Summon up, #11 1958

Frederick Hammersley’s painting, "Summon up, #11", is a world of hard-edged geometric shapes in conversation. I imagine him carefully constructing each form, building up the composition with flat colours and crisp lines. There's a kind of playful puzzle here, isn't there? What did he mean by summon up? I wonder if it suggests a hidden language or code. The palette—burnt orange, mustard, khaki—is both retro and fresh. These muted tones push and pull against each other, creating a subtle tension. That crimson semi-circle at the bottom feels weighty, grounding the lighter shapes above. Then my eye bounces up to the mustard square at the top left - it anchors the painting. I bet Hammersley thought long and hard about where to place each element. It's an exercise in pure seeing, feeling, and responding. Like a tightrope walk. Painters like Hammersley remind us that art-making is an ongoing dialogue across time, each artist building upon the ideas and innovations of those who came before. We pick up the baton, add our own voice, and keep the conversation going.