Viewing Harold Ancart’s paintings begins with a recognition of naturally occurring elements or forms – seascapes, sunsets, icebergs – but his works move beyond representation. They draw out, magnify and invert natural colour palettes, simultaneously simplifying and complicating forms, and leaning into abstraction. The artist presents technicolour vignettes of minute acts alongside seismic shifts. The geometry of Ancart’s forms, and the play and tension between surface and depth is reminiscent of Bay Area Figurative Movement painter Richard Diebenkorn. Ancart is also inspired by Frank Auerbach and Oskar Kokoschka, which is apparent in his bold use of colour and his embracing of expressionism and representation with a reluctance to be consigned to either genre.
Written by Goldsmiths CCA ...
