Elm Park Gardens, I 1959

John Bratby's "Elm Park Gardens, I," is a scene rendered in expressive, thick oil paint. The materiality of the paint itself is paramount here. Bratby applies it with an almost aggressive fervor, creating a textured surface that vibrates with energy. Each brushstroke is visible, imbuing the scene with a sense of immediacy. This isn't about illusionism; it's about the act of painting, the labor involved in transforming tubes of pigment into an image. The choice of subject – an urban street scene – ties into this focus on the everyday. Bratby’s paintings often feature domestic interiors and mundane objects, elevated through his energetic application of paint. It’s as though the sheer volume of labor, the physical act of painting, can transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. In the end, it is this emphasis on process, on the material transformation enacted by the artist, that elevates “Elm Park Gardens, I” beyond a mere depiction of a street.