Dimensions: support: 1016 x 816 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Merlyn Oliver Evans | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This is Merlyn Oliver Evans' "The Conquest of Time," an oil on canvas held at the Tate. Editor: It feels weighty, almost industrial. There's a struggle here, a tension in the angular forms. Curator: Evans was deeply affected by the social and political upheavals of his time. The rise of technology and mechanization heavily influenced his artistic style. Editor: Absolutely, the painting echoes the fragmentation and alienation many felt during that period. The muted palette adds to the feeling of oppression. It's almost dystopian. Curator: Indeed. Evans often incorporated geometric shapes and mechanical imagery to symbolize the dehumanizing effects of modernity. The "conquest" isn't necessarily a positive one. Editor: So, it’s a commentary on the dominance of industry and how it shapes our perception of time and being? It invites us to question the human cost of progress. Curator: Precisely. Evans urges us to critically examine the societal forces shaping our world. Editor: Food for thought. I find it unsettling, but in a necessary way.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/evans-the-conquest-of-time-t00830
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Evans’s complex interlocking forms were inspired by his study of the natural world. The artist described how he wanted to explore the timelessness of art by thinking of a kingfisher, which waits motionless beside a flowing river, occasionally plucking a fish from it. His abstract bird form is painted in subdued colours and set against a plain background to suggest stillness and isolation. His work became associated with the surrealist art movement when The Conquest of Time was exhibited in the International Surrealist Exhibition held in London in 1936. Gallery label, March 2019
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