Two Whiting 1972

Patrick Caulfield made this striking, graphic painting of two fish with enamel paint. It's like he's saying, 'let's strip everything down and just see what's left'. What really grabs me are those bold, black outlines. They're so decisive, boxing in each color like a stained-glass window. It's as if Caulfield is creating a stage set for the fish, a spotlight on the everyday. And those colors—earthy, muted, but still so present. It's not about making you believe you could reach out and touch these fish, but more about capturing a feeling, an essence. Take a look at that simple knife. It's just a shape, but it suggests so much about preparation, domesticity, maybe even a little tension. Caulfield is playing with flatness, with signs and symbols. It reminds me a bit of early Hockney, how he played with space and representation. Caulfield is asking us to look closely, to question what we see, and to find beauty in the unexpected.