Tiger's Eye - 10.3.07 2007

John Hoyland made this striking acrylic painting, 'Tiger's Eye - 10.3.07', on canvas. It presents an opportunity to explore the dynamics of abstract expressionism in the 21st century. Hoyland was working within a tradition that had once been radical, challenging academic conventions of representation. Made in Britain, this piece arrives after the dominance of American abstract expressionism. The title hints at something organic, yet the composition relies on bold geometric forms and contrasting colors. The horizontal lines could be seen as a self-conscious nod to the formalist concerns of Clement Greenberg, the mid-century critic who championed artists whose work drew attention to its own material construction, yet Hoyland's energetic splatters push against such a rigid reading. Art history reminds us that no artwork exists in a vacuum. Understanding 'Tiger's Eye' means situating it within debates about the legacy of abstraction, the globalization of artistic styles, and the changing role of painting in contemporary art.