Items Similar to 3 Dimensional Sculptural Surrealist Acrylic on Board. 'Swimfest'.
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9
Derek Carruthers 3 Dimensional Sculptural Surrealist Acrylic on Board. 'Swimfest'.
About the Item
Late 20th century acrylic on plywood board sculptural painting by British artist Derek Carruthers. The work is not signed but was acquired along with a collection of the artist’s work directly from his atelier.
A lively, colourful and energetic painting of artist's lay figures in swimming costumes forming a star and circle on a light blue background. Two circles are cut from plywood and attached to the larger blue circle. The figures are swimming in formation creating beautiful shapes seen from above as in Busby Berkley movies of the 1930s/40s when star of stage and screen, Ethel Merman and women in flower adorned swimming caps would elegantly dive into a swimming pool and create magnificent designs with their precisely synchronised movements.
The figures are faceless perhaps to make the point that the individual loses their identity when becoming part of any group or when adhering to any strict doctrine.
These figures (reminiscent of artist's lay figures) featured often in this period of the artist's work. An artist lay figure is a doll-like model of the human figure that artists can pose in different ways. It can be used for sketching or as a stand-in for the living subject of a portrait.
"I was given an antique artist’s lay figure and acquired several smaller faceless wooden lay figures. I knew Man Ray’s “Mr. and Mrs. Woodman” series of photographs and enjoyed the irony and humour." So began the series of figure compositions which seem to sustain themselves as symbol and metaphor for aspects of the human condition.
These figures have inhabited Carruthers’ paintings since the early 1990s. They may be placed in a fully-realised 3-D space, their solidity asserted with dramatic lighting; or they may be flat, insubstantial. They may be gathered as a busy community or they may be isolated. They are always featureless. They can be translated as a deliberately ironic comment on life; they are also evidence of the artist’s continuing preoccupation with abstraction. He reduces and manipulates the figures so that they are sometimes in the Romantic tradition, a model of profound humanity, and sometimes - more challenging and chilling - Orwellian tokens of inhumanity.
Derek Carruthers was an artist who persisted in asking questions. His whole career was inspired by the determination to enquire into the nature of art, examine its purpose, and attempt to explore that place where the individual life of the mind meets the external appearance of the world where personal sensation rubs up against cultural assumptions. Not surprisingly, Carruthers explored, over the years, a language of pure form, abstract space, 2 and 3 dimensions, narrative and concept, personal and universal figuration. Looking back, over decades of work, however, each of these voices is pursuing a coherent set of questions, reflecting on the stuff of human experience. Carrthuers’ individual pieces can intrigue and charm, they can be warm and poetic and they can also offer gritty resistance to the easy gaze. They can challenge us to think about ourselves, our environment, our expectations, our place in the world.
Carruthers grew up in the north-west of England having been born in Penrith, and one of his earliest memories of what art might be was formed by his encounter with the extraordinary creations of Kurt Schwitters. The latter had fled Germany in 1937, after his art had been labelled ‘degenerate’. He stayed, first, in Norway and then arrived in Britain in 1940. Carruthers had already encountered Schwitters' work as a boy, and had been launched on his own life-long examination of the nature of art.
Carruthers was further inspired by Victor Pasmore and Hamilton (British Constructivists) who were working closely together at King’s College London and eventually offered a challenging course to all first year students. Thus, Carruthers – who was at King’s in 1953 to 1957 was encouraged to take a rigorous approach to probing abstraction, spatial relationships, and the interlinking of art and architecture.
Having had the good fortune to have been an art student at such a time and in such a place, it is not surprising that Carruthers embarked on a voyage of artistic discovery. He showed his works with the major touring exhibition, organised by the Arts Council, in 1963, ‘Construction England’, together with Pasmore and Mary and Kenneth Martin.
His work was also included in exhibitions of new art at the Drian Galleries, Porchester Place, in 1963 to 1965. Reflecting the more recent re-examination of post-War, British Constructivism, Carruthers’ work was also included in the 1992 show, ‘British Abstract Art of the 50s and 60s’, held at the Belgrave Gallery. This early work, in which solid or relief forms change their nature as they – or the viewers – move through space and time, deliberately challenges the human tendency to find comfort in regarding the world as fixed and knowable.
