Between Discipline and Desire 5

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Set inside a deep recessed glass and wood box frame, this assemblage by Martin Naylor is both painting and sculpture. A black wood rod attached to the right-hand side of the inner frame partially bisects an abstract composition of agitated marks and drips in dirty shades of cream, brown and grey. Contrasting the rod with the painting creates a subtle tension of opposites – between hard and soft; rigid and fluid; light and dark. The polarity of Naylor’s work is underpinned by its title that provides the name for his series, Between Discipline and Desire (1977-86). In each work he explores aspects of dual relationships, often by pairing together unrelated objects or forms.

Since graduating from the Royal College of Art (RCA) in 1970, Naylor has worked with a variety of materials, defying categorisation. Complementing the sense of angst and aversion to convention in his work, he is heavily influenced by psychological theory, existential films and literature and the expressionist paintings of Edvard Munch.

Born in Morley, Yorkshire, Martin Naylor studied at Leeds Art College (1965–66) before working for a year as an Art Advisor to the Psychology Department at the University of Leeds. His first solo exhibition was held at the Lane Gallery, Bradford in 1966. In 1967–70 he studied at the RCA, after which he taught at various art schools in London, Lancaster, Nice and Bourges. In 1977 he represented Britain at the Sâo Paulo Biennial and became Head of the Sculpture Department at Hornsey College of Art and Tutor at the RCA. He then spent three years teaching in Paris, followed by a residency in the Dominican Republic (1985). A major solo exhibition toured to the Serpentine Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery and Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool from 1986–87. In 1989 Naylor had a major show in Buenos Aires and was presented with the Freedom of the City of La Plata. Since then he has lived in the city and continues to exhibit his work to great acclaim.

Places

Subjects

abstract, desire, discipline

Materials & Techniques

acrylic (paint), paper (as artists material), board, ink, wood, mixed media (art object)

Artist

Martin Naylor (1944 - )

Title

Between Discipline and Desire 5

Date

Medium

Acrylic and ink on paper on board with wood

Dimensions

height: 158.50 cm, width: 98.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Rowan Gallery, May 1979

Inscription

none

GAC number

14541