Saturday, July 4, 2020

Gillian Ayres (1930-2018) - Strength, Drama and Passion

Gillian Ayres
Stratie II
1997
oil on canvas
Government Art Collection, London

Gillian Ayres
Untitled
1993
acrylic on paper
Jerwood Collection, London

Gillian Ayres
Salix
1990-91
oil on canvas
Royal Academy of Arts, London

Gillian Ayres
Helios
1990
oil on canvas
Leeds Art Gallery, Yorkshire

Gillian Ayres
Phaƫthon
1990
oil on canvas
Tate Gallery

Gillian Ayres
Midsummer Night
1990
oil on panels
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, West Midlands

"Many of Gillian Ayres' paintings took titles from Greek myths and from the world of opera, and it was obvious that she looked to such sources for strength, drama and passion, qualities she admired and wished to convey in her paintings. She said of Titian and Rubens, two painters she revered, that they use the medium of paint in the fullest possible way, displaying 'a complete combination of heart and mind . . .'  This was something Ayres strove to emulate."

– from curator's notes at the British Council Collection

"Gillian Ayres smoked 60 cigarettes a day, worked through the night if she felt like it, gave money to friends, neglected the washing up, collected broken pieces of pretty china and loved Elizabethan poetry. Her favourite painter was Rubens, whose sumptuous female models she somewhat resembled. Not seeing the point of putting cat food on a plate, she simply emptied the cans on to the kitchen floor. She never locked her car. Ayres ignored all advice, including medical advice. About government, current affairs and rational discussion she remained headily aloof."

– Tim Hilton, from his obituary of the artist in The Guardian

Gillian Ayres
Spica
1989-90
oil on canvas
Southbank Centre, London

Gillian Ayres
Aeolus
1987
oil on canvas
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Gillian Ayres
Florestan
1986
oil on canvas
Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Wiltshire

Gillian Ayres
Calypso
1985
oil on canvas
National Museum Cardiff (Wales)

Gillian Ayres
Merlin
1983
oil on canvas
John Creasey Museum, Salisbury, Wiltshire

Gillian Ayres
Antony and Cleopatra
1982
oil on canvas
Tate Gallery

Gillian Ayres
Ah Mine Heart
1981
oil on panel
British Council Collection, London

Gillian Ayres
Orlando Furioso
1977-79
oil on canvas
Southbank Centre, London

Gillian Ayres
Belona
1976-78
oil and acrylic on canvas
Southbank Centre, London