UNTITLED 'GREY II' 1990
Ian Davenport (1966 – )
Details
- Dimension
- 203.1 X 203.1 CM
- Media
- UNDERCOAT AND VARNISH ON CANVAS
- Accession number
- P5831
Summary
Davenport here uses the most basic range of materials, colour and format. The dark grey ground is undercoat and the gloss layers varnish. The vertical bands of matt and gloss result from the lifting of a paint-laden instrument from the bottom canvas edge to the top. The workings of this movement are bound by the height of the canvas which can be reached by one unbroken stride of the arm. The canvas is tipped and angled so that the varnish finds its own way. There is no impassioned and expressive force in this method, just a controlled and sophisticated awareness of the great power of simplicity.
New Voices New Works from the British Council Collection, The British Council 1992
Glossary
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Canvas
A piece of cloth woven from flax, hemp or cotton fibres. The word has generally come to refer to any piece of firm, loosely woven fabric used to paint on. Its surface is typically prepared for painting by priming with a ground.
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Varnish
A liquid preparation that when spread and allowed to dry on a surface forms a hard lustrous typically transparent coating. The covering or glaze given by the application of varnish.