Dimensions: support: 1520 x 1290 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Fred Williams | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Fred Williams’ “Upwey Landscape” presents a captivating interpretation of the Australian landscape. The earthy tones and scattered forms create a unique visual experience. What do you see in this piece, particularly in relation to the symbols and imagery used? Curator: Notice how Williams reduces the trees to symbolic dots and lines. He's not just depicting a landscape, but evoking a feeling of it. Think of the Aboriginal dot paintings - could this be Williams' way of tapping into that deep cultural memory, a connection to the land's ancient story? Editor: That’s fascinating! So, these aren't just trees, but also symbols of a deeper connection to the earth? Curator: Precisely. Each mark, each color choice, carries a psychological weight. It’s as if the painting is a visual poem about belonging and the timelessness of the Australian landscape. Editor: I never thought about it that way!
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By the early 1960s, Williams had evolved a distinctive composition in which the landscape was reduced to an all-over patterning of small touches of paint evoking trees and shrubs. He moved to Upwey, in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne in 1963, bringing him into the heart of the countryside. His studio there was in a valley, and the view above the surrounding trees encouraged him to raise the horizon in his compositions, leaving only a narrow band of sky at the top. Gallery label, May 2008
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