the bullshit painting - quintessentially Andy
Undoubtedly a centrepiece of Andy's retrospective, by far the largest painting in the show, the untitled work family refer to as the bullshit painting stands amongst surviving paintings as most quintessentially Andrew. It more fully articulates his artistic and philosophical concerns and experiences than any other piece as singular work. It is poignant, angry, ironic and humorous, complex, forthright and contains fragments of grace that relieve its relentless truth.
My theory - and this is one of the things I love about Andy's paintings, whether dense, chaotic, or minimalist and atmospheric, his work is open to infinite readings and indeed nurtures their creation. My theory on the bullshit painting is that it was originally intended to become a simple, austere work responding to the Arnhem war cemetery in Holland visited as a child, perhaps something like this...
or this...
white crosses in an expanse receding endlessly, into a vague distance. My brother Stephen told me a story about Andrew as a child in Holland and his reactions to visiting the war cemeteries there at 11or 12 years of age, especially at Arnhem. Stephen says he was a real little Dutch kid, top of his class in Dutch and mad about everything Dutch, he was also deeply affected by the wargraves. Sketches, notes and paintings Andrew made reflect this.
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