SANDRA BLOW, R.A. (BRITISH, 1925-2006)
Brown and Pink
acrylic on canvas with collage elements
182 x 213 cm. (71 5/8 x 83 7/8 in.)
Painted in 1970

ARR

Sandra Blow’s career as an artist is one that was deeply rooted within the Post-War British art scene spanning across several decades.

At 15, she attended Central Saint Martin’s School of Art whereby she engaged within the milieu of prominent figures from Lucian Freud to John Milton.

In her active role as a member of the Chelsea Arts Club, she mixed with Dame Elizabeth Frink and Francis Bacon. Blow undoubtably pioneered a fresh take on abstraction. Using often discarded materials such as sawdust and plaster alongside paint, Blow was among the first of many to work in abstraction at such large scale.

It was through Blow’s collaboration and companionship with Italian artist Alberto Burri in 1947, where she spent time traveling across Italy and France, that she took much inspiration from his experimentation with materiality. She showed alongside many other notable artists of their time, from Denis Bowen, Patrick Heron and Gillian Ayres to name but a few.

Viridian Swirl (1992), Cambridge, and Brown and Pink (1970), all display elements of Blow’s beautiful dexterity and experimentation with colour, form and materiality.