Physical Geometry
The ways in which our sense perceptions interpret the reality of the physical world has long been a subject of interest to artists. Abstract art, untethered from any requirement for realism, is a perfect vehicle for exploring this further.
‘The Tholos, Delphi, Greece’ by Millicent Emily Ayrton is recognisable as a built structure, but Ayrton’s approach to paint encourages us to think about this as its most important feature. The thickly textured cubes of paint in which she has depicted this ancient site puts the physical element of the brick at the forefront of our ideas and impressions of it. She makes the fact that it is a constructed form, standing tall in its environment as such, as the most essential element of its reality – and subsequently interest to us – beyond any other contextual association we may have we with this ancient and famous site.