Adam's The Oliver Dowling Collection 11th September 2024

14 Cecil King: A Legacy (1) Seán Kissane In recent years, significant exhibitions have sought to re-examine experimental painting in Europe and the United States from the late 1960s and 70s. These exhibitions aimed to establish a new discourse around painting from that period, which was once considered under attack by both conservative defenders of tradition and those who deemed painting irrelevant to other experimental art forms. Amidst this, Cecil King’s work faced criticism from Irish reviewers who misjudged his contributions, labelling his modernist abstraction as outdated. However, with nearly forty years since King’s death, his legacy can be reassessed in the context of the emergence of modernism in Ireland and his role in promoting inter- national ideas here. King, a self-taught artist, began painting seriously in 1954, producing works that varied in style but consistently explored line, form, and tone. Over time through the ‘60s, a mini- malizing tendency emerged in his work, leading to the geometric abstraction for which he became best-known. His early works, such as the Trapeze paintings, foreshadowed his later hard-edge style, where he focused on the relationship between form and space. By the late 1960s, King had found his voice, exemplified in the Baggot Street series, where figurative elements were reduced to geometric forms and fields of colour. His work from this period shows a meticulous attention to line and composition, contrasting with the spontaneity of Abstract Expressionism. King’s Baggot Street and subsequent Berlin series demonstrate his interest in the emotional resonance of place, linking his abstract works to specific locations and experiences. King’s work was influenced by several currents within international art, particularly those associated with the European avant-garde and American abstract expressionism. Peter Murray notes that King’s geometric abstraction drew comparisons to the “high-minded austerity” of artists like Josef Albers and Piet Mondrian, aligning his work with the broader modernist discourse that emerged from movements such as the Bauhaus and De Stijl (2) . King’s approach to painting involved a rigorous exploration of surface and medium, align- ing him with contemporary trends in New York, such as those exhibited in High Times Hard Times: New York Painting 1967-1975 . While his work shared visual affinities with artists like Barnett Newman, it was distinct in its intent and process. King’s geometric abstractions, which he continued to develop through the 1970s and ‘80s, were part of a broader move- ment in experimental painting that defied the supposed “death of painting” in the mid-20th century. Despite the challenges posed by Ireland’s often-conservative art scene, King pur- sued his abstract style with determination.