UNTITLED

© copyright The Artist

UNTITLED 1992

Callum Innes (1962 – )

Details

Dimension
219.5 X 189.5 CM
Media
OIL AND SHELLAC ON CANVAS
Accession number
P6063

Summary

In a catalogue essay for an exhibition of his work at the ICA in London (1992) it was observed that ‘if there is a trait that secures the mature work of Callum Innes, it is the vertical.’ In this painting, reference to the vertical evokes a certain kind of scale: vertiginous and architectural. The colour range, as it is throughout Innes’ work, is sombre and muted. It is also clearly organic in origin and association. The dark splattering of oil paint is inky, yet like the veins of stone or marble. The veil of shellac is washed or stained like a tidemarking of time.

New Voices New Works for the British Council Collectione British Council 1992

Glossary

  • Oil

    A medium in which ground pigments are mixed to produce a paste or liquid that can be applied to a surface by a brush or other tool; the most common oil used by artists is linseed, this can be thinned with turpentine spirit to produce a thinner and more fluid paint. The oil dries with a hard film, and the brightness of the colour is protected. Oil paints are usually opaque and traditionally used on canvas.

  • Painting

    Work of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is a tightly stretched piece of canvas, paper or a wooden panel. Painting involves a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's intellectual concerns effecting the content of a work.