Location

Country: Japan
City: Tokyo
Place: British Embassy

A perfect circle divided equally in light and shade, Trevor Sutton’s painting Wisbech, beautifully conjures up associations with the natural world, suggesting the silent drama of a lunar eclipse. Referencing the East Anglian fenland town of Wisbech, Sutton’s abstract composition evokes a sensory experience of walking through a landscape at night accompanied by a pendulous moon.

Sutton first visited Japan in 1992 for an exhibition of his work at the White Art Gallery in Tokyo. Inspired by the beauty of the glazed ancient pots he saw in the city’s museums, he started painting circular forms set within square shapes on his return to his studio in London. While in Japan he was also struck by the refinement and grace of traditional social etiquette and display – a small detail like the neat fold of a napkin when presented to a visitor impressed him greatly.

His empathy with Japanese culture is reflected in the profound meditative quality of his abstract paintings and prints. The restrained purity of his painting Wisbech recalls the translucency of celadon porcelain, just as the bold circular form, reminiscent of the moon, is a motif so often found in classical Japanese art and poetry.

Trevor Sutton was born in Romford, Essex. After studying at Hornsey College of Art from 1967–1971, he graduated from Birmingham Polytechnic in 1972. He has exhibited his work widely in the UK, Europe and America, and several shows in Japan. His first exhibition in Tokyo, held in 1992 at the White Art Gallery, was warmly received. More recently, he has had solo exhibitions in London, Coventry, Edinburgh, Vienna, Tokyo and Shibukawa.

Places

Subjects

circle, abstract

Materials & Techniques

board, oil, oil painting

Artist

Trevor Sutton (1948 - )

Title

Wisbech

Date

1995

Medium

Oil on board

Dimensions

diameter: 94.10 cm, depth: 5.70 cm, height: 94.10 cm, width: 94.10 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Flowers East, January 2000

Inscription

VERSO, TC: WISBECH. 1995. TREVOR SUTTON. / VERSO, BR: Trevor Sutton.

Provenance

Flowers East

GAC number

17442