John Hoyland
Falls 28.3.2001, 2001
Acrylic on canvas
253.9 x 236.4 x 5.7 cm
100 x 93 1/8 x 2 1/4 in
100 x 93 1/8 x 2 1/4 in
Falls 28.3.2001is a painting full of life and vitality, greatly influenced by Hoyland’s travels. In the 1990s and early 2000s he spent a lot of time in Bali and Jamaica...
Falls 28.3.2001is a painting full of life and vitality, greatly influenced by Hoyland’s travels. In the 1990s and early 2000s he spent a lot of time in Bali and Jamaica which had a great effect on him. Hoyland states, ‘Bali confirmed realities – of colour, pattern and movement – already known and illuminated by an interior light.’ The radiance and sheer beauty he experienced there made its way into the paintings. ‘I came back with so many ideas, so many archetypal structures that I could try to hang my thoughts and feelings on.’
For the first time in decades Hoyland made figurative drawings, inspired to by everything he saw travelling. The mark making in the painting is also reminiscent of graffiti, which he took polaroids and sketches of. Falls displays a dynamic figure inspired by high dives made by students from the cliffs at Negril in Jamaica that Hoyland watched from a nearby café. Hoyland captures the mood, heat and movement in the giant pours of paint. He communicates both power and powerlessness in the act of jumping/falling.
Backed by giant pours of paint, Falls evokes chance and freedom. He carefully constructs the illusion of chance. Implementing techniques of throwing, pouring, staining, and flicking paint gives the work visceral energy. For these seemingly spontaneous actions, he developed a range of sophisticated automatic techniques, stating ‘with acrylic you can draw from the mist. The movements are almost balletic. You have to rehearse them.’
For the first time in decades Hoyland made figurative drawings, inspired to by everything he saw travelling. The mark making in the painting is also reminiscent of graffiti, which he took polaroids and sketches of. Falls displays a dynamic figure inspired by high dives made by students from the cliffs at Negril in Jamaica that Hoyland watched from a nearby café. Hoyland captures the mood, heat and movement in the giant pours of paint. He communicates both power and powerlessness in the act of jumping/falling.
Backed by giant pours of paint, Falls evokes chance and freedom. He carefully constructs the illusion of chance. Implementing techniques of throwing, pouring, staining, and flicking paint gives the work visceral energy. For these seemingly spontaneous actions, he developed a range of sophisticated automatic techniques, stating ‘with acrylic you can draw from the mist. The movements are almost balletic. You have to rehearse them.’