Nymphéas after1916
Water-Lilies / 수련
by Claude Monet(모네: 1840-1926, born and worked France)
oil paint on canvas
Lent by the National Gallery 1997
Nymphéas after 1916
Water-Lilies / 수련
by Claude Monet(모네: 1840-1926, born and worked France)
oil paint on canvas
Lent by the National Gallery 1997
In the 1890s, Monet developed a Japanese-style water-garden around the pond at his home
in Giverny, north-west of Paris. The garden became an 'outside studio' for the artist,
and the water-lilies floating on the surface of the pond became the principal motif of his later
paintings. Filling the canvas, the pond becomes a world in itself, inspiring a sense of
immersion in nature. At times verging on abstraction, the water-lily pictures are the culmination
of Monet's fascination with lightand its changing effects on the natural environment.
Nymphéas after 1916 (detail)
Water-Lilies / 수련
Nymphéas after 1916(detail)
Water-Lilies / 수련
Gothic Landscape 1961
고딕 풍경화
by Lee Krasner(크라스너: 1908-1984, born and worked USA)
oil paint on canvas
Purchased 1981
Although this is an abstract painting, the thick vertical lines that dominates its center
can be seen as trees, with thick knotted roots at their base. It was probably this that
led Krasner to call the painting Gothic Landscape, several years after completing it.
Krasner married to the artist Jackson Pollock and, during their life together,
her work was eclipsed by his rise to fame. Gothic Landscape was made in the years
following his death from a car crash in 1956. It belongs to a series of large canvases
whose violent and expressive gestural brushstrokes reflected her feelings of grief.
The Disappearing Figure:
Art After Catastrophe
One of the fundamental questions for artists in the middle of the 20th century was
how to continue making art after the catastrophic events of the Second World War.
The Second World War signalled a violent upending of the social and political order.
Cities were reduced to rubble, millions of people became refugees and the Nazi concentraion
camps fundamentally changed ideas about humanity's capacity for evil. The use of nuclear
weapons revealed the possibility of further, unparalleled levels of destruction.
Across the globe, artists felt compelled to respond, both to the war and to the regional
conflicts and crises that continued to erupt. Some rejected the European high cultural
tradition that now seemed tainted and took inspiration from non-Western art forms
or the freedom of children's drawings. In the US, a new form of abstract art developed,
characterised by seemingly spontaneous mark-making. Others experimented with unconventional
materials like tar, soil and burnt plastic, seeking new ways to express the fragility of culture and nature.
Scars, scratches, drips and heavily textured surfaces emphasise the physical act of making
the work, and with it, the artist's presence in the world. When they represented the huhan figure,
these artists didn't aim to create a likeness, but instead sought to capture the essence of humanity.
Some artists removed people entirely, using gestural marks to suggest landscapes, nature and architecture.
The unconventional organisation of works in this room was inspired by one of the landmark exhibitions
of the period, International Experimental Art at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1949
which included works by Constant and Karel Appel, among others.
Painting with White
Artists have made paintings that use only the colour white
since early twentieth century.
Single colour paintings, known as monochromes, ae an important way for artists to make
abstract works. Using only white might seem, at first, to take this approach to extremes.
Without image, and apparently pure, the white monochrome appears to resist meaning
and interpretation. For some peopel, it has come to symbolise everything that is believed
to be elitist and difficult about modern and contemporary art.
While the paintins and reliefs in this room all use white, or a range of near-white hues,
they demonstrate the many ways in which such an apparently reduced range of possibilities
can be employed. Far from limiting artists, the decision to restrict themselves to one colour
can open up a rich and versatile area of investigation. It draws attention to a variety of techniques,
materials, textures, surfaces, structures and forms, and emphasises the reponsiveness of
white to light and shadow.
The artists in this room also explore the philosophical, poetic, spiritual or religious associations
or white, which in some cultures can suggest contemplation, emptiness, the voild or infinite space.
Considered in this way, rather than lacking meaning, white becomes loaded with significance.
Witvlakwit 1974
White plane white/하얀 면
by Bram Bogart(보가르트: 1921-2012, Born Netherlands, worked Netherlands, France, Italy, Belgium)
Cement, oil paint and canvas on board
Presented anonymously in honor of the artist Bram Bogart 2014
Bogart trained as a house painter before finding success as an artist. His work foregrounds
paint as a physical substance, and he became particularly interested in the borders of his
paintings. A curator observed Bogart's method: 'Working on the floor, he spreads his unique,
cement-like, paint substance...over a surface of jute attached to canvas and wood. For this he
employs huge brushes and trowels which can be up to six feet wide. A giant of a ma, Bogart likes
the width of his largest paintings to be within his own wingspan.'
