Experience the Late Works of British Artist Roger Hilton at S│2 London

Experience the Late Works of British Artist Roger Hilton at S│2 London

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  Roger Hilton, June, 1961

  June, 1961, is the only oil on canvas and the earliest work by Hilton in the current exhibition at S│2 London. The work gives the viewer a glimpse of a very fruitful period of the artist’s life, made before his eventual health decline that left him stranded in bed in the mid-1970s, opening him up to new mediums, as working on canvas would prove increasingly difficult. His abstracted forms echoing the female figure in this painting would remain a constant motif even in his later work.
  
  This particular work was included in a group exhibition – Kompas 2 hedendaagse schilderkunst uit Londen (Compass 2 contemporary painting from London) – at the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum in 1962. Here, Hilton’s works was shown alongside his contemporaries such as David Hockney, Francis Bacon and Sandra Blow.
  

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  Roger Hilton, Untitled, circa 1973-74

  Many of Roger Hilton’s later works made from his bed between late 1972-1975 are largely unexplored, only recently being brought to the public eye years after their creation. The exhibition at S│2 focuses on this body of work coming directly from the artist’s estate, which represents a final but also significant stage in the artist’s development.
  
  This particular gouache and pastel on paper from circa 1973-74, shows the artist’s return to figuration. He pursued a deliberate style of painting, with an almost childlike use of gesture and abandon. In these late works, Hilton made use of poster paints that were a Christmas present to the artist’s son in 1972, but were commandeered by the artist instead in his new mode of working.

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  Roger Hilton, Untitled, 1974

  In the last years of his life, Hilton repeatedly painted or included blackbirds in his works. The artist’s use of the motif of the blackbird was thought to be a reference to Van Gogh who was known to have also included blackbirds in his works the year leading up to his suicide. Despite their associations with endings, Hilton’s works featuring blackbirds are also joyful and full of vitality.

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  Roger Hilton, Untitled, circa 1973

  Roger Hilton was an artist operating outside of conventions, which can often be appreciated in his choice of medium as well. To a lot of painters, charcoal is conventionally used for under-drawings for them to paint over. Hilton, however, is known for his playful approach where he would use charcoal as his primary medium or often draw charcoal onto his paintings or make charcoal elements very apparent even if partly covered up.

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  Roger Hilton, Untitled, circa 1973-74

  This untitled work from circa 1973-74 recalls perhaps the most famous work by Roger Hilton, his 1963 mixed media painting, Oi Yoi Yoi. Oi Yoi Yoi is considered a highpoint for both the artist and the wider St Ives Group that he became associated with. The work is part of the Tate collection and is currently displayed at Tate St Ives.
  
  As with Oi Yoi Yoi, which depicts an abstracted dancing female nude based on Hilton’s wife Rose, this untitled work also shows a long-limbed figure whose form is composed of abstracted, free-flowing shapes. Hilton recognised the strength of Oi Yoi Yoi himself and created a sister painting to the work in 1963, said to be the only instance in his career where he repeated a work.

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  Roger Hilton, Untitled, 1975

  This unititled gouache and charcoal work was made in early 1975, in the final year of the artist’s life. Its simplicity and reductive composition, shows Hilton returning to bold, unapologetic abstraction.

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