.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The 1960s marked a significant turning point in Tess Jaray’s practice. After completing her studies at the Slade School of Art, Jaray received a grant to travel to Italy where she experienced first-hand the Old Masters’ frescos and the iconic grandeur of Italian gothic architecture. This blend of inspiration opened a fresh dialogue between colour, pattern and spatial perception in her painting.
Moving away from traditionally narrative work, Jaray began to explore the illusion and abstraction of space. Her fascination with depicting the world within the framework of a canvas led her to experiment with simplifying her subject matter: placing bold symmetrical pattern over solid backgrounds in order to shift and control the perception of painted space. Drawing on the influence of the Expressionists, her coloured backgrounds are used to visually translate a specific emotion or point in time.
Lofty Grey is a strong demonstration of these themes. Finished in 1965, the large triangular form – reminiscent of the cathedral facades that heavily informed her paintings – extends upwards to the canvas edge inferring that there is something more to see beyond this abstracted shape. The symmetrical black paths of colour, balanced within cool segments of grey and white provide further illusion of depth to this painting. Known to revisit and re-work her ideas, Jaray would often create work as pairs during this time. St Stephen’s Green (1963) closely follows the same form, yet its illuminating turquoise and deep black palette dramatically contrast to the calming greys used within the present work.
Following a number of major public art projects, Jaray was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute for British Architects in 1995 and a Royal Academician in 2010.
Moving away from traditionally narrative work, Jaray began to explore the illusion and abstraction of space. Her fascination with depicting the world within the framework of a canvas led her to experiment with simplifying her subject matter: placing bold symmetrical pattern over solid backgrounds in order to shift and control the perception of painted space. Drawing on the influence of the Expressionists, her coloured backgrounds are used to visually translate a specific emotion or point in time.
Lofty Grey is a strong demonstration of these themes. Finished in 1965, the large triangular form – reminiscent of the cathedral facades that heavily informed her paintings – extends upwards to the canvas edge inferring that there is something more to see beyond this abstracted shape. The symmetrical black paths of colour, balanced within cool segments of grey and white provide further illusion of depth to this painting. Known to revisit and re-work her ideas, Jaray would often create work as pairs during this time. St Stephen’s Green (1963) closely follows the same form, yet its illuminating turquoise and deep black palette dramatically contrast to the calming greys used within the present work.
Following a number of major public art projects, Jaray was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute for British Architects in 1995 and a Royal Academician in 2010.