Vitamin P3: Abstract artists

This is the latest of the Vitamin P series of books.

McArthur Binion 1946

African American Artist - his work has hidden biographical references with oil paint, pastels etc shrouding images of his old passport, birth certificate, address book etc with a grid formation of stacks of lines. He mostly uses off-whites and tonal greys which help to give texture to the paintings, but with a surprise of colour minimally applied, or a geometric shape emerging through the grid. Reminiscent of basket weave the pattern might reference something from Binion’s childhood, and may have specific intentions to document an African American experience. It is a merging of personal story or narrative with a repetition of form/pattern which is persistent through his work. His appearance in the most recent vitamin P book highlights his exclusion from the history of abstract painting.

Julia Dault 1977

Her works takes on a primarily decorative aesthetic, utilising repeat patterns and limited colour palettes. The paintings look almost synthesised but after a moment of looking you begin to appreciate the experimental and gestural marks, the techniques used to build the layered print like images. I have investigated layering of paint and the removal of the surface to expose the colours beneath in the past, it is an exciting way to create work since it lacks control, but without practice and skill you can easily make a muddy mess.