Patrick Caulfield and Gary Hume at Tate Britain

I enjoyed both these exhibitions run in parallel at Tate Britain.

Starting with Gary Hume's exhibition first...the exhibition was designed to highlight Hume's
' innovative approach to colour and composition, developed over the last 20 years'  so said the Tate guide.  This was the first time that I had seen his work and I found that some works resonated better with me than others. His colour combinations are often very strong and sometimes dissonant  and for me some worked better than others.

P 588

The above image taken outside the exhibition shows the entrance doors  created for the exhibition by Hume. These doors recall his earlier work on graduating from Goldsmith College in 1988, when he  began creating paintings based on hospital doors produced in high gloss on aluminium.

Later work moved away from doors to focus on various subjects from birds to flowers, people and motifs. I particularly liked the work below:



Older 2002  Gloss on aluminium  Private collection Gary Hume

I think the composition works well here; the silhouetted figure standing sideways can be interpreted looking away or towards the viewer. The shape of the figure conjures up old age ; a concept emphasised by the use of colour - a simple but at the same time complex interpretation. 





Window at night 1969 .Oil paint on canvas. Private collection Patrick Caufield ( 1936-2005) 

Patrick Caulfield's work was an interesting and in a sense complimentary exhibition. Early on he opted to use a more anonymous technique of painting derived from commercial sign painters producing work that has simple outlines and areas of  flat colour. I enjoyed looking at his 'signature use of black outlines ' and simple colour backgrounds. I thought the painting above, 'Window at night', very striking ; the angled lines somehow giving it energy and drawing the viewer in. I could see this composition as a photo image but then wondered whether this would as well as the painted de-cluttered version?

Later in the 1970s, he began to explore the concept of combining different styles of representation in the same painting. This interested me as the next part of the course focuses on reality and intervention  - see below :




After lunch 1975 Acrylic on canvas  Tate. Patrick Caulfield 

I suspect that part of the appeal of Caulfield's work for me is the abstract simplicity and I do wonder how this could be done as effectively using a camera.