Marlborough is delighted to present a group exhibition featuring works by seventeen artists working across diverse mediums including painting, sculpture, ceramics, and film. This exhibition was inspired by trailblazing abstract painter Gillian Ayres (1930-2018) and her career which spanned over sixty years. She was a maverick of her time who scorned the prevailing trends of the British art scene and instead found an affinity with the ‘action painting’ associated with the American Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1950s. Despite this, she gained great recognition for her unique and monumental artwork, frequently as a lone woman in an otherwise male dominated world. Her approach to painting was direct; a visceral response to the materiality of paint, the power of pigments and the joy she found in the act of making. As Ayres said herself, her work was uncomplicated by “any particular moment or subject”. It is in this spirit that the artists in this exhibition were invited to participate. Each bringing their own approach to making abstract art.

“In Abstract Colour, we have highlighted Gillian Ayres’ practice to punctuate each chapter in this exhibition, in conjunction with other artists working towards similar artistic concerns. Each artist uses their work to tell stories and express emotional planes experienced while making. While one’s reaction to colour cannot be generalised, colour can function as a universal language and entry point to begin conversations around our own thoughts and feelings.” - Lewis Dalton Gilbert, Exhibition Curator Lewis Dalton Gilbert is an independent curator and the creative director at A Vibe Called Tech, a Black-owned creative agency dedicated to approaching creativity through an intersectional lens. Following his BA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design, he coordinated and produced exhibitions and projects for White Cube and Frieze and is currently the associate curator for New Art Centre, where he previously served as creative director. In 2021, he curated the Hackney Windrush Art Commissions with Veronica Ryan OBE, for which the artist won the Turner Prize.

Marlborough wishes to thank all the artists and galleries for participating in this exhibition and we are grateful to Lewis Dalton Gilbert for his care and expertise in curating this beautiful exhibition.