21.1.75 1975

John Hoyland made this oil painting titled '21.1.75' in January of 1975; that title's directness sets us up for the painting itself. The approach to mark making is like a conversation, colours are laid on and then worked back into. It’s really about the physical, kind of sweaty, process of art making. Hoyland's use of impasto creates a lively surface, you can feel the thickness and texture of the paint, especially in that central green block. The translucency of the drips and the flat opacity of the colour blocks do a dance. I mean, look at that stroke of turquoise peeking out from under the green, it's like a rebellious note in a carefully orchestrated piece! Hoyland was part of a generation of British abstract painters who were in dialogue with the American colour field painters. I think of Helen Frankenthaler who like Hoyland, embraces the ambiguity of art, where multiple interpretations are not only possible but preferred.