Dimensions: image: 302 x 408 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Stanley Boxer | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is “Buddingwithoutpast” by Stanley Boxer, currently held at the Tate. It's difficult to put my finger on a date, but the dreamy pastel washes and flowing lines give it such an ethereal feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a potent commentary on the fluidity of identity and being. The figures, both human and mythical, seem caught in a state of becoming. Consider how the absence of a defined past—as the title suggests—liberates them from societal constraints and allows for self-definition. Editor: That’s fascinating. So, you're seeing it as a kind of rejection of traditional identity? Curator: Precisely. Boxer seems to be asking us: what if we could shed the baggage of history and expectation? What new forms could we then assume? It's a call for radical self-invention. Editor: I never would have thought of it that way. I was just seeing a beautiful image, but there's so much more to it. Curator: Art has the power to be a mirror. I am glad this work sparks discussions on identity and its social implications.
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Stanley Boxer is best known for his large scale abstract paintings which have a rich sculptural quality produced by thick, impasto brushwork. Boxer’s paintings were championed by American modernist critic Clement Greenberg (1906-1994), famous for his insistence that painters should eliminate subject matter in their work, aiming instead for the purity of abstraction. When considered in relation to his paintings, the prints Boxer produced at Tyler Graphics between 1975 and 1979 seem somewhat of an anomaly. Over this period, he created several series of figurative works, illustrating whimsical scenes featuring animals and winged figures. Boxer had, however, been making drawings of this nature throughout his career, and he insisted they were closely connected to his abstracts, made with similar gestures and motivation.
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