Room Guide
Still Lifes
Many of Clough’s closely observed works of the 1980 and 1990s represent a form of ‘still life’ and testify to her undiminished fascination with the urban environment. Some are inspired by the artist’s visits to markets: in Plastic Bag a discarded carrier bag takes centre stage against a backdrop of what looks like a dirty wet pavement. False Flower may represent plastic flower or could have been inspired by a discarded object that reminded Clough of one.
By looking at the nature of an object and seeing it as if it were something unfamiliar Clough endows the ordinary with a lyrical presence in what she calls the ‘urban chaos’.
Landscapes
Clough’s approach to landscape painting reveals an abstract understanding of the urban and natural environment. Once again, she focuses on textures, colours and visual memory, with only her titles suggesting the subject matter. She explained, ‘Since I do not draw directly in landscape, it is the memory or recollection of a scene, which is also a whole event that concerns me.’
The human figure is absent. Clough suggests an unoccupied, vast space that extends beyond the edge of the canvas, reminiscent of a colour-drenched summer field in Land: Ochre, or melancholic sunset in Disused Land.
Prunella Clough
Disused Land 1999
Courtesy Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
© Estate of Prunella Clough 2007
All Rights Reserved DACS
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Photos © Tate 2007