I know that I haven’t written on the blog for a week but I think I have suffered with writer’s cramp. It had lot to do with not being able to get out of bed in time and something to do with exploring the dingy world of Art in London. First of all to spice things up I want tot make a quick reference to show that is leaving us soon (I know I
give you up to the minute news!). Gary Hume’s Door paintings as you might have
guessed by the title, at the MOMA Oxford.

Gary Hume’s doors are an excellent example of how repetition in art
creates dialogue. Here we see a retrospective of his doors cool and calm in
their appearance, these thickly glossy aluminium canvases play on both the
aesthetic of the painted and the sculptural. This exhibition presents eighteen
of the most important works, from the quiet sophistication of the early
Magnolia Doors of the early 90s, to the bright and bold works of more recent
production. Whilst exploring you also find his journey through some canvas
variations and other experimentations. As a collective this retrospective of
sorts highlights Hume’s obsession and consideration of institutional doors.

These objects are the lovechild of Duchamp and Barnett Newman. They take
the sculptural ready-made qualities that Duchamp was preoccupied with and turn
it on its head. The paintings are now replicas of objects. They hold the
qualities that make them three dimensional, but they hang on the wall. They also have elements of the abstract painting notions that Barnett Newman obsessed over: The use of colour (even in its absence), the control of shapes on the image plane and the surface quality. Which seems to be the most important physical quality that the paintings hold.

The most interesting thing I find about the door is their anthropomorphist
qualities. Although this is just a notion that the paintings conjure, maybe because
of their size and shape. But they are hung on the wall as if they are a
painting. Hume is very careful in the way he describes these doors. You find
intricate details where the hinges were attached. Its obvious that behind the
institutional large aluminium sheets with slick paintings thee is a highly
meticulous man who defines himself through this repetitive and painstaking
process. Apparently Hume was sacked from his job as a painter and decorator
whilst at Goldsmiths because he was painting the doors too slowly.