
British are forthright in their understanding and
commitment in the two main areas : one of con-
tinuing concern for the development of the sub-
jective and retention of content, the other a
concern with the 'cool' or the objective. The
continental Europeans on the other hand have
either extended the concern for the classical in
abstract art with its structural emphasis, or seem
confused as to their purpose. In spite of the pitfalls
of the catalogue, this is an important exhibition to
have mounted, and Van Beeren and the Stedelijk
Museum are to be congratulated on this. The
exhibition will tour Europe, going to Germany
and then to Switzerland. Considering its importance
as a survey of some of the main trends in current
painting and sculpture, it is a pity that space and
money are not available to bring it to London. r

1 Peter Selz; catalogue to Mark Rothko's retrospective
exhibition at WHITECHAPEL ART GALLERY,
London, 1961.
2 Statement by the artist (1958); catalogue 'The New
American Painting', TATE GALLERY, London, 1959.
3 Statement by the artist; Uppercase 4.

Left, top, John Plumb (second from right) with his
paintings at the Stedelijk and, below, works by
Phillip King. Richard Smith and Noland