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Details
- Other Title
- Corner square diagonal [titled in 'The field' exhibition catalogue]
- Date
- (1968)
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- synthetic polymer paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- 236.2 x 236.2 cm
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of the artist 1968
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- OA27.1968
- Copyright
- © Estate of John Peart
- Artist information
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John Peart
Works in the collection
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About
After attending the Museum of Modern Art travelling exhibition 'Two decades of American painting' in 1966–67 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney artist John Peart decided to 'clear the decks' and pursue a reductive brand of abstraction between 1967–68. Peart's paintings from this period are distinguished by their cool monochromatic colours and modular, semi-sculptural stretchers.
At the time, Peart was concerned with 'the notion of the painted object' as well as the spatial and optical possibilities of the square picture plane. These concerns were brought to the fore in 'Cool corner II', which cemented Peart's reputation as one of the leading abstractionists of his generation when it was first shown in 'The field' exhibition in 1968. In reference to the focalising effect of its jutting triangular corners and shifting shades of light blue, curator John Stringer deemed 'Cool corner II' to be 'hypnotic'.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 7 exhibitions
The field, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 21 Aug 1968–28 Sep 1968
The field, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 30 Oct 1968–24 Nov 1968
Recent paintings: John Peart (1969), Watters Gallery, East Sydney, 19 Nov 1969–06 Dec 1969
John Peart: paintings 1964-2004, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, 17 Mar 2006–07 May 2006
Australian abstraction 1965-1985: from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 09 Dec 2006–25 Jan 2007
Australian Collection Focus: Tackling THE FIELD, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 05 Sep 2009–29 Nov 2009
Less is more: Minimal and Post-Minimal art in Australia, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 03 Aug 2012–04 Nov 2012
The Field Revisited, Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne, 27 Apr 2018–26 Aug 2018
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Bibliography
Referenced in 7 publications
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Christopher Allen, The Weekend Australian, 'Hard work: A new show reminds us of the limitations of colour-field abstraction', pg. 12-13, Canberra, 17 Oct 2009-18 Oct 2009, 13. Focus room ‘Tackling the field’ exhibition review.
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Gary Catalano, Recent paintings: John Peart, Sydney, 1969. cat.no. 3
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Sue Cramer, Less is more: minimal + post-minimal art in Australia, 'Part II: the sixties generation', pg. 29-46, Bulleen, 2012, 43, 44, 48 (colour illus.), 114.
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Elwyn Lynn, Royston Harpur and Patrick McCaughey, The field, Melbourne, 1968, 57 (colour illus.). cat.no. 53; incorrect caption for 'Corner square diagonal'
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Renée Porter, John Peart: paintings 1964-2004, 'Introduction', pg. 9-12, Campbelltown, 2004, 9, 29, 30 (colour illus.), 74.
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John Stringer, Material perfection: minimal art and its aftermath: selected from the Kerry Stokes collection, Perth, 1998, 26.
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Natalie Wilson, Tackling THE FIELD, 'Tackling The Field', pg. 1-29, Sydney, 2009, 7, 8, 10, 19 (colour illus.), 20.
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