merville galleries · 2020. 9. 22. · chernobyl prayer one of the most important paintings...

M E R V I L L E G A L L E R I E S t 01798 865 848 m 07989 517486 e [email protected] www.mervillegalleries.com

MERVILLE GALLERIESnewsletter autumn 2020

Rings of Saturn Following our successful exhibition of Benjamin Hannavy Cousen’s work at the Mall Galleries in the autumn of 2017 we had intended to hold a second show of his work in London in June this year. For reasons you will all be only too familiar with this did not prove possible and it was originally rescheduled for October but postponed for a second time. At the time of writing we are hoping to present a one-man display of his recent work at the London Art Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington in January 2021. Meanwhile we are publishing a catalogue, entitled Rings of Saturn, featuring the recent paintings, which are available for purchase. One of the most important paintings Chernobyl Prayer, 2020, references the book of the same title about the Chernobyl disaster in April 1986 by the Belarussian Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich who at the time was working as a journalist and living in Minsk a mere 250 miles from the scene of the explosion. In her essay for our catalogue the author Ali Smith writes that the painting ‘. . . is full of air, a work of ray and fan, birdwing and explosive impact stilled in mid-air to reveal an instantaneous depth and fade of colour in a similarly simultaneous release of wonder and terror’. The painting incorporates certain luminous paints which glow in the dark as a further reminder of the legacy of the disaster.

Benjamin Hannavy Cousen b.1977 Chernobyl Prayer 2020 acrylic on aluminium panel, 100 x 100 cmP

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John Hoyland 1934–2011

Untitled 1966

acrylic on cotton duck, 243.8 x 30.5 cm

This painting was acquired through Waddington Galleries the following year and has remained in the same private collection ever since. Painted during a pivotal period in Hoyland’s career this work was executed two years after the artist’s first visit to New York travelling on a Peter Stuyvesant Foundation bursary; there he visited the studios of Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko, met critic Clement Greenberg, and encoun -tered the work of Hans Hofmann. Acrylic paint had only recently appeared on the market and this allowed Hoyland to implement a more instinctive and dynamic use of colour, something that the long drying time of oils had not always permitted. P R O V E N A N C E The Artist Private Collection UK (acquired 1967)


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Lisa Milroy b.1959

Pulleys, Handles, Castors, Locks and Hinges 1988 oil on canvas, 203.0 x 284.5 cm This work exemplifies her paintings from the 1980s, depicting everyday objects frequently on a white background and on a consider able physical scale. Here it is items that could be found in a hardware store, painted in well-ordered rows in the same way they might be displayed in a shop. The essence of the painting is the way the artist has described the object–whether from memory or real life–in paint. This painting was included in the retrospective of the artist’s work at Tate Liverpool in 2001.

P R O V E N A N C E The Artist Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London. Christie’s South Kensington, 13th December 2007, lot 214. Sotheby’s London, 18th May 2020, lot 220. L I T E R A T U R E Alistair Hicks, New British Art in the Saatchi Collection, London, Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1989, cat.no. 75, illustrated p.79. Lisa Milroy, Tate Liverpool, 2001, to accompany the exhibition 19th January–18th March 2001, cat. no. 7, illustrated in colour p.18.

M E R V I L L E G A L L E R I E S t 01798 865 848 m 07989 517486 e [email protected] www.mervillegalleries.com �


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William Turnbull 1922–2012

Circus Figures 1955

Unique linocut printed in black, with another impression of the same subject printed verso, signed and dated in red crayon, on newspaper sheet size 54.0 x 22.5 cm. Acquired from the estate of the artist. This unique linocut, printed in very dark blue or black ink on an old copy of The Times newspaper from February 1954, is interest ing for the use of symbols that were to appear in the surfaces of his sculptures a couple of years later such as Fin, 1957, and Head, 1957.

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Artist’s estate. Sotheby’s London, 17th June 2020, lot 39.

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Sir Peter Blake b.1932

Late period–Study for ‘Party’ 1 2018 signed, titled and dated on front; watercolour on paper, 26.0 x 18.2 cm. Originally included in his exhibition Peter Blake: A life in Drawings and Watercolours at Waddington Custot in 2018, watercolour has formed an important part of the artist’s oeuvre throughout his career and he is a master of the medium. As is frequently the case with Blake’s work, the subject is imaginary –a party guest whose gaze is both inviting and captivating.

P R O V E N A N C E The Artist; Waddington Custot. E X H I B I T E D Peter Blake: a Life in Drawings and Watercolours, Waddington Custot, London, 5th July–8th September 2018; catalogue no.147 (work in progress reproduced in colour).

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Ashley Howard b.1963

Large Vessel with Enamel 2017 height 28 cm; diameter 25 cm.

This artist is a ceramicist currently working mainly with porcelain; one of his many interests is ritual vessels and their associated ceremonial purposes. He has exhibited, taught and lectured in many parts of the world, notably Japan, and has drawn on his visits to that country to develop a variety of techniques to decorate his work with enamels. One such visit led to the creation of a body of work that was shown in Guildford Cathedral in 2018 in his exhibition Meditations.

�M E R V I L L E G A L L E R I E S t 01798 865 848 m 07989 517486 e [email protected] www.mervillegalleries.com

Sir Michael Craig-Martin b.1941

Intimate Relations 2001 The set of three screenprints each signed in pencil and numbered 49 from an edition of 50; image 97.0 x 81.0 cm; paper 120.0 x 99.0 cm. From left: Handcuffs / Safety Pin / Sunglasses.


Copyright to all material and/or works of art within this newsletter is held by Merville Galleries and/or other copyright holders. It is prohibited to reproduce, modify, adapt or otherwise use any of the images or information in any manner or form without the express written permission of the copyright holder. For further information please contact Merville Galleries. All works subject to availability. �

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merville galleries · 2020. 9. 22. · chernobyl prayer one of the most important paintings...

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