Ana 1954
Holes/구멍
by Shozo Shimamoto (시마모도: 1928-2013 born and worked Japan)
Oil paint on paper
presented by the artist 2002
Holes was made from layers of pasted newspapers. The surface was painted white
with hints of pale blue, then pierced to reveal the different layers underneath.
Shimamoto began the series around 1949 or 1950, during the post-war American occupation
of Japan. The contrast between delicacy and violence may reflect the fracturing of traditional
Japanese culture in the wake of the Second World War.
Spiral movement 1951
나선형 움직임
by Mary Martin (마틴: 1907-1969, born and worked Britain)
Painted chipboard
Purchased 1963
'Abstract painting gave me a desire to use three-dimensional materials
and this first essay was based on the same concept I had used in painting', Martin wrote.
The composition was determined by a complex layering of geometrical relationship,
in this case based on the Golden Section.
R69-26 1969
by Jan Schoonhoven(숀호벤: 1914-1994, born and worked Netherlands)
Acrylic paint on cardboard and paper on plywood base
purchased 1972
Nataraja 1993
힌두 춤의 신 나타라자
by Bridget Riley(라일리: 1931- , born and works Britain)
oil paint on canvas
Purchased 1994
Riley often alludes to her impressions of foreign cultures in her paintings.
In 1981 she travelled to India. Nataraja is a term from Hindu mythology meaning
"Lord of the Dance'. It refers to the Hindu God Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer,
who is usually depicted with many arms. on this painting, vertical bands of color
are cut across by diagonals, creating a sense of dynamic movement through
intricate rhythm and counter-rhythm.
Bridget Riley
Line, shape and colour are manipulated by Bridget Riley to develop elegantly
complex patters that draw attention to the physical process of perception.
Although her works do not appear to be based on any particular patterns from the real
world, she is nevertheless influenced by the effects of nature on the human eye.
The experience of looking at these abstract arrangements has been compared to impressions
of light and movement, such as the reflection of sunlight on rippling water, or of light passing
through leaves. While Riley has observed that the visible world is often far more dazzling that
her paintings, she also has pointed out that the connection with nature is central to her work.
Early in her career Riley worked primarily in black and white, exploring the startling visual effects
produced by the contrasting tones. Around 1970 she turned to colour, which she described as being
'closer to our experience of the real world. Unstable and incalculable, it is also rich and comforting'.
To a Summer's Day 1980
여름날에게
by Bridget Riley (라일리: 1931- , born and works Britain)
Acrylic paint on canvas
purchased 1982
To a Summer's Day 1980
여름날에게
by Bridget Riley (라일리: 1931- , born and works Britain)
Acrylic paint on canvas
purchased 1982
Coloured stripes cross along a common band, reminiscent of twisting ribbons,
to create a wave pattern. The choice of colours was intended to provoke an optical mix
in the eye, with as much interaction as possible between colours. Light blue and yellow
ochre form the basic pair of colours into which occasional threads of rose and violet are
introduced to accentuate the warm and accents across the canvas.
The title refers to William Shakespeare's sonnet
'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'
Evoë 3 2003
바쿠스가 벌린 술의 향연에서 지르는 고성
by Bridget Riley (라일리: 1931- , born and works Britain)
Acrylic paint and oil paint on canvas
Presented by Tate Members 2003
In the late 1990s, Riley began to make large-scale paintings in which curved blocks of colour
are positioned using an underlying grid of verticals and diagonals, creatitng a sense of joyous
momement. 'When played through a series of arabesques the curve is wonderfully
fluid, supple and strong', she has said. The title Evoë was a cry associated with the
intoxicated rites of the Greek god Bacchus.
로쓰코의 작품이 걸려 있는 방에서...
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko saw these paintings as objects of contemplation,
demanding the viewer's complete absorption.
In the late 1950s, Rothko was commissioned to paint a series of murals for the fashionalble
Four Seasons restaurant, in the Seagram Building on Park Avenue, New York.
He set to work, having contructed a scaffold in his studio to match the exact dimensions
of the restaurant. However, the murals were darker in mood than his previous work.
The bright and intense colours of his earlier paintings shifted to maroon, dark red and black.
Rothko was influenced by Michelangelo's Laurentian Library in Florence, with its blind
windows and deliberately oppressive atmosphere. Rothko reportedly commented that
Michelangelp 'achieved just the kind of feeling I'm after-he makes the viewers feel that they
are trapped in a room where all the doors and windows are bricked up, so that all they
can do is butt their heads forever against the wall.'
