Page 43 - Studio International - January 1967

cally allows Knowles more freedom than if each shade whole is far more than the sum of its parts. The inter-
were carefully and intuitively mixed. It follows Josef action of different works of different size and shape
Albers' advice to his students at the Bauhaus: 'Do less in creates an environment that demands to be inhabited.
order to do more.' Variation and development are Knowles' earlier three-dimensional works—those shown
achieved not by mixing colours but by juxtaposing at the New Generation 1966 exhibition at the WHITECHAPEL
standard hues. This is where intuition enters. GALLERY last summer—were celebratory and optimistic
Like the shapes that Knowles uses, the areas of colour in character. Recently he has tended to use shapes
are geometric in form too, but the edges are not hard. reminiscent of funerary monuments and more severe
Often each area of colour has a trace of a contrasting, but colour juxtapositions. Because his work is developing
not necessarily complementary, colour laid in down the rapidly, it now has less unity than that shown at the
edge—such as green edge to black, orange edge to white. Whitechapel. Knowles is using new shapes, new arrange-
This can only be seen close to, but when you step back ments; his recent pieces are more questioning and dis-
it helps to integrate colours and forms together, and turbing. They take more risks, and although this means
sometimes to prise the colour slightly from the surface that the possibilities of failure are greater, there is a
so that it seems a little 'detached'. Knowles arrived at considerable gain in articulation. As well as free-standing
these 'edges' from an earlier technique of underpainting works, Knowles continues to paint canvases that go on
light under dark to give greater force to his colours. Some- the wall. These are 'shaped', but in two dimensions, not
times this underpainting showed at the edges and three. These canvases most usually are segments or
Knowles realized that all that was necessary was to lay sections of circles. Here Knowles is particularly con-
in these edges—the underpainting was superfluous. The cerned with 'displacement'. (This occurs in the free-
effects of 'simultaneous contrast' that these edges, almost standing works too, where colours and forms tend to
subliminally, caused, was sufficient. Knowles is self- cut across each other.) A central section of a circular
taught, and the freedom he has felt to use standardized canvas is shunted slightly to one side; part of a circle is
colour and to apply paint without becoming either painted on a circular canvas, but its centre moved so that
mechanically immaculate or self-consciously painterly is painted circle and circular canvas do not coincide; two
probably the result of this—which has also kept him free halves of a circle are fitted together slightly askew.
of any strong influences. The fact that he did not start Sometimes there is a large gap in the middle of a work,
painting full-time until 30 probably helped here too. so that the wall shows through. The wall is thus used as
Knowles' canvas-covered shapes have the suggestion a kind of ground, as in sculpture. Knowles says that he
of totems, although in their monumental simplicity they would like these hung on a wall with a hideously-
are really closer to antique obelisks and triumphal patterned wall-paper. Possibly this is a little wilful; cer-
columns. There is a quite remarkable increase in co- tainly his work, the strength of which lies in its boldness
herence when several pieces are grouped together. The and its deceptive simplicity, would stand up to it. q

'IFE' 1966
Acrylic and aluminium
paint on fibre-glass
24 in. high x 54 in.
diameter
Royal Marks Gallery,
New York