Callum Innes

Callum Innes’ work is an attempt to embody and reflect the arbitrary and enduring mechanisms of natural phenomena – such as decay, memory and growth – by approximating their processes in paint. Turpentine is dripped to let paint run where it will so that the resulting image appears as a strong, luminous core with a frail, random edge.

The paintings, on paper and canvas, possess a natural elegance which is closer to conceptual work than to abstraction. They strike a middle ground between the spare beauty of a minimal aesthetic and the gestural panache of abstraction, powerfully combining intellect and intuition.

Since his debut exhibition at the Frith Street Gallery in 1990, Innes’ work has undergone an exploration of colour and movement which has brought important new innovations to his painting. Bold, powerful compositions now take their place alongside his muted, gentle abstractions.