Dimensions: support: 660 x 660 mm frame: 699 x 699 x 43 mm
Copyright: © The estate of Roger Hilton | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Roger Hilton's "January 1957" presents a fascinating example of mid-century British abstraction, currently held in the Tate Collections. Editor: It feels immediate, almost impulsive. The stark contrasts—the ochre against the heavy black—evoke a sense of urgency. Curator: Hilton's work often reflected his turbulent personal life and the socio-political anxieties of the Cold War era. Abstraction, in this context, became a visual language for expressing unease. Editor: That jagged ochre shape... it’s like a corrupted sun. And that looping white line almost desperately trying to contain the darkness. Very potent symbolism here. Curator: Hilton was working within a broader movement of British artists exploring the boundaries of abstraction, pushing against traditional artistic conventions. Editor: Yes, but what endures is its psychological power: the raw emotional honesty. I keep coming back to that ochre streak. Curator: An honesty that speaks volumes about the artistic landscape of its time. Editor: A landscape indeed, raw and unvarnished.
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This is one of the first works Hilton painted in St Ives following his move to Cornwall in 1956. In early 1950s he made highly abstract work that saw him associated with constructionist painters. But, at the time this work was made his painting became more improvisatory and expressionistic; the surface of the paint is broken up and lines are freely drawn. Hilton’s techniques included palette knife, brush and drawing straight from the paint tube. In 1957 he wrote ‘A creative artist is a man who is struggling with an idea … The greatest artist will be the one who most completely lets the medium shoulder the idea.’ Gallery label, April 2019
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