Thursday

2001
Newton, Duncan
Duncan Newton’s philosophy as a painter contended that images can be altered and elaborated in endless combinations, as the artist further develops their own repertoire. His work is derived through a process of trial, error and adaptation before it arrives at a final resolution – which is in fact a deliberate irresolution. Newton considered painting to be unique among other art forms, in that its access is uninhibited by time: ‘Painting, compared with other arts, can be seen instantly. In that is its generosity’. Thursday, 2001 is from his experimental series Abstract Pictures (1999–2002). The colour palette is subdued – off-white, yellows, browns and black – and both works spill beyond the usual rectangular frame of a painting. Irregular contours mimic the effect of a torn piece of paper; broad brushstrokes loop across the surface of the canvas, along with flurries of intersecting lines and layers, hinting at both conflict and balance, to provoke the question: ‘What am I looking at?’ Thus, these works are about the act of looking and celebrate the act of painting, rather than the conclusion.
  • Artwork Details: 237 x 367cm
  • Edition:
  • Material description: Oil on linen
  • Credit line: © Estate of Duncan Newton. Gift of the artist’s estate, 2019. Image courtesy of Estate of Duncan Newton
  • Theme:
  • Medium: Painting
  • Accession number: ACC36/2019

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The Arts Council Collection is the UK's most widely seen collection of modern and contemporary art.

With more than 8,000 works by over 2,000 artists, it can be seen in exhibitions and public displays across the country and beyond. This website offers unprecedented access to the Collection, and information about each work can be found on this site.