In these years, too, Carruthers taught at Sunderland and Leicester Colleges of Art, before moving to lead the Fine Art course, as a Professor, at Trent Polytechnic (now the Nottingham Trent University). He was a dedicated educator, leaving to pursue his own art, full time, only in the mid 1980s.
Inspired, perhaps, by this freedom, the 1980s saw Carruthers exploring new ideas. He turned from working in 3-dimensions, or collage and relief, and rediscovered the power of traditional materials, oil and watercolour, on canvas and paper. He moved away from Non-Objectivity towards a practice which explored both abstracted and figurative imagery. Throughout, he remained preoccupied with exploring the human condition: by this trite remark, we mean that he continued to question how each individual experiences the world; he explored the ways in which human beings create totems to make their mark, as if to claim immortality; he tries to, ‘symbolise the triangular relationship between humankind and religion and the art / architecture which it inspires’. Hence - as well as warm glimpses of holidays and home life - his work yields the Egyptian pyramid, the Graeco-Roman heroic figure, the Christian monument; and, ultimately, the ‘sexless, ageless, raceless anonymity’ of the artist’s lay figure.
Derek Carruthers continued to ask questions, both about his life in a particular time and place, and about the lot of the human being on a universal scale. As an artist and a scholar, he saw himself at the intersection of these challenging states. And he makes you think........
- Creator:Derek Carruthers
- Dimensions:Height: 22.84 in (58 cm)Diameter: 22.84 in (58 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Small woodworm holes across the image original to the board and which have been treated. Does not detract from the overall image.
- Gallery Location:Cotignac, FR
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 2000
1stDibs seller since 2020
157 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Cotignac, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- French Art Brut Abstract Expressionist Acrylic on Canvas, 'Qui Dit Mieux'.Located in Cotignac, FRLarge outsider art abstract expressionist acrylic on canvas by French artist Serge Desfarges. Signed and dated to the bottom left and signed, dated and titled to the reverse. Present...Category
Late 20th Century Outsider Art Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- Exile by Ernesto VilaLocated in Cotignac, FRLarge 1970s acrylic on paper by Uruguayan artist Ernesto Vila ( born June 28th 1936 ) painted while in exile in Paris after his 6 year imprisonment in Uruguay by the military regime. Presented in contemporary frame under glass which will be removed for shipping. He was a student of José Gurvich...Category
Mid-20th Century Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Acrylic, Crayon, Pastel
- "La Corrida", "The Bull Run", French Abstract Expressionist Oil on Board.Located in Cotignac, FRLate 20th century abstract Expressionist oil on board by French artist Emmanuelle Bardet. Signed bottom right and dated 95 and titled "La Corrida" to the reverse along with a dedicat...Category
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- 'Assemblées', Figures In Motion, Oil on Paper on Board.Located in Cotignac, FRAbstract impressionist oil on paper on board by French artist Chantal Payet. Signed and dated April '96 to the reverse. An interesting and challenging Abstract Impressionist work in...Category
1990s Abstract Impressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Oil, Board
- 'Allez!' At the Match. Toulon Rugby Club. Large Expressionist Oil on Canvas.Located in Cotignac, FRLarge abstract expressionist oil on canvas of Toulon Rugby Club supporters at a rugby match. Unsigned. Extremely vibrant and energetic depiction of Toulon ...Category
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- J'adore, Large Scale Expressionist Graffiti, Street Art Drip PaintingLocated in Cotignac, FRFrench early 21st Century Graffiti, street art, 'drip' painting on paper by Jonas “SUN7” Bournat. The work is signed and titled to the backboard. Presented in fine wood, glass and cl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor, Gouache
You May Also Like
- Surrealist cubism acrylic on board painting picassianLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaGustavo Úbeda (1930-1994) - Picasso Cubism - Acrylic panel Acrylic measurements 81x100 cm. Frameless. The painting by Gustavo Úbeda Romero (Herencia, 1930 – Sao Paulo, 1994) comes f...Category
1970s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Board
