Grill by Patrick Caulfield

Grill 1988

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Dimensions: support: 1226 x 919 mm

Copyright: © The estate of Patrick Caulfield. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2014 | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate

Editor: Patrick Caulfield's "Grill" presents this stark contrast of hard-edged shapes against the fleshy realism of the meat. There's something unsettling about it. What social commentary do you see at play here? Curator: The tension is palpable, isn't it? Consider Caulfield's engagement with Pop Art and its critique of consumer culture. The grill, a symbol of domesticity and leisure, is juxtaposed against raw meat. Does this reflect anxieties about class, access, and the objectification inherent in consumerism? Editor: That's a compelling point. I hadn't considered the class implications so directly. Curator: How might the stark colors, the almost graphic rendering, further emphasize these themes of alienation and commodification within the British context of the time? Editor: It makes me think about food shortages after the War. Curator: Precisely. It's a conversation about scarcity, desire, and the societal structures that govern those dynamics. Editor: I never looked at a grill with so much suspicion. Thanks for sharing your perspective. Curator: And thank you for prompting a fresh look at these enduring questions of power and consumption.

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tate 2 days ago

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/caulfield-grill-t07150

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tate 2 days ago

Caulfield's art is devoted to interior and still life. His precise observations of our world are translated into highly stylised depictions which reflect the artificiality of modern life. 'Grill' is one of a series of paintings in which Caulfield abandoned his signature style of painting flat images outlined in black. He adopted a more minimal approach to composition, in which any sense of pictorial depth is limited. Thus, in 'Grill' fragmented shapes float in an indeterminate space. Flattened, abstracted forms contrast with other elements that are picked out in a highly illusionistic style. Gallery label, September 2004