Recognising that the worldly setting of a restaurant would not be the ideal location for such
a work, Rothko withdrew from the commission. He finally presented the series to the
Tate Gallery, expressing his deep affection for England and for British artists.
This installation includes all nie of the paintings owned by Tate. Perceied, as the artist
intended, in reduced light and in a compact space, the subtlety of the layered surfaces
slowly emerges, revealing their solemn and meditatie character.
Untitled c. 1950-2
무제
by Mark Rothko(로쓰코: 1903-1970 born Latvia, worked USA)
oil paint on canvas
presented by the Mark Rothko Foundation 1986
In his mature work, Rothko abandoned specific referece to nature in order to paint images
with universal associations. By the late 1940s he had developed a style in shich hazy luminous
rectangles floast within a vertical format. Rothko wrote that the great artistic achievements
of the past were pictures of the human figure alone in a moment of utter immobility.
He sought to create his own version of his solitary meditative experience, scaling his pictures
so that the viewer is enveloped in their subtly shifting, atmospheric surface.
리히터 작품들이 걸린 방에서...
Gerhard Richter
The six paintings in this room were conceived by Gerhard Richter as a coherent group,
named after the American experimental composer John Cage
Since the early 1980s, Richter has frequently made abstract works by applying layers
of paint, and the wiping a squeegee across the surface. As the upper layers of paint are
dragged across the canvas, earlier moments from the painting's creation are
allowed to resurface.
The Cage paintings are the outcome of several layers of painting and erasure. Their surfaces are
animated by lines where the squeegee has paused, by brushstorkes, other scrapings, and areas
where the skin of oil paint has dried and rippled. The paint seems delicate and fluid in some
areas, coarser and more solid in others.
Richter was listening to the music of ohn Cage while he worked on these paintings and titled
them after the composer. There are no direct links between any particular work in this series
and any piece of music by Cage. However, Richter has long been interested in Cages ideas about
ambient sound and silence, as well as his controlled use of chance in musical composition.
A View from Zagreb:
OP and Kinetic Art
This room brings together artworks based on optical('op') effects, geometry and movement
made by a range of international artists linked to the 'New Tendencies' group,
founded in 1961 in Zagreb, Croatia.
In the 60s, many artists in different parts of the world were methodically planning ways
of making art. Taking ideas from mathematics, scientific research and colour theory, and
sometimes using computers to create images, this came to be known as 'programmed art'.
These artists saw viewer not as a passive spectator but as an active participant, engaging with
art in real time and space. Their works often trigger complex visual sensations, activated by
the viewer's perception of shape and colour. Sometimes this effect was intensified with the
inclusion of moving (kinetic) elements.
Reacting against ideas of individual genius and unique creative gestures associated with
abstract ｅxpressionism and other artistic movements of the time, many used group identities.
By making art that could easily be replicated or distributed as multiples, they hoped to stop
artworks from becoming marketable luxuty goods. All of the artists shown here participated in the
New Tendencies exhibiion series, held in Zagreb, then part of Yugoslavia, between 1961 and 1973.
Weisses Feld 1964
하얀 들판
by Gunther Ueckerr(유커: 1930- , born and works Germany)
painted nails on canvas and board
purchased 1964
Uecker began to make reliefs using nails in the late 1950s. The white composition allows
the nails to create patterns of shadow across the surface, responding to the light in the room
but also seeming to change in relation to the viewer's own position. Uecker was a member
of Zero, an artists' group that aimed to establish a new beginning in art and culture the name
relates to the last point in a countdown before a rocket is launched.
Volume moduli sfasati 1960
Volume of Displaced Modules/밀려난 모듈
by Dadamaino(다다마이노: 1930-2004, born and worked Italy)
plastic, paint and wood
presented by Tate Members 2011
This work comprises two overlaid sheets of plastic, separated by a white stretcher frame
which is visible through the plastic. Small holes have been punched through the plastic
at regular intervals. Italian artist Dadamaino wanted to open up the surface of the
artwork, creating a three-dimensional spacial quality.
