Three of a kind: colour in focus

Antoni Miralda

Coloured bread 1973

Miralda agitates our colour associations in this installation. He asks, ‘Think about why these colours? Why is it easier for me to eat the yellow than the blue? Bread baked in unexpected colours disconnects us from a predictable taste, instead provoking the imagination. Why might we prefer one slice over another?

Sonia Delaunay

Untitled 1929

Delaunay was fascinated by chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul’s concept of simultaneous colour contrasts and the idea that, when placed together in certain combinations, colours can create a sense of movement. This little gouache painting speaks to this interest, evoking a sense of rhythm and unity through repetitive shapes and hues.

John Peter Russell

In the afternoon 1891

Here, Russell saturates a field with bold hues. Conservation analyses revealed an earlier version of this painting underneath the top layer, contributing to the vibrancy of the final product and its interwoven brushstrokes. A talented colourist, Russell’s artworks speak to the changing effect of light and colour at different times of the day – a key concern of his contemporaries, the impressionists.

–

Emma McLean, Sydney arts writer and editor.