Abstract in black, pink (maroon) and ochre

Pasmore wrote, 'But to start intrinsically from the premiss [sic.] of the painting or relief itself meant rejecting any form or method which implied a reflection of the heterogeneous effects of visual experience. The first step, therefore, was to adopt an organic process of construction in homogeneous terms. Beginning from a standpoint of the rectangular picture-plane, this meant projecting analogous sections of its surface forwards into actual space, thus producing an orthogonal structure equivalent to that of architecture. But once involved in three-dimensional relief, the problem of independence raised fresh questions in respect to the status of painting. If painting is to become a free object in its own right, capable of producing a maximum aesthetic impact, then it could be argued that its form would have to correspond to the dimensions of the space it occupies like any natural object. Did not the naturalist tradition use perspective in order to produce an illusion of space and solidity? This suggested that the surface format of painting could not provide the conditions necessary for complete independence unless combined with sculpture or architecture. In response to this, therefore, I continued with the development of relief projection' (see 'The Transformation of Naturalist Art and the Independence of Painting', Victor Pasmore with a catalogue raisonné of the paintings, constructions and graphics 1926-1979, London, 1980, p. 106).