Mark Boyle & Joan Hills

Untitled Construction (Junk Piece - Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory...)

About this artwork

In 1961 Mark Boyle observed that the brushes, paint tins and lids which stuck to his palette were more interesting than the paintings he was making: this led to collage and assemblage work, which he and artist Joan Hills made together. The earliest of their constructions incorporated material scavenged on the streets of London, which the couple took back to their flat. These ‘junk reliefs’ featured in their first solo exhibition, which opened in London in 1963, before travelling to Edinburgh. It was the inaugural show at Richard Demarco’s art gallery at the new Traverse Theatre, and this was the largest work included. The photograph behind the bicycle wheel is of the French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867). The artificial flowers refer to his collection of poems Les Fleurs du Mal (1857).

Published September 2022

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Mark Boyle

Mark Boyle