- "Absolut Keck" Vodka Abstract Surrealist Black and White Airbrush PaintingLocated in Houston, TXAbstract surrealist black and white airbrush painting of an Absolut Vodka bottle surrounded by a variety of figures. The piece includes the faces of ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Surrealist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Foam Board
- 1970 Mod Surrealist Painting Collage David Hare Abstract Landscape Summer LandBy David HareLocated in Surfside, FLDavid Hare Summer Land, 1970 Acrylic or oil paint and collage on board Dimensions: 26 X 36 inches. Framed measuring 29 x 38 inches. Hand signed, dated and titled on tape to verso 'Summer Land 1970 Hare'. Provenance: Hamilton Gallery of Contemporary Art, New York David Hare (1917 – 1992) was an American artist, associated with the Surrealist movement. He is primarily known for his sculpture, though he also worked extensively in photography and oil painting. The VVV Surrealism Magazine was first published and edited by Hare in 1942. Born March 10, 1917 in New York City, New York to father Meredith Hare, a lawyer and mother Elizabeth Sage Goodwin, an art collector. In the 1920s the family moved first to Santa Fe, New Mexico and later to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in hope that the fresh air would help heal Meredith Hare's tuberculosis. His mother founded the Fountain Valley School, where David attended high school. After high school Hare married and moved to Roxbury, Connecticut where he worked as a color photographer. He attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson from 1936 to 1937, studying biology and chemistry. In the late 1930s, with no previous artistic training, he began to experiment with color photography. Using his previous education in chemistry Hare developed an automatist technique called "heatage" in which he heated the unfixed negative from an 8 by 10-inch plate, causing the image to ripple and distort. Hare's Surrealist experiments in photography were only one of his many projects. In 1938 he met Susanna Winslow Wilson and the couple soon married. Both David and Susanna pursued their interests in Surrealism and regularly attended Surrealist gatherings in New York Larre French restaurant on 56th street and at Breton's Greenwich Village apartment. In 1940 he received a commission from the American Museum of Natural History to document the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest, for which he eventually produced 20 prints developed using Eastman Kodak's then-new dye transfer process (a time-consuming and complicated technique). In the same year, he also opened his own commercial photography studio in New York City and exhibited his photographs in a solo show at the Julien Levy Gallery. In the next few years, through his cousin the painter Kay Sage, he came into contact with a number of Surrealist artists who had fled their native Europe because of World War II. Hare became closely involved with the émigré Surrealist movement and collaborated closely with them on projects such as the Surrealist journal VVV, which he co founded and edited from 1941 to 1944 with André Breton, Max Ernst, and Marcel Duchamp. With numerous illustrations by Breton, Leonora Carrington, Marc Chagall, Roberto Matta, Giorgio de Chirico, MarcelDuchamp, Max Ernst, Andre Masson, Joan Miro, Enrico Donati, Dorothea Tanning, and others. Published in only four issues between 1942-44, VVV was an experimental New York-based magazine devoted to the dissemination of Surrealism. Edited by David Hare, the short-lived magazine featured contributions from some of the leading avant-garde artists of the period. David and Susanna divorce in 1945 and Breton’s wife Jacqueline Lamba...Category
1970s Surrealist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Board
- Surrealist orixa Brazil acrylic on board painting surrealism UbedaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaGustavo Úbeda (1930-1994) - Orixa - Acrylic on panel Acrylic measurements 61x91 cm. Frameless. The painting by Gustavo Úbeda Romero (Herencia, 1930 – Sao Paulo, 1994) comes from a f...Category
1970s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Board
- Sour CreamLocated in Nashville, TNAlison Underwood's work evokes various emotions of desires as her artwork proves to display the ideas of temptation and anticipation. These profound feelings are demonstrated in the ...Category
2010s Surrealist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil Crayon, Oil, Acrylic
- Before / After (diptych)Located in Nashville, TNAlison Underwood's work evokes various emotions of desires as her artwork proves to display the ideas of temptation and anticipation. These profound feelings are demonstrated in the ...Category
2010s Surrealist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Acrylic, Oil Crayon