Physichromie No. 113 1963,
reconstructed 1976
by Carlos Cruz-Diez(크루즈-디에즈, 1923- , born Venezuela, works Venezuela, France)
painted aluminium and stainless steel
presented by the artist 1976
Physichromie No. 113 1963,
reconstructed 1976
by Carlos Cruz-Diez(크루즈-디에즈, 1923- , born Venezuela, works Venezuela, France)
painted aluminium and stainless steel
presented by the artist 1976
Supernovae 1959-61
수퍼노바
by Victor Vasarely(바사렐리: 1908-1997, born Hungary, worked Hungary, France)
oil paint on canvas
purchased 1964
Vasarely was one of the first artists to propose an explicitly 'optical' style of painting,
inspired by geometric abstraction and cubism's distortions of space and perspective.
Relief cinéque - Accéléation optique 1963
Kinetic Relief - Optical Acceleration/동적인 부조 - 시각적 가속
by Jean-Pierre Yvaral (이바랄: 1934-2002 born and worked France)
painted wood, cardboard, plastic and vinyl cord
purchased 1964
Relief cinéque - Accéléation optique 1963
Kinetic Relief - Optical Acceleration/동적인 부조 - 시각적 가속
by Jean-Pierre Yvaral (이바랄: 1934-2002 born and worked France)
painted wood, cardboard, plastic and vinyl cord
purchased 1964
During the 1960s, Yvaral experinebted extensively with optical effects caused by the
superimposition of patterns and by the changing position of the viewer.
The term 'optical acceleration' refers to a perception of movement in the work that appears
to be more rapid than the viewer's own movement in front of the work. At this time Yvaral
worked only in black and white, using repetitive motifs that invite the eye to scan the
overall surface of the artwork.
2 Trames de tirets 0 deg. - 90 deg. 1926
Two Warps and Wefts of Short Lines/두개의 워프와 짧은 선의 씨실
by François Morellet(모레예: 1926- , born and works France)
oil paint on canvas
purchased 1974
Morellet was inspired by the mathematical principles behind the early geometric abstractions
of the Dutch Neo-plastic artists (Mondrian, van Doesburg, Vantongerloo). He used the regular
grids and repetitions in an attempt to reduce the role of the artist's individual sensibility to minimum.
Matrix Multiplication 1967
매이트릭스 곱셈
by Frieder Nake(나케: 1938- , born and works Germany)
12 computer plotter prints on paper and one computer dot matrix
print out on paper (programme sheet)
Nake , a mathematician and computer scientist, was among the first to make drawings
made using computer programmes. These prints are very early examples of
artworks produced with a plotter printer. Nake transferred the results of a
mathematical problem, outputted by a computer as punch cards, into another
computer as lines of different weights and colours. Computers and electronic
printers were extremely rare in 1960s, and early computer artists had to use
shared tools only found in universities' laboratories.
Cardenal 1965
Cardinal/카디날
by Jesus Rafael Soto(소토: 1923-2005, born Venezuela, worked Venezuela, France)
wood on chipboard, metal rods and nylon threads
purchased 1965
Soto left Venezuela for Paris in 1950 where, influenced by Piet Mondrian's late works,
he set out to make paintings that appeared to move. His interest in the transformation
of matter into energy led him to create a series of reliefs he called vibrations. In these
works, layers of lines, either static or mobile, produce an optical disturbance. In Cardinal
a cascade of stems hangs in front of striped background, gently swinging with the air
around it. This movement is enhanced by the optical effects of the rods against the
hand-drawn lines.
Light Dynamo 1963
빛 발전기
by Heinz Mack(마크: 1931- , born Germany, works Gerrmany, USA)
aluminium, glass, wood and motor
purchased 1964
Mack founded the Zero group with Otto Piene in 1957 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Zero felt their approach to art making, which used light and motion, opened up new
forms of perception. In this relief, an aluminium disc decorated with a reed pattern rotates
under glass that has been moulded with a similar pattern. The movement itself cannot be
perceived, but the disc appears to dissolve into a rippling light. Through optical illusion, this
seems to be continuously reforming itself as an oval while, at the same time, remaining a circle.
Ishi's Light 2003
이쉬의 빛
by Anish Kapoor(카푸르: 1954- , born India, works UK)
fibreglass, resin and lacquer
presented by Tate International Council 2005
Ishi's Light 2003
이쉬의 빛
by Anish Kapoor(카푸르: 1954- , born India, works UK)
fibreglass, resin and lacquer
presented by Tate International Council 2005
This sculpture is named after Kapoor's son Ishtan, but also refers to Anna's Light(1968),
an abstract work by the American painter Barnett Newman. Kapoor combines
saturated colours and contrasting materials to create sculptures that absorb or reflect
light or sound to modify the viewer's sense of space and create an almost immersive
experience. Here the deep blood red colour and enveloping form combine
to suggest warmth and security.
to be continued...
