Page 55 - Studio International - June 1973

Feedback been picked clean of its real meat, what is left is
dated and not worth seeking out). In spite of the
excellent catalogue, most of the reading which
(Items for review in the `Feedback', 'Graphics'
one brings to the paintings in the raw falls away
and 'Vision' columns should be sent to Clive
during the confrontation (as perhaps it should).
Phillpot, Bud Shark and Malcolm Le Grice
The catalogue was designed by Gordon House,
respectively, all c/o Studio International,
who has been responsible for giving exhibition
14 West Central Street, London WC-.)
catalogues and related publications in England
a House-style of the highest quality over the
After a period when there seemed to be a dearth last decade, quickly detectable yet
of publications dealing with paintings, other unostentatious. The catalogue also has a good
than large and expensive books (often bound for bibliography and a list of exhibitions. Tate
rapid physical obsolescence), there is a sudden Gallery publications go from strength to
embarrassment of riches regarding catalogues strength.
of exhibitions of work by painters.

La peinture anglaise aujourd'hui, the catalogue
of the exhibition organized by the British
Council and several French agencies and held
in 1973 at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville
de Paris, is sixty pages long, costs about £2, and
presents one with a view of current painting in
England. The introduction is fairly short and
does not really attempt to justify inclusions or
exclusions or to look beyond the artists
represented; this is followed by biographical
and bibliographical notes on each of the twenty
painters. Apart from Hamilton, born in the
twenties, and Jacklin, Buckley and Scully born
in the forties, all the painters were born in the
intervening decade. The zingy cover is by Tom
Phillips and there are eight more colour plates
inside; all but two of the artists are represented
by one or more illustrations.
Contents
As it happened there were rather more shows by
Graham Sutherland
painters in London at about the same time than Conglomerate 197o Feedback / Clive Phillpot / 285
had been seen for a while. The Robyn Denny Marlborough Fine Art, London Books / Tim Craig / 286
catalogue published by the Tate Gallery in Vision / Malcolm Le Grice / 286
1973 accompanied his retrospective exhibition News and notes / 287
(he was also represented in Paris), and is a fine Graham Sutherland, Neue Werke, Recent Work, Italy / Alessandro Mozzambani / 288
publication and a real bargain at Li .50, is the catalogue to an exhibition held at the USA / Linda Cathcart / 289
paperback, (£2.50 hardback), for it includes a Marlborough Galleries in Zurich in 1972 and Notes on work by David Tremlett /
pictorial survey of works from 1956 (but no in London in 1973. It costs the same amount, Lizzie Borden / 289
paintings after 1971 !), including fifteen in £1.50, as the paperback catalogue for the Spring Recordings / David Tremlett / 290
colour, plus the reworking of six paintings as Denny exhibition which was held concurrently, Recent Shows / reviews by John Berger,
small scale screenprints (cf. Albers), an answer but apart from a similar number of colour Tim Hilton, Janet Hobhouse, Catherine
to Denny's scorn for the usual methods of plates (of varying quality), one inevitably gets Lampert, R. J. Rees / 292
colour reproduction of colour paintings. less for one's money; there are two pages of Selected June gallery listing / 296
These screenprints certainly show up the spooky text by Douglas Cooper, a note on his
litho reproductions, but since they differ procedures by the artist, which is a restatement Clive Phillpot is Librarian of Chelsea
widely in their relation to the original of the Horizon article of 1942, and a biographical School of Art . . . Tim Craig is a poet and
paintings, one has really acquired six small new chronology. Many critics seem to have found critic . . . Malcolm Le Grice studied
prints with the catalogue, though, as has been it necessary to say that Sutherland's large painting at the Slade and is now making films,
pointed out elsewhere, the register is somewhat paintings are overblown, but if this were mainly through the London Film-Makers'
variable. It is certainly true that the illustrations generally true one might expect that the Cooperative . . . Linda Cathcart is a free-
have little relevance to one's experience of the reduction in scale necessary in reproducing lance writer and art critic . .. Alessandro
paintings, forms that seem excessively simple in these works would make them formally more Mozzambani is an art critic living in
reproduction become resonant on the canvas successful on the page than on the wall. In fact Verona . . . Lizzie Borden is an artist and
when colour and form integrate as intended. poor paintings appear just as bad and good writer, living in New York . . . John Berger
The text of the catalogue by Robert Kudielka paintings just as good when reduced. The most recently won the Booker prize for his novel
is substantial, and must surely have been written successful paintings are those which incorporate `G' published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson . . .
with the very close collaboration of its subject. a kind of crisp realism, works like Conglomerate Tim Hilton is a contributing editor to
The first half, in particular, is very provocative 1970, Forest with Chains 1971/72 and Complex Studio International . . . Janet Hobhouse is
and raises important general issues such as the over Rock 1972. It is a crime that Conglomerate a free-lance critic and writer in London and
nature and role of public art. (The essay by has not been snapped up by the Tate. New York . . . Catherine Lampert is an
Lerner, quoted several times to good effect, has Douglas Cooper also wrote the text for the artist and writer.
285