Summary
Crystallised Landscape is one of a series of paintings by Bowen which is closely associated with the rise of Tachisme in Britain during the mid 1950s. This type of abstraction, characterised by dabs or splotches of colour (tache is the French word for spot or blotch), placed great value on the physical act of painting. For some painters the tache was theorised as an existential act, symbolising the freedom of the individual, for others, such as Bowen, it was a manifestation of the collective unconscious and the spiritual. His practice, which was steeped in quasi-Zen philosophy, involved the use of meditation to ‘empty his mind’ of thoughts. Once he had reached a state of ‘hyperconsciousness’, he would build up an image with rapid strokes, splashes and drips, using such unconventional materials as oil paint mixed with sand and household emulsions (Gaskin, p.44)… (read more)
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