Registry Office

1997
Caulfield, Patrick
Caulfield's work was influenced by paintings of Juan Gris and Roy Lichtenstein, but his use of flat colours and black outline in depictions of ordinary interiors and still lives is very individual. His distinctive style simplifies the representation of objects, creating emblems of mysterious reality. In 'Registry Office', the focus on a bouquet of red flowers and suggestive use of warm colours evoke a very personal vision of the world in which quiet dramas of happiness and sadness - registration of births, marriages and deaths - are played out. The stripped-down aesthetic and precise positioning of a few identifiable elements full of nostalgic connotations, transform this abstract picture, creating a vivid, yet ambiguous definition of reality. Patrick Caulfield was born in 1936 in London, where he grew up. He studied at Chelsea School of Art (1956 -1960) and at the Royal College of Art, London (1960 - 1963). He returned to Chelsea School of Art to teach from 1963 to 1971.Caulfield's first solo exhibition was held at the Robert Fraser Gallery, London in 1965. His international reputation as a Pop artist was quickly established and he has taken part in many solo and group exhibitions, both in Britain and internationally. Monika McConnell
  • Artwork Details: 92.1 x 76.8cm
  • Edition:
  • Material description: acrylic on canvas
  • Credit line: Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © The Estate of Patrick Caulfield. All rights reserved, DACS 2015.
  • Theme:
  • Medium: Painting
  • Accession number: ACC52/1997

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