Graham Sutherland
Several weeks ago I visited Modern Art Oxford and perused their exhibition Graham Sutherland, An Unfinished World. This collection features works on paper that Sutherland - a British artist - created during his time as a WWII war artist in response to his return to Pembrokeshire. This was my first introduction to Sutherland and my first response was a bit lacklaster. I appreciated his loose, abstract style and the energy he was able to capture in the seemingly static subject of landscapes, but I found his application be confusing and muddied at times; there was so much darkness and a lack of contrast that I found it easy to dismiss the work as unresolved sketchbook studies.
This past weekend I took a trip which offered fresh perspective on Sutherland's work. My husband and I embarked on a two-day backpacking excursion with a group of friends in Carneddau, Snowdonia in Northern Wales. The shape of the landscape immediately brought the artist's renderings of the Welsh landscape to the forefront of my mind. I suddenly understood his jagged - almost violent - linework; his use of strong, dark colours. There is at once something very serene and yet foreboding about that landscape; the way the views of the soft, rolling plains of green hills landscaped by the lazy grazing sheep are quickly interrupted by steep rock formations, some of which are overwhelming in their size and shape. This is a pattern repeated as you hike over these mountain formations; one moment you're walking over spongy grasslands, the next scrambling over weathered rocks. The hike gave me a whole new perspective on the works by this artist and his used of energetic lines and dark, swirling colours.
I re-visited Sutherland's exhibition not long before going on this trip and found his work to be less angry and more colourful than I had remembered it. Which in a way, is not unlike climbing a mountain. There are times when it's easy to dismiss the beauty surrounding you as you focus on the physical challenge involved in reaching a summit; but once you're on top and you have a moment to catch your breath you are able to drink in the stunning landscape and realize part of the beauty is in the effort because without it, you never would be rewarded with such a fanstastic view. And without taking the time to appreciate the artist and the story behind their work, you might walk away lacking the perspective required t
I re-visited Sutherland's exhibition not long before going on this trip and found his work to be less angry and more colourful than I had remembered it. Which in a way, is not unlike climbing a mountain. There are times when it's easy to dismiss the beauty surrounding you as you focus on the physical challenge involved in reaching a summit; but once you're on top and you have a moment to catch your breath you are able to drink in the stunning landscape and realize part of the beauty is in the effort because without it, you never would be rewarded with such a fanstastic view. And without taking the time to appreciate the artist and the story behind their work, you might walk away lacking the perspective required t
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