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and the forms. Therein lie the major differences, but this is hardly enough to place them in different time periods and you could easily reverse the dates without attracting notice. What binds them together; indeed all the work is that Scott includes a bold stroke of drama within a calm �landscape� of paint handling. In Composition III the drama is created by the bold vertical slash of yellow and the black lines. All of this is set within the overriding context of a warm environment of dark grays which itself becomes dramatic when bumping up against the band of white at the bottom. In Still Life Painting the primary drama is established by the large black oval just left of center. This is set within an opalescence of white that provides a background for the black oval but also sets up a high level of contrast within the sienna ground. |
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William Scott, Blue, Yellow, Brown, 1957, oil on canvas, 30 x 60 in (image - copyright 2004, Denise Bibro Gallery) |
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Scott�s content is wrapped up within this very basic and abstract interplay of drama and context. Free of any sort of narrative, these paintings are simply constructed of forms, color and their various interactions. But Scott made a very effective case, over a long career, that this was enough. Look at such titles as Blue, Yellow, Brown; Blue, Gray, Blue; and White Painting. What the titles imply is that these pieces do not offer direct narratives but rather it is the formal elements and how they interact with each other that reveal the meaning for this work. From such a perspective Scott might initially be considered a Minimalist with a lower case �m�. What trips up that notion is that his paintings also possess a graceful sensuality. The painting handling and color combinations were not simply formal elements to him but also a means of expressing beauty and emotion as well as contrast. |
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William Scott, White Painting, 1963, oil on canvas, 63 x 78.25 in (image - copyright 2004, Denise Bibro Gallery) |
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William Scott, Blue, Gray, Blue, 1960, oil on canvas, 48 x 73 in (image - copyright 2004, Denise Bibro Gallery) |
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This show offered a wonderful mini-retrospective of William Scott�s paintings. The exhibition was well presented and, though one would like to see even more work given the range presented, there was certainly enough here to get a good sense of Scott�s art. |
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William Scott, (Installation View) (image - copyright 2004, Denise Bibro Gallery) |
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