Wind

Tony Tuckson’s name is inextricably linked to the movements of abstract expressionist art in this country. Following his formal training, initially in London and later in East Sydney Technical College after the war from 1946, Tuckson developed his painting practice privately, working after hours from his job as assistant to the director, and later deputy director at the Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1950 and 1973. Aside from a few exceptions he did not publically display his work until two solo exhibitions in 1970 and 1973 at Watters Gallery in Sydney where his paintings appeared to many as a revelation.

From around 1970 until his early death in 1973, Tuckson produced a body of works that are distinguished in their climactic, expressive painterly force. Amongst these works, and yet also quite distinct within them, is 'Wind'. Said to have been inspired by a figure running with streaming hair, 'Wind' tells of how the minutia of everyday moments could trigger the great gestural statements of Tuckson’s late practice. Motion, both slowness and speed, and small movements within space, inspired his work. 'Wind' is composed of a formation that is carried and propelled forward in space, a seemingly simple statement of lightness that emanates a strong and complex visual energy.