Art Funded by you

Red, Black and White Construction

Sir Terry Frost, 1996

Terry Frost believed in the power of abstraction to evoke not merely moods, but physical sensations. During the 1990s he experimented with representing movement in his work, as in this wall relief. For Frost, spirals were associated with movement, an association he traced back to an early experience of driving on a winter morning, the sun appearing to spin as it passed behind the trees. In Red, Black and White Construction, Frost brings together paint and found objects to unsettle the space in front of the canvas. The spirals seem to reach out towards the viewer, but the effect is disturbed by the grids of flat black dots which intrude from the edges of the piece. The two discs, discarded objects found by FrostÂ’s son, provide a physical counterpoint to the spirals, while the strip which pierces their centres is the only thing holding the two halves of the canvas together, creating a palpable physical tension.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Red, Black and White Construction, 1996

Date supported

2013

Medium and material

Oil paint on canvas with pre-painted found discs and coloured leather laces

Dimensions

165 x 74 x 8 cm

Grant

5000

Total cost

14000

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

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