Fiona Rae, "Untitled, (Emergency room)"


    I thought I would toss something quite different to you this week.   It is an image with lots going on in it.  The most important consideration when viewing is that this work is extremely large.  It is 84 inches (7 feet) tall and 78 inches (6 feet, 6 inches) wide. This means picking up the full impact is difficult for us, but, we can easily see the painting as a whole, as if from a distance.   In a gallery situation, a painting this size must be in a very large room, so viewer can approach from afar moving in.  Once in, the work will submerge us, surround us, so we catch the swirls and seeming chaos.
  The artist is Fiona Rae.  Born in Hong Kong in 1963 she moved to Britain in 1971.  Here she studied art and established her career.  She now lives in London.  The title of this work is "Untitled (emergency room)"  
    This image is very complex, with all emphasis on surface, no attempt at establishing depth or illusion to space.  There is not obvious pattern, no rhythm to move the eye around or find a place to rest.  Maybe this is why the title refers to an emergency room (?).   But I do find a nice balance of color and shape, especially the flat greys and hints of yellow.  
   "Untitled (Emergency room)" is an oil and acrylic on canvas.  It was created in 1996 and is part of the permanent collection of the Tate Gallery, London, purchased by them in 1998.  It is considered a non-representational work.   
  Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do. 

Comments

  1. Char HarguthJuly 13, 2021 at 7:51 AM

    This IS different and at first glance seems chaotic!! To see it in full size must be amazing. My first thought was rushing water with emerging bubbles. The black and white rectangles, the colored circles, and spaced plain grey areas break up the dominant texture. It certainly is an interesting composition. I find the colors very pleasing and after looking at it for a while, the "activity" seems to calm down!!! You gave us a very different artist! Fun!

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