Black Lightining (Garden) 1981

Ronald Bladen made this sculpture, Black Lightning, most likely in the 1960s, though it’s hard to pin down the exact date, and it’s constructed from painted wood. Bladen's work deals with simple forms, like triangles, that are repeated and altered to create a sense of monumentality; the forms feel really solid and geometric, but the painted surfaces have an odd sheen to them, like chalk on a blackboard. I wonder about the white triangle that cuts through the centre of the sculpture; the way it rises, sharp and clean, against the dark, heavy forms surrounding it. It’s really satisfying to look at, that white shape against the black. Bladen's work reminds me a little of Sol LeWitt, who also worked with modular structures, but the black paint has more in common with Barnett Newman's zips, or even Ad Reinhardt's black paintings, which came out of an attempt to reduce painting down to its bare essence. Ultimately, I think Bladen asks us to consider sculpture as an ongoing experiment in the interplay between form, space, and perception, with each interpretation of the work offering a new perspective and insight.