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Night
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© William Turnbull 2004. All Rights Reserved, DACS

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Night 1962 - 1963
  • Scottish Art
This piece was made after Turnbull bought some rosewood logs at a timber merchant's yard. He had not previously done any carving, but produced a series of works in which several elements, often different materials, are stacked on top of each other. The shape of this sculpture suggests a primitive idol, something which might be a focus of worship in another culture. The sliced ovoid form, which sits delicately on the horizontal bar, developed from Turnbull's fascination with opening flowers, and was partly inspired by Monet's late water-lily paintings. The form can also read as a head gazing upward.

Glossary Open

Ovoid

Egg-shaped.

Primitive

A term once used to describe the art of non-Western cultures such as Africa and Oceania, now generally seen as deprecatory and indicative of an outdated belief in Western superiority. It is also used to describe artists, usually self-taught, who work outside of the currents of mainstream art practice.

Ovoid, Primitive

Details

  • Acc. No. GMA 2831
  • Medium Bronze and rosewood
  • Size 161.40 x 124.50 x 43.00 cm
  • Credit Purchased 1984

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Scottish Art