Untitled 1964

This untitled print was made by Derek Boshier, using screen printing techniques. The bold, flat colors and geometric shapes give it a real pop art feel, but there’s something else going on too. Look at the way the colours push and pull against each other – that acid green background, the clashing pinks and purples, like notes in a dissonant chord. And those stacked forms in the middle! They remind me of tires or maybe even donuts. The stacked forms have a kind of awkwardness, a sense of precariousness, like they might topple over at any moment. That zigzag pattern has a kind of energy, like a visual vibration. Boshier’s work reminds me a little bit of David Hockney, another British artist who was playing with pop imagery and bold color in the 60s and 70s. But Boshier has a slightly rougher edge, a kind of punk sensibility that makes his work feel fresh and alive. Art is a conversation, don't you think?