Dimensions: support: 1270 x 1016 mm frame: 1288 x 1035 x 38 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Roger Hilton | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Roger Hilton's "February 1954," an oil on canvas. The bright red shape really grabs you, doesn't it? It's so bold against the black and white. What do you make of this stark simplicity? Curator: Simplicity, yes, but also a delightful dance! It’s like Hilton’s wrestling with form, trying to find balance between representation and abstraction. Does that red feel grounded to you, or like it's floating? Editor: Floating, definitely floating! It's unsettling somehow. Curator: Perhaps that's the February chill! Hilton was part of a generation trying to rebuild after the war, and abstraction allowed them to express complex emotions without being literal. Do you see a hint of landscape in there too, maybe? Editor: Now that you mention it, maybe the red is a rooftop? I'll never look at abstract art the same way again!
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Hilton made a number of paintings like this which were said to have been influenced by the work of Piet Mondrian. In Amsterdam a little earlier, Hilton had seen Mondrian’s abstract compositions of primary colours inserted into black and white grids. Hilton laid his paint on in thick areas which abut, avoiding any overlap or mixing of paint. In this way he stresses the physical presence of the painting as an object. Typically, however, one can still discern references to the human body; the black areas have been read as references to arms, legs and breasts. Gallery label, February 2010
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