Highway 1979

Clarence Holbrook Carter made this print, Highway, using flat planes of colour to build a sense of deep recession. The simplicity of shapes and bold colour choices speak to a real confidence in the process. The surface here is very smooth, a deliberate choice that lends the image a graphic quality. See how the pinks and oranges of the sky and buildings flatten against the black of the road, creating an almost claustrophobic sense of compression. The lines of the road draw the eye to the horizon, a vanishing point of pure, unadulterated light. There’s something very optimistic about this, almost utopian. The buildings are a bit like sentinels, keeping watch over the viewer's journey. Think of the American Precisionists, like Charles Demuth, and their interest in industry and urban landscapes - Carter shares some of that aesthetic, but there's also an element of abstract surrealism in the work of someone like Giorgio de Chirico, where a familiar space is imbued with a sense of mystery. It's a kind of haunting beauty, that leaves you wondering what lies beyond the horizon.