Albert Irvin - Gimpel Fils

Albert Irvin, Untitled, 1973

Albert Irvin RA OBE: Painting the Human Spirit is at Gimpel Fils until 28 August 2015.
I was very sorry to learn of Albert Irvin's death earlier this year (26 March 2015) and wrote a brief memorial note on this blog (see below); so, I am delighted to see that Gimpel Fils have mounted this memorial exhibition.

Albert Irvin, Moving Through, 1960

Albert Irvin, Pegasus, 1982

Albert Irvin, Merlin, 1987

Albert Irvin, Mansfield, 1993

Albert Irvin, Florian, 1999

Albert Irvin, 1922 - 2015

Albert Irvin, Cathay, 1979 (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin died 26 March 2015.
I am very sad to hear of the death of Albert Irvin. I met Bert in the 1980s when he was teaching at Goldsmiths and I worked in the art library there. He was a charming, generous man and a great painter. He was completely dedicated to his art -  passionate about colour and the very stuff of paint: Turner was his 'home-bred god'.
Irvin left art school in 1950 and so was of the generation to experience the fresh impact of American Abstract Expressionism, notably through exhibitions at the Tate (Modern Art in the United States, 1956, The New American Painting, 1959) and the Whitechapel (Jackson Pollock, 1958). Irvin responded to the gestural energy and large scale of the American painting and in due course fully embraced total abstraction, developing his own distinctive formal language.
For me, the work of the late 1970s and early 1980s is particularly wonderful: to enter a gallery of these large, open, gorgeously coloured paintings is a joyous experience.
The paintings illustrated here are some of my personal favourites.
Read obituary by Mike Tooby.
Watch a short video of Irvin talking about his work in the Tate  and on the occasion of his retrospective at King's Place Gallery.
Read an article by Sam Cornish at Abstract Critical.
See more work at Albert Irvin website and at BBC - Your Paintings.

Albert Irvin, Glow, 1971 (5' x 6')

Albert Irvin, Cressy, (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin, Hannibal, 1975 (8' x 14')

Albert Irvin, Nightingale, 1977 (5’10” x 6’8")

Albert Irvin, Paradise, 1979 (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin, Plimsoll, 1979 (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin, Mile End, 1980 (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin, Orlando, 1980 (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin, Sul Ross, 1981 (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin, Linden, 1983 (7' x 10')

Albert Irvin - Plymouth Art College

Albert Irvin, Plimsoll, 1979

I have a soft spot for Albert Irvin's joyous abstract paintings, particularly his work of the 1970s and 80s. Albert Irvin: Plimsoll is showing at Plymouth College of Art Gallery until 14 September.
The selection of works for the exhibition come from throughout Irvin's long career - he will celebrate his 91st birthday during the course of this exhibition - but will be themed around the use of blue.
The images selected here are not (necessarily) from the show but are my own selection of favourites. See more at at the Albert Irvin website.

Albert Irvin, Flodden, 1978

Albert Irvin, Cathay, 1979

Albert Irvin, Boadicea, 1979

Albert Irvin, Mile End, 1980

Albert Irvin, Sul Ross, 1981

Albert Irvin, Linden, 1983