Callum Innes

Callum Innes belongs to a generation of British artists who continue to explore the possibilities of paint on canvas. Uninhibited by, yet very aware of, the achievements of the past and the rise of other media, Innes uses the language of the monochrome, an established format of abstract painting since the 1960s. His work is an attempt to move the form forward, investing it with a contemporary relevance.

Many of Innes’ paintings are created through a process of addition and subtraction, sometimes removing sections of paint from the canvases surface with turpentine to leave only the faintest traces of what was there before. Innes creates an imperfect geometry, making our eyes struggle to adjust to the balance between what is and what was. Using this method of subtraction he has established his own vocabulary in the form of distinctive groups of paintings which evolve concurrently. Through their interdependency he hones his visual fluency, exploring variations of the process of removal.

The element of time is also inscribed in these paintings; from the time involved in the different processes of their making, to the visible traces of those processes, the artist has described his work as ‘freezing a moment in time’. Although process is central to Innes’ aesthetic it is never an end in itself, the physical process only serves to heighten the luminous and uncanny effect he achieves.