Sean Scully: Structure, Color, and Abstraction

Sean Scully

1945– | Irish/American | Oils; Pastels

Scully is noted for his high-minded abstract art (he believes in pure painting as high art). The favored form is large, simple, horizontal and vertical stripes, and the technique emphasizes the qualities of paint through earthy grey colors and the subtle interplay of two and three dimensions. His works are sometimes made from separate panels. An “art for art’s sake” of great refinement.

Sean Scully, Precious, 1981. Oil on canvas, 84 x 63 1/2 inches. Courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery.

Sean Scully, Backs and Fronts, 1981. Oil on linen and canvas, 96 x 240 inches. Courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery.

KEY WORKS: Paul, 1984 (London: Tate Collection); Pale Fire, 1988 (Texas: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth)