Dimensions: support: 1832 x 1832 x 24 mm
Copyright: © The estate of John Plumb | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is John Plumb’s "Hydrastructure - What It Is" from the Tate. The bold colors feel so playful, but the title hints at something more complex. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Playful is a great word! It feels almost like a diagram of a dream, doesn't it? The shapes, the colors… they suggest systems, flows, but also a certain joyful chaos. Do you get that sense of controlled release? Editor: I think so! The title makes me look for the structure, but then the colors pull me away. Curator: Exactly! Plumb was playing with that tension, I think. He invites us to find order in the apparent chaos, much like life itself, perhaps? Editor: That's a lovely way to put it. It makes me see it in a completely different light! Curator: Isn't it amazing how a fresh perspective can unlock a whole new world within a work?
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/plumb-hydrastructure-what-it-is-t07472
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Throughout his career, John Plumb gained a reputation as one of Britain's most inventive abstract painters. This work consists of broad bands of colour dragged across a canvas. Plumb applies the paint with knives and spatulas to allow for chance developments that he then reacts to. These unintended occurrences become a method for developing the character of the work. This element of improvisation has parallels with jazz, of which Plumb is a devotee. This is reflected in the work’s title, which was derived from a piece of music performed by Miles Davis. Gallery label, July 2007
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