Joe Tilson b.1928
Perello II, 1957
oil and sacking on board
48 by 60 inches
signed, titled and dated

Provenance
Private Collection, UK



Between 1955-7 Tilson travelled in Italy and Spain, which had a marked influence on his early work. In Perello II, Tilson has applied sacking material directly to the canvas, working over this surface with oil paint. This use of 'lowly' materials is most commonly associated with the Italian Arte Povera artists, most notably with Alberto Burri. Here Tilson's dynamic composition conveys the essence of the Italian landscape - of wind and sun, earth and sky - rather than any specific scene, an approach shared by his British contemporaries Peter Lanyon and Paul Feiler.