Radical Painting

About

Saturday 18th October, Saturday 25th October & Saturday 1st November Abstract Formalism, the radical, super-simplified abstract painting style of British Artists like John Copnall and, among others, John Hoyland, Gillian Ayres and John Maclean, was characterized by a rigorously reductive approach - the central question seems to have been ‘what can we get rid of next?' - but, for some viewers at least, it produced paintings joyous in their freedom, paintings like visual music, liberated from tradition and the constraints of the past. Charles Williams, painter, writer and lecturer on the Fine and Applied Art degree at CCCU, will lead a three day workshop exploring the principles of three important influences that shaped British Abstract Formalism; Joseph Albers' work on colour at the Black Mountain College in the USA, Basic Design, and the Bauhaus, as well as looking at the art historical context in a more general way. The sessions will take place in the Painting Studios in the Sidney Cooper Centre, behind the Sidney Cooper Gallery. Expect to be challenged. Attendees of this course will get free admission to our Monday night Lecture Series (usual price £6). From 5 - 7pm on, these lectures provide an introduction to the basic principles of abstract art and colour theory.