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拍品专文
Upon leaving the Royal College of Art (1954-57), Robyn Denny initiated his career of abstraction with a softer and more expressive approach to the geometric hard-edged images that defined his career in the later 60s and 70s. S6 has a vivid ground of red, which is interrupted by two pink-toned rectangles stacked in the centre, which offset the picture’s perfect square. The canvas is reflected in the internal border which faces into the canvas with a hard edge, and facing outward seeps towards the edge with an orange glow. S6 forms part of a larger S series of work, depicting similar rectangles with brushstrokes of paint that sweep away from the shapes and towards the outside of the canvas, instilling the inanimate shapes with a sense of movement. In S6, it is as if the picture is backlit.
The colours of the work are deceptive, involving the artist in a game of cat and mouse as they strengthen and recede, reassigning the role of viewer to participant, which is characteristic in Denny’s work. S6 was painted around the time Denny was involved in two groundbreaking group exhibitions in London, Place (1959) and Situation (1960) which challenged the viewer to react to the works scale and positioning, which was relative to the participant’s proportions. Both shows would be seminal in Denny’s exploration of environment and participation.
Lured by the cultural scene and fun which he thought only London could provide him, Denny first attended St Martin’s School of Art (1951-54) where he later earned a place at the RCA alongside artists such as Richard Smith and Peter Blake. From London exhibitions, Denny drew influence from American Abstract Expressionism and the cultural hub of New York, favouring its urban ethos over the contemporary art scene in St Ives, which he deemed pastoral and frivolous. In 1958, Denny travelled to Venice for the Biennale where he experienced the paintings of Mark Rothko in the American pavilion, which greatly influenced his stylistic shift towards works such as S6.
S6 is a vibrant canvas of red tones, which rely on their collective interaction, and furthermore with the interplay of ambient light and the positioning of the work. Their reliant relationship is reflective of the reciprocal game between artwork and participant in Denny’s oeuvre.
The colours of the work are deceptive, involving the artist in a game of cat and mouse as they strengthen and recede, reassigning the role of viewer to participant, which is characteristic in Denny’s work. S6 was painted around the time Denny was involved in two groundbreaking group exhibitions in London, Place (1959) and Situation (1960) which challenged the viewer to react to the works scale and positioning, which was relative to the participant’s proportions. Both shows would be seminal in Denny’s exploration of environment and participation.
Lured by the cultural scene and fun which he thought only London could provide him, Denny first attended St Martin’s School of Art (1951-54) where he later earned a place at the RCA alongside artists such as Richard Smith and Peter Blake. From London exhibitions, Denny drew influence from American Abstract Expressionism and the cultural hub of New York, favouring its urban ethos over the contemporary art scene in St Ives, which he deemed pastoral and frivolous. In 1958, Denny travelled to Venice for the Biennale where he experienced the paintings of Mark Rothko in the American pavilion, which greatly influenced his stylistic shift towards works such as S6.
S6 is a vibrant canvas of red tones, which rely on their collective interaction, and furthermore with the interplay of ambient light and the positioning of the work. Their reliant relationship is reflective of the reciprocal game between artwork and participant in Denny’s oeuvre.