Dimensions: displayed: 2355 x 5660 mm
Copyright: © Christopher Le Brun | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Here we have Christopher Le Brun's monumental painting, "Forest," held in the Tate Collections. Look at the scale of this piece, almost six meters wide. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the melancholic mood. Those slender trees rising from the gloom remind me of a graveyard, the red touches like flickering candles. Curator: Le Brun is known for his impasto technique. Consider the layering and texture of the paint itself; how it builds the forms. It looks like he applied paint until the forms emerged. Editor: The trees could be seen as symbols of grief and resilience, their upward growth a quiet act of defiance against the oppressive darkness. The forest as the subconscious. Curator: Perhaps. Or perhaps the forest is merely a site for the artist to consider the act of painting. Editor: Ultimately, it's a powerful image, rich with both visual and emotional depth. Curator: Indeed, a testament to the material possibilities of paint.
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Le Brun's work moves between abstraction and recognizable subject matter. He works slowly in oils, building up the surface of the painting gradually. As a result of this process, enigmatic motifs such as a single wing, or cypress trees, emerge from the rich texture of the paint. Le Brun discourages specific interpretations of these images. He has stated: 'The image must always be beyond complete understanding' and has quoted the philosopher Heidegger's comment that 'meaning is where the interpretations lie thickest'. The sense of mystery and impenetrability which LeBrun identifies in his art is epitomised in this image of a forest. It recalls Le Brun's observation: 'I have a vision of painting as the uncut forest'. Gallery label, September 2004
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