John Hoyland

John Hoyland would sometimes title his colorful, nonrepresentational paintings using the numerical date of their completion, leaving the interpretation of their ambiguous forms and impasto surfaces open to the viewer. Untitled (29.7.75) (1975) foregrounds a hard-edged lilac rectangle while drizzles of orange and green paint appear to peep out from behind it. Hoyland’s paintings grew looser and more open to drips and pours over the course of his five-decade career. As a student at the Royal Academy Schools, he made a name for himself by exhibiting abstract paintings at his graduation show that the school president ordered be removed. Shortly afterward, he was invited to exhibit in the landmark 1960 “Situation” show in London alongside other seminal abstract artists. In 1967, he had his first solo show at Whitechapel Gallery. Hoyland represented Great Britain with Anthony Caro at the 1969 São Paulo Biennale in Brazil. He has since had retrospectives at Tate St Ives, the Serpentine Gallery, and the Royal Academy of Arts.