Vincent 1979

Albert Irvin created this abstract composition, entitled Vincent, with acrylic on paper. Irvin was a British artist who came to maturity in the 1950s amidst a culture of austerity and social change. His move toward abstraction in the early 1960s coincided with the rise of Pop Art and the rejection of traditional artistic values. The vibrant, gestural marks in Vincent can be understood as a celebration of individual expression. Although abstract, the diagonal slashes of yellow and blue create a sense of depth and movement. The lower register of muted pinks and creams could be evoking landscape. Irvin's work defies easy categorization. He embraced the visual language of American Abstract Expressionism, but filtered it through a distinctly British sensibility. The social and institutional history surrounding Irvin's art offers insight into its meaning. Exhibition catalogs, reviews, and biographical sources can illuminate the artist's place within the broader art world. The interpretation of art, like history itself, is a process of ongoing investigation.