Ben Nicholson - '1934' - Oil on Canvas
When I was younger, back in the 90’s, my Mum nearly opened a shop called ‘Mondrian’, however, we moved and the dream was not carried in the removal van with us. Yet, the name still holds a childhood fascination for me.
Around the same time (parallel in my life) I was also inspired by my Mum’s love of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth (Ben Nicholson’s wife). I remember happy visits to The Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where we played giants and ants among the monstrously huge stones.
Visiting The Courtauld Gallery to see Mondrian || Nicholson: in Parallel I was struck by how closely these two artists lives and work had intertwined, despite their different backgrounds, nationalities and ages.
The exhibition has a peacefulness about it, both artists are experts in abstract form, but depict them with very different energies. Piet Mondrian’s geometric lines and the primary colours he is so famous for really jumped off the walls, I felt slightly uncomfortable viewing them. In contrast, I preferred Ben Nicholson’s earthier colour palette and softer shapes, with their meditative quality (you can see my two favourite works pictured).
My very favourite part of the exhibition was the Walt Disney postcards Mondrian sent to his brother while he was staying in London. Apparently he loved Snow White!
– Miss C x
Ben Nicholson - '1936' - Oil on Canvas
crumpetcottage 