Page 95 - Studio International - November December 1975

space and the record ot a space at regular intervals. One in Panting's work. Its degree of inevitability suggests an
artist, Simon Read, observed that he was showing 'two involvement with predestined events. Where else would
ways of seeing something, out of sympathy'. In contrast the apex of the triangle point to but the centre of the
Antony Dufont's observations, mainly of traditional square ? How else could the triangle sit on the floor but
figure subjects, were totally contained within the squarely along one edge ? What goes up must also go
boundaries of a single frame. Two of the works, both with down, so at the wall's baseline a leaning square contains
female figures, were stunning ; having simultaneously the a triangle, point downwards.
dense application of gradually built paint surfaces and also This inevitability led to a symbolic and ritual aspect of
translucencies around the eyes and freshly sketched lines the work and consequently little visual evidence was
in unexpected areas. needed to show that the human hand had been involved.
It was this absence of noticeable physical intervention
that forced Panting eventually to take issue and jettison
considerations towards immaculate surface for ease of
immediate decision during the working process. This
John Panting, 1940-1974 allowed him to follow leads set up in the making of the
work and which by dint of nature produced a multi-
Serpentine Gallery, 2 - 28 September directional construction more suited to Panting's
aggressive stance.
Reviewed by Barry Martin In any event, Panting as action-man would have found
it loathsome to develop the image aspect into a cult since
At the Serpentine Gallery a substantial body of work by it was his need to search for answers and not for these to
the late John Panting, sculptor, reveals an artist of be ordained.
greater ability than his public exposure until now had The symbol aspect takes refuge finally in the Chairs,
shown. That it takes a fatal accident to make this point 1974 (not in the show), symbolising the separation of
is sad enough, but is particularly poignant in these times this avenue from that of the artist as living expression
of indecision and lost opportunity. capable of infinite and immediate gesture and as
The exhibition reveals that the artist was still responsive agent, represented by the Untitled works of
developing. It is a pity that a show this thorough couldn't 1973/4.
have been mounted when the artist was alive, allowing These last steel works show an almost pantheistic
him to see his development in space at one time. Why is approach to sculpture-making if they in turn are compared
it, therefore, that we have had to wait for his departure ? to those exhibited in his only one-man show in London at
One wonders consequently, how many more times this the Felicity Samuel Gallery in 1973. Overlap is preferred
situation will repeat itself. as the form of construction in the former, to the butt-
The fragmented lives most artists lead with their work jointing predominantly found in the latter. A freer
is partly because there isn't enough opportunity allowed articulation of joints also replaces the static, slower
by the establishment for the developing artist. On the movement of before. Shorter elements proliferate, giving
other tack, why didn't the artists and sponsors credited the last pieces a nervous shifting air dislocating the
with the successful mounting of this show do as much earlier calm.
when John Panting was alive ? Open to similar Elements contrasted within the works could be
criticism are the Tate retrospectives which come too late scrutinized using shorter lengths, since movement could
in an artist's career to be of any use. be tempered by the addition or subtraction of parts
Little of Panting's work reaches the sublime but his without changing the overall look of the sculpture.
contribution to the contemporary art situation, both in Untitled, 1968/9, in fibreglass, aluminium and steel,
attitude and through his work, is not to be denied. A was probably the most forward-looking of all the works
series of chain events mark his career, each stage linked on show, heralding many events that followed. Its
by certain characteristics probably carried across in order surface finish and general 'tight' handling of individual
to give some degree of self-identity. forms connecting it still with the previous pieces
There was a certain obviousness inthe structure of however. Untitled is an unusual piece. Its dispersed
works up to 1968. Against this we can weigh such pieces character is seen in some previous work, but there an
as Random Rings and Cross, 1968, where an attempt obvious link or relationship was established between
was made to move away from the look of overtly each part. Lateral inversion and the reflection of one part
determined structures but which remains nevertheless through another was often used, as in Black Box, 1968.
middle of the road since it looks a predictable attempt at In Untitled, 1968/9 all that was forgotten and the sights
being random. His Untitled, 1968/9, is a more set to investigate the question of autonomy. Spatially the
compr,ehensive and successful approach to the forms are isolated from each other without material
problem but brought with it a range of diverse and links. Shape and form are contrasted abruptly and suggest
largely untenable set of characteristics for him. Flying that the artist was trying to provide an extreme case in
Cross, 1969, following close behind typifies concerns which to view shape, form and the working process.
found already, as in Elliptical Corner Cross, 1967/8, This deployment of units is strategic in that for the
where the two intersecting walls become supporting first time the surface colour, grey, is also brought into
agents allowing the sculpture to push off into space question. Each combination of shape searches for an
while at one and the same time trapping it. identity within the confines of the larger question
Wall Cross with Chain, 1968, carries two features concerning the group's overall existence. This reality-
which later fuse together but here remain as separate testing extends to the questioning of the grouping's
functions of the work. One feature uses the application existence as real from within but also oppositely from
of symbol represented through the cross. It was thought without. It tests how far it can do without obvious
of by the artist as unchanging, solid and regular, except relationships (as in most earlier works) and yet
when it became functional as in Elliptical Corner Cross, maintain a degree of reasonableness within the
1967/8. sculptural idiom. In fact it goes further and tests that
The second feature, the chain, is freely mounted, idiom.
bending to gravity. It represents freedom and movement, Earlier pieces 'hold tight' their forms through various
and would register immediately any physical intervention formal devices and in so doing withhold their existence
the artist might have made. from the surroundings. They try to become 'complete' and
This paradox was opened like Pandora's box in the whole from within but also become independent agents
Untitled, 1968/9 piece where the gravity of the seen amongst many more. Various enforcing methods
situation allowed its reading to be on a scale 'outside' of aimed at overcoming this are employed, the quality of
the immediate sculpture. The uncompromised nature of immaculate finish on all surfaces being just one in an
this work is paralleled by the extremely good, small and arsenal of devices created to make good the sculpture.
grey Untitled, 1973, piece which uses steel and wood, They were seen as homogenous, autonomous and self-
but isn't represented in the catalogue. governing creations separate from the environment. The
The Leaning Triangle, 1970 represents a watershed artist, as emotional beast, was locked out with little
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