Gymkhana Visitors 1961

Here is Gymkhana Visitors by Charles Blackman, and I can’t help but wonder how this scene came to be. Blackman's dark palette and distorted figures create an eerie yet compelling atmosphere, capturing the quiet tension that simmers beneath social gatherings. I can imagine him, paintbrush in hand, trying to capture the furtive glances and hushed whispers that punctuate the mundane experience of being a visitor. Look at the colour: the flashes of red, white and blue emerge from the depths. A splash of turquoise sleeve, the glow of a hat. What are they thinking? I love the way that Blackman has rendered the faces and the bodies, obscuring them with paint. The hands are also a strong motif. What is in the hand of the shadowy figure on the left? Blackman was also interested in outsider art and folk art, whose influence feels very present in this painting. Ultimately, the work asks us to look again at the world around us, and that’s what I love most.