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Sea Star: Sean Scully at the National Gallery

Sean Scully, Landline China 8

Sean Scully, ‘Landline China 8’, 2018, Oil on aluminium, 300 × 190 cm, Private collection (SS3506), © Sean Scully. Photo: courtesy the artist.

Sea Star: Sean Scully at the National Gallery New works by the Irish-born, American-based contemporary artist Sean Scully (b.1945) are unveiled as part of ‘Sea Star’, a major exhibition at the National Gallery, London. April 13 to August 11, 2019.]]>

Source: National Gallery, London

Inspired by the national collection and his love for Joseph Mallord William Turner’s painting “The Evening Star”, he charts a personal journey of deep admiration for colour, composition, and the power of painting.

One of the world’s foremost contemporary artists, Sean Scully’s work draws on the traditions of European painting, invigorated with the distinct character of American abstraction. His varied practice encompasses printmaking, sculpture, watercolours, and pastels, but he is best known for rich, monumental abstract paintings in which stripes or blocks of layered colour are a prevailing motif.

Turner’s masterpiece, a continuing influence and catalyst for new work by Scully, is displayed in the first gallery. The painting was specifically identified by him as a source of inspiration after he was first approached by the National Gallery, following a critically acclaimed exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2015. Featuring new and recent large-scale, multi-panel paintings that include his celebrated ‘Landline’ paintings, as well as works on paper, the exhibition demonstrates Scully’s distinctive approach to painting and a shared love of colour and composition with Turner.

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Sea Star: Sean Scully at the National Gallery